I grew up reading the Harry Potter books. With what impatience I waited for the next part of the saga, and with what delight I plunged into the magical world of the “boy with the scar.” Every year I waited for a letter from Hogwarts to come to me, but I never did. The owl didn't come. But even now I often re-read this story and with the same pleasure I wander the night corridors of the school of witchcraft.
Where is Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry?
If an owl doesn’t fly to me, it means I’m a Muggle and won’t see Hogwarts, no matter how much I want to. After all, this the castle is enchanted, And ordinary person in his place will see only old ruins with the inscription "Danger". According to book author JK Rowling, lock located in Scotland. Images from the film partially confirm this. If you read the book carefully, you will find out that Hogwarts was founded a thousand years agoago by four powerful wizards:
- Salazar Slytherin;
- Godric Gryffindor;
- Rowena Ravenclaw;
- Helga Hufflepuff.
But over time, a clash occurred between them. Slytherin opposed everyone and demanded to school Only purebred wizards studied. The other three did not agree with this. Slytherin left the foursome.
Hogwarts- the only school in the UK.Education lasts here 7 years, and at the end of grades 5 and 7, exams are taken - the so-called “owls”. Training is free, but the student must buy the wand, pot, ingredients for the potion and textbooks at his own expense. It is not necessary to buy a broom; you can fly with a school one. But school brooms are like “Zaporozhets” for Muggles.
The real Hogworth
Although Hogworth doesn't exist, there is a good substitute for Muggles. This Alnwick Castle. It is located on the border with Scotland in Northumberland. It was here that Harry learned to fly on a broom and caught his Snitch. But the castle's history is not limited to just the "boy who lived." His story goes back to 11th century, and the castle itself is quite richly decorated. His used not only for the filming of "Harry Potter", but also many other historical films.
A mock-up and collective image castle Territory Forbidden Forest belongs Black Park, which is in Buckinghamshire. As Hogswarts dining room used dining room of one of the Oxford colleges.
Filming in the library took place in Bodleian Library. And as a Hogwarts corridors were used corridors of Gloucester Cathedral.
Who among us has not watched and admired the film about the boy wizard Harry Potter and his adventures? The film is full of many events, interesting characters and, of course, magic. Majority storylines touch the magic castle - School of learning magical art Hogwarts. Any boy or girl in England could study here if they had a special, magical talent.
Every child, and maybe an adult, wonders: does Hogwarts really exist or is it just cardboard decorations and plywood buildings? And if there is, then where is Hogwarts located? real life?
In a sense, fans of the Harry Potter films can see the wizarding abode in two installations:
- a small model of a human-sized building, which was mounted in the studio,
- and real, ancient castle with many buildings, stairs, halls, towers.
Directors and set designers had to search for a very long time for the prototype of the castle, described by JK Rowling, so that they could conduct location shooting. And they were able to find him!
Judging by the writer's book, the magic school is located in the north of England on the border with Scotland and this is confirmed in the film - the Hogwarts train - an express train moving from London strictly north.
The answer to the question of where Hogwarts is located in real life turned out to be very simple. Today it is reliably known that all location shooting in the premises of the castle and on its surrounding territory was filmed in the real ancient building of Alnwick (Enik), which is located in the county of Northumberland, which is located on the northern borders of England and Scotland. It belongs to the famous noble family - the Dukes of Percy and was built in the 11th century. In order for the palace to be able to completely transport the viewer into the magical world, it had to be decorated, appropriate furniture installed, something painted and repaired.
Alnwick Castle is a vibrant embodiment of bygone eras and is still part of cultural heritage UK. Today you cannot explore the entire castle, since many rooms are closed, but now you know how to get to Hogwarts in real life.
Hogwarts in real life
This ancient building was built to protect the northern borders of the kingdom under William the Conqueror. Over time (in the 17th century), the owners stopped living in it and moved to the city, and all the buildings slowly began to fall into disrepair.
Later in the 18th century, the new owner began to restore the estate and today the castle pleases with its updated furnishings, strong walls and ceilings. There are beautiful and luxurious interiors all around, which are decorated with works of art and antique furniture.
The external decoration of Alnwick Castle consists of many towers and turrets. The estate has an excellent library. During the war, part of the castle was given over to the organization educational institution.
Excellent interiors and appearance The castle attracts filmmakers who have already shot films here such as “Robin Hood”, “Elizabeth”, and all the Harry Potter series.
As we remember from books and films, Hogwarts is a school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, where children from all over England with magical abilities were taught magic.
The school was located in the mountains of Scotland in an ancient eight-story castle. As you can probably guess, the Hogwarts school building as we see it in the film does not exist in reality.
And for the most part, Hogwarts was built at Leavesden Studios and exists there as a set for the filming of the Harry Potter films. Quite impressive in size, with the help of special effects they create the feeling of a very real castle. But we'll talk about this later when we go to the Harry Potter Museum in Leavesden.
And now we will go to those places that really exist and which inspired the film crew to create an unforgettable image of Hogwarts and its environs.
In fact, there are a lot of such places in the UK where the filming of various scenes that took place in the magic school took place.
Let's imagine ourselves for a moment as students of Hogwarts School and continue our journey in the footsteps of our favorite heroes.
Traveling on the Hogwarts Express
Let's use one of vehicles, which was very often used by students of the magic school. This is the Hogwarts Express, which followed the route London - Hogsmeade.
To film the Hogwarts Express scenes in the Harry Potter films, they used Britain's most scenic railway line, the West Highland Line, a real train route and a very real London steam locomotive.
This route was chosen when choosing a location for filming the Harry Potter films due to the extraordinary beauty of the area and the famous 21-arch viaduct in the Glenfinnan Viaduk.
It was over this bridge, built at the beginning of the 20th century, that the magical train rushed to Hogwarts at full speed, throwing out clouds of smoke.
At one time, the construction of this bridge caused a lot of controversy about its feasibility. There were even serious concerns expressed that this huge viaduct would not be able to blend organically into the surrounding natural landscape, which could harm the beauty of the surrounding areas.
Fortunately, the fears were not justified. And today, when visiting these places, you can appreciate the beauty of the viaduct by riding along it in one of the ancient carriages, driven by the same old steam locomotive that played the role of the Hogwarts Express during the filming of the film, and in reality it is called the Jacobite Steam Train.
And now from mid-May to the end of October the magical steam locomotive runs on the route Fort William - Mallaig. Therefore, if you dream of riding this train in the north of Scotland, you need to take care of tickets in advance. You can book your ticket on the website: https://www.westcoastrailways.co.uk/.
Route schedule for 2019:
In the morning (departure at 10:15):
- From April 22 to October 25 – Monday to Friday
- From May 4 to September 29 – on Saturdays and Sundays
Afternoon (departure at 14:30):
- From May 13 to September 13 – Monday to Friday
- From June 15 to September 1 – on Saturdays and Sundays
Ticket prices for 2019:
- Adult (standard / 1st class) – £37.50 / £59.95
- Children (up to 16 years old) (standard / 1st grade) – £20.75 / £32.90
This train features fully restored 1956 pastures.
And in the magical carriage D, the atmosphere of the Hogwarts Express is completely reproduced - all the luggage racks are completely filled with suitcases, and a trolley with various sweets rides around the carriage.
The low speed that the locomotive develops allows you to admire beautiful landscape outside the window: numerous lakes, very beautiful mountains, medieval castles, waterfalls and see the places where the Harry Potter film was filmed.
The locomotive makes stops along the way: in the village of Arisaig you can take a boat ride to the very western coast of Scotland, and at Glenfinnan station you can visit an interesting railway museum.
Hogsmeade Station
When traveling on the Hogwarts Express, you can't help but mention Hogsmeade.
According to the film, this is the nearest train station to Hogwarts and a village inhabited only by wizards. And the Hogwarts Express train brings students here to the station. Harry Potter and his friends often went to this magical village, where the Three Broomsticks pub, the Boar's Head, the Sweet Kingdom confectionery, and the Shrieking Shack are located.
Filming location railway station in Hogsmeade took place in the picturesque village of Goathland with a population of just 500 people in North Yorkshire at the local station (Goathland Station, North Yorkshire).
And now we are already at the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry - Hogwarts
To do this, we need to go to the ancient Alnwick Castle and its surroundings. The 11th-century castle is located on the border of England and Scotland. The history of its existence is rich interesting events and goes back more than one century.
The mysterious and gloomy castle in which the magical school of Hogwarts is located, with its outlines, is very reminiscent of Enik Castle, which served as the main setting for the filming of the Harry Potter films.
The medieval gloom of the castle and its architecture, interiors and courtyards have previously attracted the attention of many directors who shot historical films. He was not spared during the filming of the Harry Potter films.
It was here that Harry flew on a broom over the perfectly manicured lawns around the castle, participating in Quidditch competitions, and in the castle courtyard the film's characters learned to control naughty brooms.
The castle is residential, but some of its rooms are open to the public. Therefore, you should not be surprised if you see numerous tourists jumping on brooms on the lawn near the castle, who still want to master the art of magic.
You, like Harry, can try to learn how to fly on a broomstick (though not a magical one, just an ordinary one) while visiting the castle.
In addition to visiting places associated with Harry Potter and Hogwarts School, you can go to interesting excursion to the Museum of Antiquity, founded in the first half of the 19th century.
After visiting the castle, getting acquainted with its history and admiring the beauty of these places, we go to the oldest university city in England - Oxford, which is located approximately 90 kilometers from London.
You can get to Oxford either by train (departing every half hour), by bus, which also departs very frequently from several places in London, or by taxi.
Oxford University
Many scenes from the life of Hogwarts school were filmed in this famous educational institution.
Famous Great Hall Hogwarts, where the most solemn and important points in the life of a school for wizards, was filmed in the dining hall of the oldest and most prestigious college at Oxford University, Christ Church.
Some scenes from the films were shot on the stairs and in the courtyard of this college.
Interest in this place is caused not only by the fact that the Harry Potter films were filmed on the territory of this college, but also by the uniqueness of Oxford University.
Its territory with the most beautiful college buildings, gothic architecture, stained glass windows and medieval patterns on the interior walls, numerous museums and the unique Bodleian Library are worthy of attention in themselves.
And the next episode from the Harry films is the filming of scenes in the Hogwarts library.
Hogwarts Library
As you probably already guessed, this took place in the largest library in Oxford - the Bodleian Library, which houses more than eleven million copies of books, including priceless treasures and many medieval manuscripts.
The library building and its luxurious interiors amaze visitors with their splendor.
Corridors of Hogwarts - School of Witchcraft and Wizardry
After visiting Oxford, it would be nice to stop by the town of Gloucester (just 2 hours from London) and visit beautiful cathedral England - Gloucester Cathedral.
Its magnificent interiors, luxurious corridors and covered galleries will surely remind you of the various scenes from the Harry Potter films that happened to him and his friends in the corridors of Hogwarts.
The ancient Norman Cathedral was transformed into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Witchcraft during the filming of the film. Secret door of Gryffindor house, Harry's bedroom, scenes with ghosts and a troll, talking drawings on the wall, classes at Hogwarts School - all this was filmed within the walls of the magnificent Cathedral.
The places where the filming took place are incredibly beautiful; here you can spend hours just walking and enjoying nature and the surroundings. Gloucester Cathedral - amazingly beautiful architectural structure, which can be admired and admired.
And time spent in the Cathedral in the filming locations of the Harry Potter films will further enhance the impression of the events that were told in the books and films.
Professor McGonagall's office
The office of the strict but fair Dean and Transfiguration Professor McGonagall was filmed at Durham's Cathedral of Christ, Mary and St. Cuthbert (Durham Cathedral), which is located near the border with Scotland.
The magnificent 11th-century cathedral on the top of a cliff with powerful walls soaring high is striking in its beauty and size.
Interesting architecture, windows decorated with stained glass, amazing nature around, which you can admire by climbing the cathedral tower - all this makes this place one of the most visited in England.
Opposite the cathedral is the castle of the same name (Durham Castle), which further enhances the impression of visiting these places.
Hagrid's Hut
If you find yourself near Scotland, you can’t help but look into the picturesque Glencoe Valley, which is located in the southwest of the Highlands. This place is often called the most exciting and beautiful place Scotland.
And we also ended up here for a reason. It was here that scenes from the Harry Potter films featuring one of the main characters, Hagrid, were partially filmed.
For the filming of the film, the hut of Rubeus Hagrid, who taught Care of Magical Creatures at the school, was the keeper of the keys and the forester, was built in the Glencoe Valley.
Unfortunately, the hut is not there now, but here you can have a great rest and admire the beauty of these places.
Returning to London, you can still visit several places associated with the filming of films about our hero.
Flitwick's office
Filming of the office of Professor Flitwick, the head of the Ravenclaw faculty from the School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, took place in one of the classrooms of the oldest public school for boys.
Harrow School is located a few miles from London and is famous for the fact that many who later became famous cultural, scientific and political figures studied within its walls. Among them is Winston Churchill.
Forbidden Forest
A mysterious place where all sorts of things live unusual creatures: huge spiders, unicorns, thestrals, centaurs. In this gloomy and scary forest It was forbidden for students to go to Hogwarts school without being accompanied by adult wizards.
Filming for this location took place in Black Park, Iver Heath, Buckinghamshire, approximately 20 miles from London. The territory of the Park is often used for filming. And it was no coincidence that the choice fell on this place when filming a series of films about Harry Potter. In the Black Park even in sunny days There is always twilight.
Privet Alley
On this street, at number 4, in the family of his aunt (Harry Potter's only relatives), we first met Harry. Here he lived from the moment when he, a small child, was brought to this house by Hagrid, until his flight to Hogwarts school for 9 whole years, that is, until he learned about his magical abilities.
In reality, this ancient street is located in the town of Little Whinging in Berkshire and it is called Picket Post Close.
Godric's Hollow
And we will end our journey by visiting the place where the story of the boy who lived began.
This is a small settlement in which they lived as ordinary people, and magicians: Harry Potter’s parents and himself until the moment when, at the request of Albus Dumbledore, Hagrid took him from the destroyed parental home to his aunt’s house.
To do this, we will go to Godric's Hollow in Lacock Abbey in the vicinity of the city of Bath, Wiltshire, which is approximately 2 hours from London.
This is one of the oldest and most picturesque places in England. Ancient stone houses, narrow streets, and the history of the 13th century abbey make spending time in these places fascinating and educational.
This is where we will end our tour today. I hope you enjoyed our journey and learned something new.
And in the following articles we will visit, which was opened in 2012 at the Warner Bros. film studio, and. But we'll talk about this next time.
If you really dream get to Hogwarts, then you should at least try. Here are a few useful tips. And regardless of whether you succeed or not, you are guaranteed a pleasant time reading books and watching films. You can also try to gather a team of like-minded people and organize a fandom of fans of the Harry Potter books, with role-playing games and so on. Well, that comes later, but first you need:
- Books about Harry Potter;
- Games about Harry;
- Harry Potter films;
- A team of like-minded people, preferably from different countries;
- Rich imagination and excellent organizational skills;
You should start by reading books. Learn how to organize collective readings. The next step is costume readings. Alternate reading books with watching films, with further discussion of the events taking place there or role-playing them.
How to get to Hogwarts?
After your team is finally formed, you can start looking for a suitable place to hold role playing games. There are still plenty of such places in our country. These can be old dilapidated castles and ancient buildings, the remains of ancient fortresses and much more.
- Gloucester Cathedral is the cinematic face of Hogwarts School;
- Oxford Central Library - Hogwarts Library;
- Christ Church - Oxford University College - Hogwarts Great Hall;
- Durham Cathedral of Christ, Mary and St. Cuthbert's - McGonagall's office;
- Alnwick Castle, located in Northumberland - Hogwarts Flying Field;
The next option is to try to audition for one of the roles in the Harry Potter film. They'll probably come up with some kind of sequel. But for this you at least need to know English language at a good conversational level (also a good incentive to learn the language) and end up in in the right place at the right time.
The next option is to purchase games based on the works about Harry Potter and, with like-minded friends, plunge headlong into the world of magic and wizardry. This can be combined with the first method described.
And regardless of whether you find yourself in the real Hogwarts or in your own, created by you yourself or with a team of like-minded friends, the pleasure and benefits of such a trip and pastime are simply guaranteed to you. The main thing here is not to overdo it and not to take a long break from real world. Have a nice journey into the world of magic and wizardry.
Probably every second person has seen films about Harry Potter, which is not at all surprising. Magic world, invented by JK Rowling, is magnificent, you don’t want to part with it, even when you’ve read the last line of the book or the closing credits. Sometimes it becomes very sad that we ordinary people and magic is inaccessible to us. But I would really like to go from platform 93⁄4 to amazing trip. But this article is not about magic, and not really about cinema. We'll walk through the places where the most famous ones were filmed. best movies about magic and sorcery. Let's look at legendary places like Hogravurts and where it is located in reality.
Taking into account all the possibilities of cinema ( computer graphics, scenery in pavilions and much more) it’s hard to believe that most of the interiors and exteriors that we see in these films are real. For the most part, they are all located in Foggy Albion.
* There are a lot of photos in the article, it may take a little longer to load.
Hogwarts: where is the legendary castle located?
Of course, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was not filmed in one place, it consists of different “parts”. When creating her “architectural masterpiece,” Joan Rowling put into it elements of various, very real, objects:
strange castles;
libraries;
abbeys
Fans of the saga of The Boy Who Lived have found all these places in reality. For example, the very name of the castle is Hogwarts; Potter scholars believe that it is based on the name of the Edinburgh Heriot's school, which the writer often had to walk past. But let's return to Hogwarts, where is it located in reality?
At first it’s hard to believe that magical scenes of the film were filmed among the walls of this gloomy seven-hundred-year-old castle. But that's how it is - Quidditch practice and broom-flying lessons with Madame Trick were filmed in the courtyard of this grandiose fortress.
The castle is residential, it is located in the county of Northubenland, not far from Newcastle. Despite its residential status, excursions are taken there. Moreover, after the release of the film, now everyone in Alnwick can try to control a broom =) True, an ordinary one, not at all magical.
Plus, this place has a rich history, a huge number of legends, and maybe even its own poltergeist. And be that as it may, it is definitely worthy of a visit.
So many scenes famous movie filmed among the interiors of the most prestigious and oldest educational institution in England - Oxford. True, the producers still had to make efforts to obtain permission to film in such a unique place.
More than one scene of the legendary saga was filmed within the walls of Oxford University. For example:
The place where the most solemn events in the lives of young wizards took place is the Great Hall of Hogwarts. It was filmed in Christ Church, a college dining hall.
The library scenes were filmed at the Bodleian Library, the oldest library in the world, home to unique medieval manuscripts.
Magic staircases that change their position are also Oxford.
In addition, many scenes were filmed in its classrooms, corridors and courtyard. This is not surprising - the unique Gothic architecture, in itself, looks magical, where else to shoot a film about wizards?
The ancient Norman Cathedral is also part of the real Hogwarts. Scenes with Moaning Myrtle, Nearly Headless Nick and other poltergeists, the Troll and others were filmed here.
You can wander the corridors of this cathedral endlessly, it is amazing. And although all the ghosts left there after filming, parishioners still believe that the souls of monks live in these dungeons.
By the way, there were some unpleasant events; many overly religious comrades were categorically against filming a film about magic in the table sacred place. However, the clergy, who considered that we live in a modern reasonable world, and that extra money wouldn’t hurt, I agreed. As a result, 24 stained glass windows from the 19th century were broken as a sign of protest, which caused significant damage to the monastery.
The famous Chamber of Secrets and the class of transfiguration professor Mac Gonagall are “hidden” in this place. In the courtyard of Durham Cathedral, Harry sent Hedwig on his first flight, and the scene in which Ron vomited slugs was filmed here.
In the vaults of this abbey, located in the county of Wilshire, the classes of potions professor Severus Snape and the defense teacher were filmed. dark forces Quirinus Quirrell.
Professor Flitwick's office was rented in this oldest English school for boys.
WITH Hogwarts castle We seem to have figured it out. The most important thing has been said, now you will know exactly where it is in reality. But Hogwarts also has an adjacent territory, and another place where young wizards were taught.
Harry and Co.'s friend Rubeus Hagrid lived in a very picturesque corner of Scotland, in the Glencoe Valley. For the filming of the film, a house for a forester and a teacher of the care of magical animals was specially built in this place.
On at the moment, there is no hut there, but there is plenty of breathtaking scenery!
And one of the most mysterious and dark places, full of Dementors, festals, spiders and other unfriendly creatures - the Forbidden Forest was filmed in Black Park in Buckinghamshire.
The name was not chosen in vain; in this place, even on the sunniest day it is not always sunny.