5 Most Loved Places & Structures In Harry Potter

Among the Hogwarts classrooms, dining hall, wizarding homes and ministry of magic, there's no dearth of awesome places and buildings to explore in the Harry Potter series. The magical places and buildings brought to life by author J K Rowling are the backbone of the Harry Potter wizarding world.

PropGuide takes a look at some of the most loved places and buildings from the Harry Potter series.

Hogwarts Castle

(Wikimedia)

Located in Scottish Highlands, Hogwarts is a large, seven-storey castle, with 140 staircases. Regarded as the finest wizarding school in the world, the magical castle is a structure built in the early middle ages by a wizard architect and four other celebrated wizards – Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytheirn. The castle is surrounded by mountains, with a large lake to the south of the main building adding a mediaeval and magical appeal. Hogwarts is also protected by numerous ancient spells that can only be overridden by the Headmaster.

To create the magic of the castle for the Harry Potter movies, the following buildings and structures around Britain were combined to create different parts of Hogwarts: 

• Alnwick Castle, Northumberland (Hogwarts exterior)
• Bodleian Library, Oxford (Hogwarts interiors)
• Christ Church, Oxford (Hogwarts interiors)
• Durham Cathedral (Hogwarts interiors)
• Gloucester Cathedral (Hogwarts corridors)
• Harrow School, (Professor Flitwick's classroom)
• Lacock Abbey, Wiltshire (Hogwarts interiors)
• New College, Oxford (Hogwarts cloisters)
• St Paul's Cathedral, London (Spiral staircase in Hogwarts) 

The Burrow

(Flickr/Rev Stan)

The Weasleys' home, better known as the Burrow, is located outside the village of Ottery St Catchpole. Despite its dilapidated condition, the seven-storey magical dwelling is the most loved by Harry. The well-hidden orchard near the house also serves as a Quidditch pitch for the Weasleys. The Burrow is held up with magic and is much cluttered inside, but very welcoming at the same time. The Burrow would become the Headquarters of the Order of the Phoenix in the later parts of the series. It has a small yard at the front of the house and a large, overgrown garden with a pond full of frogs behind the house. The garden is home to a large number of gnomes; the Weasleys have to regularly de-gnome the garden by throwing them over the hedge.

The Leaky Cauldron

(Wikimedia)

The Leaky Cauldron is a dark, shabby pub and inn for wizards, located on the Muggle street of Charing Cross Road in London, offering food, drinks and rooms for rent. It serves as a way of entering into Diagon Alley from the Muggle world. The rear of The Leaky Cauldron opens into a chilly little courtyard, where a particular brick must be tapped three times to open a path to Diagon Alley. Leadenhall Market in the City of London is used as Diagon Alley in the Harry Potter movies, which is a Victorian covered market with an ornate painted roof.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank

(Wikimedia)

Operated by goblins, Gringotts is the only known bank of the wizarding world. It is a snowy white building, near theintersection of Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley. The main floor is paved with marble and has long counters stretching along its length. Within, wizards and witches keep their money and other valuables in vaults protected by very complex and strong security. Scenes for Gringotts Wizarding Bank in the Harry Potter series were filmed in the grand interior of Australia House on Strand in central London.

Hogsmeade

(Wikimedia)

Located to the northwest of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Hogsmead is the only village in Britain that is solely inhabited by wizards and other magical beings. It is a picturesque, quaint little village of cottages and shops, with enchanted candles hanging on the trees during the holiday season. The village is known for its leaning medieval houses. Three Broomsticks Inn is a well-known pub located on high street in the village of Hogsmead, which is known for its delicious butter beer. One of the most famous places of this village is the Hogsmead station, where the Hogwarts Express stops.

Scenes involving Hogsmeade Station in the Harry Potter movies were shot at Goathland railway station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.