Gringotts Wizarding Bank

• Type: Bank
• Location: Diagon Alley, London, England
• Owner/Residents: Run by Goblins; notable employees have included Griphook, Bogrod, and Bill Weasley (as a Curse-Breaker).
• Key Features: Snow-white marble building, enchanted doors, goblin-led security, a complex underground railway system, high-security vaults guarded by dragons and powerful curses like the Thief's Downfall.

Gringotts Wizarding Bank is the sole banking institution for the wizarding world in Great Britain. Established and operated by goblins, it is considered one of the safest places in the magical world, second only to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The bank was founded by a goblin named Gringott. (Pottermore) The building itself is an imposing, snow-white marble structure that towers over the other shops in Diagon Alley. A set of burnished bronze doors stands at the entrance, attended by a goblin in a scarlet and gold uniform. Beyond these lies a second set of silver doors, upon which a warning to would-be thieves is engraved. The interior opens into a vast marble hall with a long counter where numerous goblins work, weighing coins and examining precious stones. Beneath the main hall lies a sprawling network of underground passages and vaults. Clients are transported to their vaults via enchanted carts that travel at high speeds along a twisting railway. The vaults vary in size and security. Lower-security vaults, such as Harry Potter's trust vault, require only a key for access. High-security vaults, like the one belonging to the Lestrange family, are located far deeper underground and are protected by powerful enchantments and magical creatures, such as dragons.

Gringotts is central to several key plot points throughout the series.

• In Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Rubeus Hagrid introduces Harry to Gringotts, where Harry accesses the fortune his parents left him in Vault 687. On the same visit, Hagrid retrieves the Philosopher's Stone from the high-security Vault 713 on Albus Dumbledore's orders. Later, Professor Quirrell breaks into Vault 713, but finds it empty, an event that signals Lord Voldemort's return to activity.
• In Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, security at the bank is significantly increased following Lord Voldemort's public return. Bill Weasley takes a desk job in London to be closer to the Order of the Phoenix.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Gringotts is the site of a major heist. Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger, with the reluctant help of the goblin Griphook, break into the Lestrange vault to steal one of Voldemort's Horcruxes—the Cup of Hufflepuff. They overcome formidable defenses, including the Thief's Downfall, the Gemino Curse, the Flagrante Curse, and a blind Ukrainian Ironbelly dragon. Their escape on the dragon's back marks the first-ever successful break-in and breakout from Gringotts, severely damaging its reputation for impenetrability.

• Main Hall: The primary public area where day-to-day banking transactions are conducted.
• Underground Railway System: A network of tracks and high-speed carts used to navigate the vast distance to the vaults.
• Vaults: Secure chambers for storing money and valuables. Notable vaults include:
  • Vault 713: A high-security vault that temporarily housed the Philosopher's Stone.
  • Vault 687: Harry Potter's trust vault.
  • The Weasley Vault: Contained a small number of Sickles and a single Galleon.
  • The Lestrange Vault: An ancient, high-security vault belonging to the Lestrange family. It held immense treasure and the Cup of Hufflepuff. It was guarded by a dragon.

• The films depict the cart ride to the vaults as a thrilling, roller-coaster-like experience, an embellishment of the description in the books. (film)
• The engraved warning on the silver doors reads: “Enter, stranger, but take heed / Of what awaits the sin of greed / For those who take, but do not earn, / Must pay most dearly in their turn. / So if you seek beneath our floors / A treasure that was never yours, / Thief, you have been warned, beware / Of finding more than treasure there.”
• The relationship between wizards and goblins regarding the bank is a source of historical tension. Griphook expresses the goblin belief that goblin-made objects, such as the Sword of Gryffindor, rightfully belong to the maker, not the purchaser, and should be returned after the purchaser's death.