JK Rowling once lived in the Portuguese city Porto. Did the city help inspire some of the places in her famous books?
ADVERTISEMENTFew people know that JK Rowling, the author of Harry Potter, once lived in the Portuguese city of Porto..
Bruno Correia, a young Harry Potter enthusiast, believes she used many places in the city for inspiration when writing the magical saga.
He has created a Harry Potter tour of the city.
Majestic Cafe, some #HarryPotter history in #Porto#Portugalpic.twitter.com/ztU64zdEH3
— Yvonne Morris (@yemorris1418) March 20, 2017
He told Euronews: “In my opinion, this bookstore inspired some of Hogwarts castle, namely the library, where part of the Harry Potter adventures were spent, as well as Dumbledore’s office, whose decor is neo-Gothic – quite similar to the cabinets we can see here In the bookstore.
“These stairways are unique, they are the first reinforced concrete constructions in the city of Porto and have very few supports, very few pillars.
“This gives the idea of being in a maze. I think these staircases may have inspired those in the Hogwarts castle.”
Lovely to finally go to
LivrariaLello</a> today. Truly beautiful <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/feelsmagical?src=hash">#feelsmagical</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Porto?src=hash">#Porto</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Portugal?src=hash">#Portugal</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/oldestbookshop?src=hash">#oldestbookshop</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/actor?src=hash">#actor</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tour?src=hash">#tour</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/harrypotter?src=hash">#harrypotter</a> <a href="https://t.co/fDQrMrU6Jp">pic.twitter.com/fDQrMrU6Jp</a></p>— Grace Heap (HeapGrace) March 19, 2017
The similarities between the Porto University uniform and the Hogwarts school uniform are also clear.
“The uniforms are very similar. Namely they are quite long, to the feet,” he said.
“Tourists, as they visit the city and see the students, say “there’s a group of Harry Potters.”
Love this book shop in porto it’s so Harry Potter. #travel#travelphotography#books#harrypotter#relaxed#photographeronholidaypic.twitter.com/xHaCceAmmq
— Tom Jeavons (@jeavonsphoto) March 8, 2017