Facts About Hogwarts

Each of the four houses has a Quidditch team. These teams compete through the year in an inter-house Quidditch tournament, and the victor of the tournament wins the coveted Quidditch Cup.

When the students arrive on September 1st of their first year, they travel from the train station in Hogsmeade to Hogwarts castle by means of a fleet of small boats. They are brought into the Entrance Hall before being Sorted and joining their new housemates.

Hogwarts is hidden from Muggle eyes. The castle is bewitched so that if a Muggle looks at it, all they see is a moldering old ruin with a sign over the entrance saying DANGER, DO NOT ENTER, UNSAFE.

Hogwarts castle is located atop a cliff overlooking a lake. The lake is to the south of the castle and the front foors face generally to the west. There is a small underground inlet, it's entrance covered with hanging ivy, that leads to a stony beach below the castle at the base of the cliff. From here, a path leads up to the front door of the castle. A road runs around the lake to the village of Hogsmeade, where the railway station is located.

The main entrance gate is flanked by pillars on which stand statues of winged boars.

The school motto, which appears on the crest, is "Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus," which means "Never tickle a sleeping dragon."

The name "Hogwarts" is actually the name of a flower.

Hogwarts School Song
Hogwarts, Hogwarts, Hoggy Warty Hogwarts,
Teach us something, please,
Whether we be old and bald
Or young with scabby knees,
Our heads could do with filling
With some interesting stuff,
For now they're bare and full of air,
Dead flies and bits of fluff,
So teach us things worth knowing,
Bring back what we've forgot,
Just do your best, we'll do the rest,
And learn until our brains all rot.

There are a hundred and forty-two staircases at Hogwarts.