Ever since the Harry Potter books came out, readers (and, later, viewers of the films) became obsessed with the wizarding world.
Fortunately, many aspects of Harry's wizarding world have been brought to life all over the globe in the form of theme parks and special experiences (like Airbnbs). But one of the most sought-after HP experiences is always the castle.
Sadly, the "real" Hogwarts Castle doesn't exist, but fans can visit one of the castles that were used during filming to at least recreate a bit of the magic.
In terms of where the actual castle is that may have inspired J. K. Rowling when she initially put pen to paper, there's one long-standing rumor that can finally be put to rest.
J. K. Rowling Spent Time Writing In Edinburgh (Which Has An Iconic Castle)
Jörg Angeli on Unsplash""> Over the years, J. K. Rowling has given fans tons of details about Harry Potter's universe, including expanding some of the lore behind the wizarding world. Something she doesn't seem to have spoken about often, however, is Hogwarts Castle. But in an old interview from 2012, she talked about where she did her writing and what inspiration she found all around her. Admitting that she's the kind of person who can "pretty much write anywhere," Rowling explained that she spent a lot of time writing in Edinburgh, Scotland while creating the Harry Potter series. Related: Rupert Grint Has Only Rewatched One Harry Potter Film To This Day, Here's Why She explained that though she didn't necessarily incorporate landmarks from Edinburgh into her books, the city inspired many small details. For example, Rowling was visiting a church in Edinburgh when she came across the name Lockhart, which later became the surname for the character of Gilderoy. Charming coffee shops aside, Rowling didn't take anything away from Edinburgh specifically regarding the setting of her series, despite fans' beliefs to the contrary. Almost the entire first book of Harry Potter was written in Edinburgh, in fact, but JK had the idea long before she ever set foot in Edinburgh. By 2020, it seemed that Rowling might have been becoming frustrated by having to repeat herself about where the inspiration for Harry Potter came from. Around that time, she replied to many tweets in which fans speculated about where her "inspiration" stemmed from while posting locations around the world. One fan tweeted at Rowling to ask if it's true that The Elephant House (a coffee shop in Edinburgh) was actually the "birthplace" of Harry Potter. Related: This Is What Fans Really Want Out Of The Harry Potter Franchise Rowling replied to explain that she had been writing the series for "several years" before she ever set foot in the cafe but joked that she would "let them off" for the rumor since she did write there. Another fan tweeted photos of a library in Oporto, Portugal, calling it "Harry Potter Library," to which Rowling replied "For instance, I never visited this bookshop in Oporto. Never even knew of its existence! It’s beautiful and I wish I *had* visited it, but it has nothing to do with Hogwarts!" Rowling good-naturedly covered a few more commonly asked questions and misconceptions about her inspiration for Harry Potter, even elaborating on where the true "birthplace" of the series was. If you define the birthplace of Harry Potter as the moment when I had the initial idea, then it was a Manchester-London train. But I'm perennially amused by the idea that Hogwarts was directly inspired by beautiful places I saw or visited, because it's so far from the truth. The Elephant House bookshop might not have seen Rowling's tweets, however, because their website still claims it's the "birthplace" of HP. However, since the buzz about Rowling's books' origins, the site seems to have amended its description; "Author J.K. Rowling had her first book published while she was writing in the back room overlooking Edinburgh Castle, making The Elephant House the 'birthplace' of the series of Harry Potter novels." No one (even J.K. herself) blames Edinburgh for its excitement over the connection to the Harry Potter franchise. So it's not surprising that the tourism site for Edinburgh suggested that Rowling based Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry on George Heriot's School in Edinburgh. While fans have largely speculated that Edinburgh Castle could have helped inspire the home of Hogwarts, Edingburgh.org suggests, "Even though the location of Hogwarts has never been officially determined, many people believe that J.K. Rowling based the magical school on George Heriot's School in Edinburgh's city centre. Built in 1628 with four towers and breath-taking gothic architecture, you can understand why many think it helped the author conjure up the idea of the famous school." Related: Here Are A Few Details From J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter Books That Were Left Out Of The Films They added, as an aside, "Hogwarts also mirrors George Heriot’s with its system of four houses and an on-going house competition each year." Per Rowling's comments, though, she didn't take inspiration from any specific place, and it's likely that, like Edinburgh, schools in other places have similar merit systems to Hogwarts (even if muggles from the United States are unfamiliar). Of course, with the new Hogwarts Legacy game, the imagery is even more realistic—and that likely took inspiration from real castles around the world. 
Unfortunately, Rowling Says She Wasn't Inspired By Real Places—Even Castles
J. K. Rowling Wasn't Inspired By Edinburgh Castle (Or George Heriot's School In Edinburgh)
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