Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry was founded over a thousand years ago by four of the greatest witches and wizards of the age: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. They established the four Hogwarts Houses in their names, each valuing different virtues in their students. For a time, the founders worked together in harmony, but a rift grew between Salazar Slytherin and the others. Slytherin believed that magical education should be restricted to those of pure-blood lineage and left the school after a bitter conflict. Before leaving, he secretly built the Chamber of Secrets within the castle, hoping his heir would one day use the Basilisk within to purge the school of Muggle-borns. The castle itself is an imposing magical structure with numerous towers and turrets. Its interior is famously complex and confusing, with staircases that lead to different places on different days and doors that only open when addressed politely or tickled in the right spot. The extensive grounds surrounding the castle include the vast Black Lake, the dense Forbidden Forest, numerous greenhouses for Herbology, a Quidditch Pitch, and the Owlery. The school's motto is Draco Dormiens Nunquam Titillandus, which is Latin for “Never Tickle a Sleeping Dragon.”
Hogwarts serves as the primary setting for the first six books of the series and is the site of the final climactic battle. For Harry Potter, the school is the first place he ever truly felt at home. It is where he forges his most important relationships, including his friendships with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, and develops his magical abilities under the tutelage of professors like Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall. Throughout the series, Hogwarts is central to Lord Voldemort's plans and the wizarding world's resistance against him.