Because the castle and its grounds are protected by many magical spells and charms, to the average Muggle, Hogwarts wouldn’t look like much. To those magically inclined though, this home to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is much more:
– As J.K. Rowling puts it, Hogwarts Castle would look like any other castle, a “huge, rambling, quite scary-looking castle, with a jumble of towers and battlements”.
– The castle was built by Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slytherin, the four greatest witches and wizards of their time.
– Located in Scotland, Hogwarts sits in a large forested area on top of a cliff that overlooks a lake.
– The lake stretches about a half a mile in diameter and contains many creatures, including a giant squid and merfolk.
– Statues of winged boars flank the main entrance gate.
– The main building is 7 stories tall.
– There are 142 staircases in Hogwarts that can lead to different places on any given day. The same goes for the maze of rooms inside.
– There are numerous towers, the tallest of which is the Astronomy Tower, where Astronomy classes are held.
– Each of the four houses, Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, has its own common room and dormitories. The Slytherin common room is in the dungeon, Hufflepuff’s is in the basement near the kitchens, Ravenclaw’s is in a tower on the west side and Gryffindor’s is in its own tower.
The very last HARRY POTTER film comes out July 15th, 2011!