Durmstrang Institute

The Durmstrang Institute is a wizarding school. It is located in the northernmost regions of either Sweden, Norway, or Russia, though it has taught students from as far afield as Bulgaria. Durmstrang was one of the three schools that competed in the Triwizard Tournament in the 1994–1995 school year. It is an old school, having existed since at least 1294. The students at the school wear fur cloaks, fur hats, and blood-red robes.

Durmstrang, like Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, is inside a castle. The castle is only four stories tall and fires are only lit for magical purposes. It has very extensive grounds. In addition, the school is Unplottable; Durmstrang, like other schools, likes to conceal its whereabouts so the other schools cannot steal their secrets. At the Yule Ball in 1994, Viktor Krum stated that Durmstrang also had a castle though it was not as big as Hogwarts and that he preferred Hogwarts. It is known, however, that Durmstrang is way up north (due to the quote of Albus Dumbledore and the making of their uniform). This could mean northern Scandinavia or northern Russia. Their arrival by ship implies that Durmstrang is somewhere at the seaside or by some river or major lake.

Durmstrang does not admit Muggle-borns. Therefore, it was ironic that Krum attended the Yule Ball with Hermione Granger, who is Muggle-born and would not have been admitted at his school.

Durmstrang is notorious for teaching the Dark Arts. Former Highmaster Igor Karkaroff was in the service of Lord Voldemort as a Death Eater, but managed to escape punishment in Azkaban by providing the Ministry of Magic with the names of his co-conspirators. Lucius Malfoy, another Death Eater, considered sending his son Draco to Durmstrang, but his mother did not like the idea of him going to school so far away.

Triwizard Tournament
In 1294 the Triwizard Tournament was established as a friendly competition between Durmstrang Institute, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. But in 1792 a Cockatrice went on a rampage and injured the Heads of all the schools. The Triwizard Tournament was ended until 1994.

Past
In about 1894, Gellert Grindelwald was accepted into Durmstrang Institute. Although the school was orientated towards the Dark Arts, Grindelwald's experiments in dark magic were considered too dangerous for the students. After a certain amount of time, even Durmstrang could no longer ignore Grindelwald's dangerous studies, and expelled him. Before he was expelled, he carved his mark on a wall of the school, which remains there even now. Some students copied it onto their books and backs to impress others, but were taught a lesson (presumably in the form of retribution) by those who lost families to Grindelwald.

Events surrounding the Triwizard Tournament in 1994
Durmstrang arrived at Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament by an enormous ship, where they also slept during their stay in Scotland. They chose the Slytherin table and ate there.

Bulgarian Quidditch Seeker, Viktor Krum, attended Durmstrang, and was still in school during the 1994 Quidditch World Cup. That same year, the school participated in the recommenced Triwizard Tournament. Karkaroff brought twelve students with him to Hogwarts to put their name into the Goblet of Fire. However, it was Krum who was chosen as the Durmstrang representive.

As Krum was a celebrity, he was constantly hounded by Draco Malfoy and other students, who wanted autographs and the prestige of being close with him. Krum mostly ignored these advances, but formed a close friendship with Hermione Granger, a Gryffindor student. They continued communication after the Tournament through pen-pal letters.

Karkaroff fled after Lord Voldemort rose again. It is not known who took over, or whether the school's reputation improved or worsened due to this.

Known students

 * Gellert Grindelwald
 * Viktor Krum
 * Poliakoff
 * Former Head (possibly)
 * Igor Karkaroff (possibly)
 * Igor Karkaroff's aide
 * Durmstrang girl

Etymology of name
"Durmstrang" may be a for Sturm und Drang, a borrowed German expression meaning "turmoil, ferment" deriving from the name of a highly emotion-driven German artistic movement of the early 1700s called Romanticism. "Sturm und Drang" literally translates as "storm and stress."

Behind the scenes

 * In the movie, it is implied that the for Durmstrang is a double-headed eagle, as that symbol was seen on the on the sails of the Durmstrang ship and on Viktor Krum's school clothing. This may be a clue to Durmstrang's location, because the flag of Albania (which is near Bulgaria) also depicts a double headed eagle, as do the coat of arms of Russia, Serbia, and the former . (Albania is not a likely location for the Institute, however, because its southern climate does not match needs implied by the Durmstrang uniform.)
 * Durmstrang's coat of arms also features Cyrillic characters, indicating that the school is in a Slavic country that uses the Cyrillic alphabet.
 * In the movie, Professor Dumbledore states that Hogwarts is to be joined by their "friends from the North", which puts Bulgaria into dispute somewhat. "The north" implies either Russia or Scandinavia, although most of Denmark, Sweden, and Finland are too flat and densely populated to hide the castle to which Krum refers. (Also, the most northern point in Denmark,, is east of Aberdeen, so they would more likely be referred to as "friends from the East".) Noteable is also the climate in northern Sweden in summer, as the temperature may rise to degrees in which a fur coat would be a very unnecessary addition in the schools uniform, unless the school is located in the Scandinavian Mountains.
 * It is also stated in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire that Krum plays for the Bulgarian National Quidditch team, implying that Durmstrang is in or near Bulgaria. On the other hand, Durmstrang may simply take students from all over Eastern Europe.
 * In the film, it appears that Durmstrang is an all-boy school, although this is not so in the book.
 * In the book, the hairstyle of the Durmstrang students was not described; in the film, all the Durmstrang students, who were all boys, had a buzzcut, except for Igor Karkaroff's aide.

Appearances

 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (film)
 * Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (video game)
 * Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
 * Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows

Notes and references
Durmstrang-Institut Durmstrang Дурмстранг