Harry Potter Portugal

To avid Harry Potter fans, Portugal is worth visiting.  J.K. Rowling moved to Portugal when her mother died.  She was going through a hard time and saw a listing for English teachers needed in Porto, Portugal.  Thus, she began teaching English in Portugal and lived with several other English teachers. It was there she met and married her husband and had a daughter.  However, the marriage only lasted a few months and she left Portugal the following year.  Although only having spent four years in Portugal, you can imagine this was where she lived during a period of devastation and many trials.  In her words, it was a dark time of her life.  She had felt as if she were a failure.  This was where she began to write Harry Potter.  Just within her first few weeks in Portugal, she wrote her favorite chapter in Philosopher’s Stone, “The Mirror of Erised.”  Portugal clearly had a big influence on her writing.

One of the most noticeable and often joked about influence is the capes worn on campus.  People always joke about how the students look like Harry Potter.  Little did I know that the Portuguese school uniform inspired Harry Potter capes!  One of the oldest universities in the world is in Coimbra, Portugal and was founded in 1290.  The students at this school have always traditionally worn a black suit and cape on special occasions.  This practice can now be seen at almost all university campuses in Portugal. 

Another Portuguese influence on J.K. Rowling was this bookstore I went to in Porto.  This bookstore is called Livraria Lello and is so full of tourists now that the owners don’t allow photos.  These pictures I had to take from outside of the store.  It is said that this bookstore inspired Hogwarts.  This is where she would spend her time drinking a cup of coffee and taking down notes as her marriage was falling apart.