DURMSTRANG

'Durmstrang Institute' is a fictional magic school in the ''Harry Potter'' series by J.K. Rowling. The school has existed for at least 700 years, when they began participating in the Triwizard Tournament.
The name points to a Germanic origin, a play on the phrase Sturm und Drang, an 18th century German artistic movement.

Contents

Uniform and curriculum

Notable characters

In the film

References

See also

Uniform and curriculum

In the ''Goblet of Fire'' book, Durmstrang students wear heavy furs with blood-red robes. In the film adaptation, Durmstrang dress includes designs that resemble Russian ushankas and tsigeika coats.
In the movie, a double-headed eagle is clearly visible on the sails of the Durmstrang ship and on Victor Krum's school clothing.
Durmstrang is known for placing an emphasis on the study of the Dark Arts. While other schools of magic in the series limit the study to ''Defence Against'' the Dark Arts, Durmstrang students actually learn them. It is not stated whether this is an actual school tradition, or a consequence of the former headmaster Igor Karkaroff being a Death Eater, serving the dark wizard Lord Voldemort.
In ''Goblet of Fire''^[1], Draco Malfoy hints that Durmstrang may only allow pure-blood students to attend, or may at least not admit Muggle-born witches and wizards. It is unknown whether he is telling the truth, and if he is, whether it is Karkaroff's policy, or a general policy of the school.

Notable characters

Throughout ''Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'', the headmaster of Durmstrang is Igor Karkaroff. Karkaroff is a former Death Eater who got out of Azkaban by giving the Ministry of Magic some names of his co-conspirators. At the end of ''Goblet of Fire'', Karkaroff flees when Lord Voldemort arises again. In the sixth book it is revealed that Karkaroff was killed by the Death Eaters and found in a shed.
In ''The Goblet of Fire'', Bulgarian World Cup Quidditch Seeker Viktor Krum is the school's champion in the 1994 Triwizard Tournament. Ironically, toward the middle of the book, Krum attends the Yule Ball with Hermione Granger, who is Muggle-born; this goes against the headmaster's ideology of "pure-blood" superiority.
In ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows'', it is revealed that the Dark wizard Gellert Grindelwald attended Durmstrang before being expelled for delving too deeply into the Dark Arts.

In the film

While JK Rowling mentions female Durmstrang students in her book, none appear in the film. As well, the film depicts the Durmstrang students with close-cropped hair, no such universal descriptor exists in the book. In point of fact, Krum is illustrated with long hair.

References

1.

See also

★ Minor Durmstrang characters

★ Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

★ Beauxbatons Academy of Magic

★ Sturm und Drang (to which the name ''Durmstrang'' alludes)