Gringotts Wizarding Bank

Gringotts Wizarding Bank
Location information
Location	Diagon Alley (North Side), Charing Cross Road, London, England, Great Britain
Permanent residents	Goblins A Ukrainian Ironbelly
Affiliation	British Ministry of Magic Consortium of Goblinary Finance & Red-Nosed Wizard Investors

"Never mess with goblins, Harry. Gringotts is the safest place in the world fer anything yeh want ter keep safe — 'cept maybe Hogwarts."

— Rubeus Hagrid's opinion of Gringotts

Gringotts Wizarding Bank was the only wizarding bank in Great Britain, and was owned and operated by goblins. It was founded by a goblin named Gringott in 1474. Its main offices were located around the North Side of Diagon Alley in London, England.

In addition to storing money and valuables for wizards and witches, one could go there to exchange Muggle money for wizarding money, which appeared to not be very difficult, as shown when Hermione Granger's parents did so while paying for her school supplies.

The currency exchanged by Muggles was later returned to circulation in the Muggle world by goblins. According to Rubeus Hagrid, other than Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Gringotts was the safest place in the wizarding world.

The motto of Gringotts Wizarding Bank was Fortius Quo Fidelius, a Latin phrase that meant "Strength through loyalty".

The bank also had its own bureau de change, issued cheques and bank notes, had a specific form for client bank transactions, and its own mail system.

Location

Gringotts Wizarding Bank was located on the north side of Diagon Alley. It was the side closest to the Leaky Cauldron and, thus, closest to Charing Cross Road and Muggle London. The bank was located near Potage's Cauldron Shop, Flourish and Blotts, and Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour.

History

The bank was created by the goblin Gringott in 1474. The creation of Gringotts was considered to be linked to the 14th Century Wizarding Economic Bubble, which happened the century before. It was established not long after the Soap Blizzard of 1378, a volatile event which burst the economic bubble.

The bank was put in the hands of the Ministry of Magic shortly thereafter, being under some degree of wizarding management already by the 1500s when Tertius applied for the job of Curse-Breaker to two wizards who were discussing job vacancies at the door to Gringotts. In 1865, the Ministry decided to put full control of Gringotts back in goblin hands.

Shortly after it opened, Percival Rackham and Charles Rookwood commissioned vault twelve which they protected with ancient magic. They left behind a path, including a key which served as a Portkey, which only those with the ability to detect ancient magic could follow. It was not opened for hundreds of years. In 1890, the key was given to Eleazar Fig and his student which led to unidentified ruins where the student unlocked a private entrance to Gringotts. The goblin on the front desk was surprised and took them to vault twelve with instructions to lock them inside it. Through exploration, the student found a Pensieve inside it.

Ranrok discovered they had opened the vault and entered it. He killed the goblin which let them in and demanded answers from Eleazar and the student. They engaged in a duel which destroyed the Pensieve and transformed it into a giant knight which protected them. In the process, Eleazar and the student escaped the vault and Gringotts.

On 29 November 1926, Gringotts was put on lockdown with protective enchantments cast.

During Voldemort's control of the Ministry (1997 to 1998), the bank was put yet again under the Ministry, which placed their own people in charge of the security at the institution.

Break-ins

1890 break-in

Skirmish in Vault 12

On 1 September 1890, Eleazar Fig and his student entered the mysterious Vault 12 at Gringotts, where they passed a trial set by the Keepers, and gained access to the memories of Percival Rackham. As they came to terms with the power of ancient magic, Ranrok was assisted into Gringotts by a Gringotts guard loyal to him. Ranrok, his supporter and Belgruff, another supporter of his, aimed to find the truth behind ancient magic to weaponise it for themselves (a key cause behind Ranrok's goblin rebellion). Ranrok murdered a goblin banker who protested his entry, but both were then fought off by a Pensieve Guardian.

1990–1991 break-in

Hogwarts students investigating the break-in

During the 1990–1991 school year, a Dark wizard wearing a cap attempted to break into the vault of Sir Elric Parpidum. Alastor Moody sent seventh-year students Merula Snyde, Jacob's sibling and Nymphadora Tonks to investigate the crime scene and take witness statements from those present, as part of their Auror work experience. Griphook refused to diverge what was in the vault, citing client confidentiality. The thief was revealed to Eustace Burke, a former Healer at St Mungo's and an agent of 'R', who wished to steal Chinese Fireball claws from there for a special potion for 'R', with Jacob's sibling reporting back the news back to Gringotts once he had been apprehended.

1991 break-in

"Investigations continue into the break-in at Gringotts on 31 July, widely believed to be the work of Dark wizards or witches unknown. Gringotts goblins today insisted that nothing had been taken. The vault that was searched had in fact been emptied the same day. "But we're not telling you what was in there, so keep your noses out if you know what's good for you," said a Gringotts spokes goblin this afternoon."

— Daily Prophet article

The break-in of 1991 was committed by Quirinus Quirrell, who was attempting to steal an object from Vault 713. The vault, one of the higher-security ones, held a small grubby bag, inside of which was the Philosopher's Stone. Albus Dumbledore sent Rubeus Hagrid to retrieve it while the latter was escorting Harry Potter to Diagon Alley in order to buy his school supplies.

Later that very same day after Hagrid and Harry left the Alley, someone, apparently a very powerful wizard, broke into the vault. Although he was unsuccessful in obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, the break-in shocked the wizarding world because it was practically unheard of for Gringotts to be robbed. The culprit was not caught, though it was later learned Quirinus Quirrell broke into the vault acting under orders from Lord Voldemort.

1998 break-in

"The vault we need to get into isn't empty, and I'm guessing its protection will be pretty powerful. It belongs to the Lestranges."

— Discussion of breaking into Gringotts

The break-in of 1998 was committed by Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, and Ron Weasley. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were aided by a reluctant Griphook in exchange for Godric Gryffindor's sword. They broke into the vault of Bellatrix Lestrange, where one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes (Helga Hufflepuff's cup) was hidden. They came to the conclusion that a break-in was necessary after Harry deduced the location of the Horcrux after the Skirmish at Malfoy Manor.

At the doors of the bank, two human guards had Probity Probes — devices that detected concealment charms. Harry quickly used a Confundus Charm on the two guards and Hermione passed by them unchecked. Once inside the bank they were in danger of being found out and Harry had to use the Imperius Curse on a goblin and a Death Eater named Travers in order for them to continue onward.

The Gringotts Dragon

However, when they went into Bellatrix's vault, which was stocked with all manners of treasure, they found out that the treasure had the Gemino and Flagrante charms placed on it, which meant that thieves would be burned by the objects, which also duplicated until the thief was crushed under the burning weight of the fake treasure. The Trio still managed to escape with the Horcrux by fleeing on a half-blind dragon that was part of the security for the vault, leaving parts of the bank in ruins. Upon learning of this, Voldemort slaughtered a large number of bank guards and clerks, including Griphook, effectively venting out his rage and eliminating witnesses.

After the Battle of Hogwarts

Following the defeat of Lord Voldemort at the Battle of Hogwarts and Kingsley Shacklebolt becoming acting Minister for Magic, the bank was presumably put back into Goblin management.

After their recent security breach and the escape of one of their dragons, however, Gringotts was quick to recondition their security measures. By 31 July the same year, they had replaced the dragons and security trolls that had previously guarded its high security vaults with Sphinxes.

The goblins did not notify their clients about the changes to the security measures, however, as one of them, Mallory Twiddle, would later send in a letter to the Daily Prophet complaining about how he had been surprised by the change and ultimately unable to access his vault because of the difficult riddles asked by the Sphinx guarding it and wished they went back to the old arrangement.

By 8 February 1999, Gringotts had gone back to using dragons, as the bank announced that there was now an opening as Dragon Feeder at Gringotts through an advertisement in the Daily Prophet on said date.

During the Calamity that affected the wizarding world in the late 2010s and early 2020s, Gringotts, hoping to avert the potential economic disaster that the Calamity could cause, negotiated with a Calamity Investigator sent by the Statute of Secrecy Task Force on behalf of the wizarding community. As a result of these negotiations, Gringotts pledged to provide an unlimited line of credit to needy wizards during the Calamity, at a competitive rate of interest.

Description

"They had reached a snowy white building that towered over the other little shops."

— Physical appearance of the bank

The façade of Gringotts as seen from Diagon Alley

Gringotts was an imposing snow-white multistoried marble building located partway down Diagon Alley, near its intersection with Knockturn Alley, that towered over the neighbouring shops. It was the place where British witches and wizards stored their money and other valuables, in heavily-guarded vaults miles below ground.

When Harry Potter first visited Gringotts, he was told by Hagrid that one would have to be mad to try to rob Gringotts and that, apart from Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it was the safest place for anything valuable to be kept. Goblins were extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which made them ideal guardians for the valuables of the wizarding world. The goblins had a code that forbade them to speak of the bank's secrets, and would consider it "base treachery" to break any part of that code.

The centuries-old bank was run by goblins, and they alone knew the secrets of the twisting underground passages and the enchantments and creatures in place to defend against intruders. There was a rumour that Cornelius Fudge was trying to take over Gringotts when he was Minister for Magic; however, as it was published in The Quibbler, it was likely unsubstantiated.

Entrance and main hall

From Diagon Alley, a set of white stairs led up to a set of burnished bronze doors. The doors were flanked by a goblin in a uniform of scarlet and gold, though during the Second Wizarding War the goblin was replaced instead by two wizard guards with Probity Probes. This was the entrance to Gringotts, and it led into a small entrance hall and another set of doors. Engraved on these silver doors were the words:

Inside Gringotts Bank

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.

Through these doors, also flanked with goblins, was a vast marble hall long counters stretching along its length with doors leading off to the vault passageways with around a hundred goblins sitting at them. The vaults extended for miles under the city and were accessible through rough stone, complex and interconnected passageways by means of magic carts that were operated by goblins. Dragons and other mysterious beasts lurked in the depths as additional security devices.

Private entrances to Gringotts could be arranged. They they were very uncommon. Those who had great wealth and/or power were the only ones capable of arranging it.

Gringotts vaults

"The vaults were reached by means of small, goblin-driven carts that sped along miniature train tracks through the bank's underground tunnels."

— Description of the Gringotts carts

Vault 687 belongs to the Potter family

In contrast to the grand marble of the entryway and the main hall, the passageways to the vaults were stone and dimly lit with flaming torches. They sloped down to a track, upon which ran little carts controlled by the goblins. These carts took visitors deep beneath the surface of the earth, through a "maze of twisting passages" to the vaults. The carts went very quickly, which made Hagrid a little queasy and prevented its occupants from getting a good look at their surroundings, and seemed to run on a vast, complex, interconnected series of tracks that allowed them to move to and between any vaults.

The vaults themselves varied in size and security. The largest, most well protected vaults belonged to the oldest and richest wizarding families and lay deepest beneath the surface. Those vaults closer to the surface seemed to be smaller and had fewer security precautions surrounding them — they used keys, for example, rather than requiring the touch of a goblin to gain access. The rules around who was allowed to access vaults seemed to change; sometimes wizards were asked for identification or a key to be allowed access, yet both Molly Weasley and Bill Weasley were able to get gold from Harry's vault for him.

Vault 713

It is possible there was a charm forcing the wizard to give the gold to its rightful owner. However, even this wouldn't explain how Sirius Black was able to order a Firebolt in Harry's name, but take the gold from his own vault — despite being an escaped convict at the time. It also seemed that only blood relations could inherit a Gringotts vault; Albus Dumbledore implied strongly that when Sirius died as the last of the Black family line, his vault was cleaned out and its contents added to Harry's, rather than Harry inheriting the vault as well, though this could be excused as due to Harry already having a vault the bankers would not see fit to grant him an additional one.

It seemed that any vault belonging to a criminal would remain guarded and untouched, as when all the Lestrange family were sentenced to Azkaban for life, their vault was not evicted, leaving it a safe-place for Voldemort's horcrux, though it is possible that they had non-criminal relatives who could be in possession of the vault during their incarceration, but as Sirius Black was the last Black by name for at least some of his sentence and his vault remained without anything being confiscated, it would seem that Gringotts operated outside of wizard law, at the very least in rights of ownership towards their vaults and what was kept inside.

There are several vaults that were known specifically:

Vault	Owner	Description	Notes
Vault 1	Unknown	Contained loads of Knuts.	People had to use the Mine Cart to come around in every corner of it. This vault also contained lots of rubies, emeralds, sapphires, yellow gems and diamonds.
Vault 2		Contained loads of Sickles.
Vault 3		Contained loads of Galleons.
Vault 12	Percival Rackham and Charles Rookwood	Opened with a key. It was protected with ancient magic and contained a Pensieve.	Percival and Charles opened it in Tudor times and left behind a path for those that could detect ancient magic.
Vault 619	Edwin Avarus	The vault required a key for entry, though the overall security for the vault's location was questionable, as a goblin might still take one to the vault without proof of actually possessing the said key.	Simeon Woderuff, at one point, was forced to train a Griffin, Tiffin, to guard the content.
Vault 687	Potter family	The vault required a key for entry, and was at a moderate depth — further down than the Weasley Vault but not as far as Vault 713.	Harry Potter first ventured to Gringotts in 1991, when he learned that his late parents had left him a great deal of money in a vault.
Vault 688	Unknown	It faced Vault 687.
Vault 711	Sirius Black (possibly the Black family in general)	In 1996, it contained a "reasonable amount of gold". Given its depth, it was likely a high-security vault.	Sirius used gold from this vault to pay for Harry Potter's Firebolt in 1993. Upon Sirius's death, he left all the money in the vault to Harry in his will.
Vault 712	Instead of being used as a regular vault, it was used by the goblins as a (presumably unsanctioned) lounge, suggesting it was unused.
Vault 713	Possibly the Flamel family	A higher-security vault that used to hold a small grubby bag, inside of which was the Philosopher's Stone. It is reasonable to assume that the vault, like the stone housed within it, belonged to Nicholas Flamel and his wife.	Rubeus Hagrid was charged with moving the Philosopher's Stone from Gringotts to Hogwarts in 1991 while he took Harry Potter to Diagon Alley. Later that very same day, someone, apparently a very powerful wizard, broke into the vault. Although the culprit was unsuccessful in obtaining the stone, the break-in shocked the Wizarding world because it was practically unheard of for Gringotts to be robbed, and the robbery was reported in the Daily Prophet.
Vault 998	Quirinus Quirrell (prior to his death)	Located in the new vault area. A key was needed to gain entry.
Lestrange Vault	Lestrange family	The security of this vault was even higher than that of Vault 713, as a goblin had to place his entire palm on the door to open it rather than just a finger, and it was guarded by a dragon. Each item in the vault was enchanted with the Gemino and Flagrante.	It, at one point, stored the sword of Godric Gryffindor, unknown to the Lestranges that it was actually a fake. It also served as the hiding place for Helga Hufflepuff's Cup, one of Lord Voldemort's Horcruxes. It was this item that Harry, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger sought to steal when they broke into Gringotts in 1998. They managed to steal the cup, severely damaged the cavernous interior, and freed a dragon while escaping.
Spellbook vault	Unknown	Sealed by a special key consisting of five gemstones and guarded by a giant Fire crab known as the Vaults Guardian.	Contained a spellbook.
Travers's Vault	Travers	Required a key.	When Ron, Harry, and Hermione (disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange) broke into Gringotts, they ran into the Death Eater named Travers, who was holding his key to his vault, also heading toward the bank.
Weasley Vault	Weasley family	Closer to the surface than Vault 687 and had fewer security measures.	When the Weasleys entered it in the summer of 1992, the vault contained only a small pile of Sickles and a single Galleon, all of which Molly Weasley took out.
Pickering Vault	Pickering family	Probably located near the high-security Lestrange Vault.	Destroyed by dragon detritus during the 1998 break-in; later moved to a different location.

Security

"I got it out of your vault for you, Harry, because it's taking about five hours for the public to get to their gold at the moment, the goblins have tightened security so much. Two days ago, Arkie Philpott had a Probity Probe stuck up his ... Well, trust me, this way's easier."

— Gringott's heightened security during the Second Wizarding War

The Gringotts dragon that protects the high-security vaults

Gringotts used a variety of security systems. Most lower security vaults, such as Harry Potter's, required a key; higher security vaults required the touch of a certified Gringotts goblin. Higher security vaults might have various enchantments upon the doors. For example, the door to Vault 713 needed to be stroked by a certified Gringotts goblin, which caused it to melt away. If anyone but a Gringotts goblin touched the door, the person would be sucked into the vault, which was checked for trapped thieves about once per decade. This, and the fact that visitors must travel in the mine carts to access the vaults, strongly suggests that there were Anti-Apparition Charms around the bank.

Gringotts guards act as extra security

At various points, the bank had used Dragons, security trolls, and Sphinxes to guard the highest security vaults, such as the vault of the Lestrange Family. Though affiliated with Gringotts, the dragons kept there were not actually "tamed" in the traditional way, in the sense that they were merely used to discourage intruders and unauthorised persons from approaching the vaults to which these beasts were stationed at. They were "conditioned" in an inhumane way that compelled them to retreat whenever they heard the sound produced by Clankers, which only the goblins possessed.

The bank's use of the Gemino Curse as a security measure

The usage of Sphinxes was troublesome for some clients when they wished to make a withdrawal but were unable to answer the riddles that the Sphinxes gave as security questions. Another security measure was the Thief's Downfall: a charmed waterfall that the goblin carts must pass through, it cancelled all enchantments and magical concealments and threw the carts off their tracks. Some vaults used the Gemino and Flagrante curses; when any item was touched by a thief, it multiplied rapidly and burned them, eventually crushing and scorching them to death. Objects within Gringotts couldn't be summoned. At times, Probity Probes were used on clients to detect enchantments, magical concealments, and hidden magical objects.

On his first visit to Gringotts, Harry was told by Hagrid to be cautious. Goblins were extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which made them ideal guardians for the valuables of the wizarding world. This became one of the primary reasons that Voldemort chose to hide one of his precious horcruxes in the deeper vaults of the bank, and he was explosively furious when it failed his expectations. Ironically, Harry later did rob Gringotts with Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, the only known successful theft in the history of the bank, by taking advantage of a former employee's knowledge of the inner workings of the bank. It is unknown if Harry was able to resume normal business with the bank following Voldemort's defeat.

During the Second Wizarding War, security of the bank was further enforced, as it was taking normal clients around five hours to make withdraws. Probity Probes were a known security measure used during this time, which could be stuck up a certain part of their bodies. Only employees of the bank would be able to get money out of a vault for a client much faster, as Bill Weasley did for Harry Potter.

Employment

"Are you seeking a challenging career involving travel, adventure, and substantial, danger-related treasure bonuses? Then consider a position with Gringotts Wizarding Bank, who are currently recruiting Curse-Breakers for thrilling opportunities abroad"

— Pamphlet on Gringotts jobs given to Hogwarts students

Goblins working

While Gringotts was largely staffed by goblins, including Griphook, Bogrod, and Ragnok, it is known that the bank did employ humans: Gringotts actively advertised career employment to Hogwarts students at least for Curse-Breakers, and might likely also do so to other wizarding schools elsewhere. Bill Weasley worked as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts in Egypt, retrieving artefacts from ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids after his graduation from Hogwarts.

When Bill wanted to do work for the Order of the Phoenix, he transferred to a desk job in England to be near home. That same year, Fleur Delacour took a job at Gringotts as well after participating in the Triwizard Tournament, to improve her English, though she only worked part-time. They also employed Dragon Feeders, a job with a high mortality rate, at an equally high salary of 7 Galleons per week.

At least during Harry Potter's break-in of the bank, there seemed to be a full-time security force that was comprised of wizard guards, who rushed to the scene when the Lestrange vault was broken into. Despite this, Griphook mentioned at that time that the goblins resented "wand-bearer" interference in their internal affairs.

Goblins

Gringott - founder of the bank Ragnok Griphook Ricbert Bogrod Gornuk Nagnok Blordak Snaglok Burgock Odbert Bodrag III Garnuff's family

Gringotts Head Goblin Unidentified goblin stockbroker Unidentified Gringotts spokesgoblin Tall goblin Clever goblin Magic goblin Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (I) Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (II) Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (III) Unidentified goblin at Gringotts in 1998 (IV) Unidentified goblin killed by Voldemort Goblin Banker Numerous unnamed goblins

Guards

• Gringotts Guard
• Unidentified Gringotts Bank goblin guard
• Marius
• Teffington
• Unidentified Gringotts guard (I)

Humans

• Tertius - Worked as a Curse-Breaker during the 16th century.
• Grilco Wuthering - former Head Curse-Breaker prior to 1890.
• Photine - worked as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts prior to her death sometime before 1890.
• Thana - worked as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts prior to her betrayal sometime before 1890.
• Patricia Rakepick - former Head Curse-Breaker before she became the professor of Defence Against the Dark Arts during the 1988–1989 school year.
• Bill Weasley - worked as a Curse-Breaker for Gringotts in Egypt, retrieving artefacts from ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids, later took a desk job in 1995 to work with the Order of the Phoenix.
• Fleur Delacour - took a part-time job with Gringotts after participating in the Triwizard Tournament, supposedly to improve her English.
• Unidentified Gringotts Curse-Breaker (1980s)
• Unidentified Gringotts Curse-Breaker - secret member of The Unforgivable.

Competition

The Gringotts seal

Gringotts had no known competition in the wizarding banking industry, and was almost surely a monopoly in Britain. Rubeus Hagrid said it was the only wizard bank, but it isn't clear if he meant in Britain, or in the wizarding world as a whole. It is known, however, that the bank at least had dealings in Egypt, where Bill Weasley worked as a Curse-Breaker as of 1993.

Given that the bank was the only wizarding bank in Great Britain, it stands to reason that the goblins would have a tremendous amount of power over the wizarding economy, as goblins were also the force behind minting the British Wizarding currency, Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts. If they were active around the world, this might be true for other nations as well.

It is likely therefore, as goblins tended to be at odds with wizards on political and social levels, that the Ministry of Magic had laws set in place to stop Gringotts intentionally regulating the wizarding economy, likely through the Goblin Liaison Office.

Etymology

Gringotts may be derived from the word "ingots", which means a mass of metal cast in a convenient form for shaping, remelting, or refining. Also "Gringo" is an informal slang used by Spanish and Portuguese speaking countries to describe merchants of foreign nationalities, or really anyone who is foreign and (apparently) rich, a fitting term if one considers it refers to a bank run by the Goblins.

Behind the scenes

A Ukrainian Ironbelly atop Gringotts Wizarding Bank at The Wizarding World of Harry Potter

• In the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, the interior of the Australia House in London was used for the Gringotts grand entrance hall. For the second part of the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, a set was built at Leavesden as the scenes involving the dragon would have been impossible to film on location. The set was based on, but not an exact replica, of the Australia House interior (differences include the pattern of the marble floor, the design of the chandeliers, and the studio set has windows).
• The marble tile on the floor was created using a centuries-old process employed in making covers and for hand-printed books. Different-coloured oil paints are poured onto the surface of a large tray filled with water. The paint floats and is swirled around with a stick. When paper sheets are places on the surface, they pick up the swirls of oil paint. Lifted and turned over, they look exactly like veined marble. The illusion is made complete with brushwork that adds further layer of textural detail to produce a convincing replica of a marble floor. This process was also used to create the marble floor of the courtroom at the headquarters of the Ministry of Magic.
• In Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, the escape on the dragon clearly shows Whitehall across the Thames, placing Gringotts and therefore Diagon Alley itself around Southwark.
• According to the film adaptations of the series, Harry Potter's vault is number 687.
• In a recent humorous Pottermore feature about the the film adaptation of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Gringotts is referred to as "Where the cleaners have been on holiday since 1894."
• Death Eater Travers must have a vault in Gringotts, as he was holding a key while entering the bank when he encountered Hermione Granger disguised as Bellatrix Lestrange before she, Harry, and Ron robbed the bank.
• Gringotts appears to serve the wizarding world in the same way the US Federal Reserve stabilises the economy in the United States (as similar institutions exist in other economically stable countries). It independently maintains the balance of the British wizarding economy, disallowing individual wizards, witches or groups to manipulate national financial matters for personal gain. This would also explain part of the goblins' resistance toward wizarding domination over the operation of Gringotts during the Second Wizarding War, that such interference by the Death Eater-controlled Ministry of Magic threatened the very economic stability of the wizarding community they were charged with protecting. Evidence that this may be the case appears in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, where Bogrod is seen examining leprechaun gold in disgust. Not only is such gold worthless, to allow it to continue to circulate would generate inflation, which in uncontrolled amounts can be dangerous. Fortunately, leprechaun gold disappears fairly quickly, minimising the problem.
• According to W.O.M.B.A.T tests, Gringotts may be the oldest building in Diagon Alley and the other shops grew up around it.
• If you look closely on the 422nd Quidditch World Cup Programme, you will see that Gringotts sponsors the 422nd Quidditch World Cup.
• The poem that reads at the entrance of Gringotts may have been inspired by the poem at the entrance of Hell in Dante's The Divine Comedy.
• According to an article in The Quibbler, then-Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge wished to conquer Gringotts, and had goblins killed in ludicrous ways such as drowning them, dropping them off buildings, poisoning them, and cooking them in pies, earning him the epithet "Goblin-Crusher." However, as The Quibbler is a tabloid magazine, this theory is debatable and most likely untrue.
• Harry believed that a primary reason Voldemort chose the bank (specifically the Lestrange vault) to hide one of his horcruxes is because as a child, Voldemort would envy the wizarding families who possess a vault in this prestigious bank when he, an orphan whose magical maternal family has been reduced to poverty (and therefore would not have a vault for him to inherit), did not, something he would see as a sign of belonging to the wizarding world. He also believed that the bank's famous security would be sufficient to protect the container of his soul fragment, and was beyond furious when he found out the goblins failed to guard the cup.
• Organised by Bloomsbury Publishing for the 2021 Harry Potter Book Night, when the cast of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child read aloud Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, Chapter 5 (Diagon Alley) together, Kristina Peters, the actress portraying Delphini in the Hamburg production of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, read the warning sign ("Enter, stranger, but take heed [...]") from Gringotts Wizarding Bank.

Appearances

• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (First appearance)
• Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (video game) (Mentioned on Daily Prophet Game Menu)
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (film)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (video game) (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (video game)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (play) (Mentioned only)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (film) (Mentioned in a newspaper)
• Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (Mentioned only)
• Pottermore
• Harry Potter (website)
• Harry Potter Trading Card Game
• The Wizarding World of Harry Potter - Diagon Alley
• Harry Potter: The Character Vault (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: The Creature Vault
• Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Building the Magical World
• LEGO Harry Potter
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4
• LEGO Harry Potter: Years 5-7
• LEGO Dimensions
• Harry Potter for Kinect
• Fantastic Beasts: Cases from the Wizarding World
• Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery
• Harry Potter: Wizards Unite (Mentioned only)
• Harry Potter: Magic Awakened
• Hogwarts Legacy
• The Art of Harry Potter: Mini Book of Graphic Design