Welcome to Harry Potter Theory. Today, we’ll be discussing the history of Gringotts Wizarding Bank, as well as the magical money that it uses to fuel the wizarding economy.
Gringotts was first founded in the late 15th century during the year of 1474 by a goblin who went by the name—you guessed it—Gringott. Little is known about the goblin Gringott and his formative years, or even how old he was when he founded the bank that would become the safest place for valuables in the wizarding world. What we do know is that he is featured on his own Chocolate Frog Card, alongside the likes of famous witches and wizards, such as Albus Dumbledore and Merlin. In a small way, this signifies the incredible accomplishment Gringott achieved by creating the first-ever bank for magical society.
The bank itself is located on the north side of the hidden locale, Diagon Alley, a street magically concealed from Muggles and only visited by those who are part of the wizarding world. Accessible via the wizarding pub, the Leaky Cauldron, which sits upon the Muggle road of Charing Cross Road, Gringotts is one of the most frequented magical establishments within Central London. This, of course, is due to the fact that Gringotts is the ONLY wizarding bank in Britain, meaning that any witch or wizard who wishes to keep their gold or other valuables safe inside a proper magical bank would need to travel to Britain and visit Gringotts to do so. Of course, this is rather unbelievable to us Muggles, who seem to have a bank on every other street corner, which is made clear by Harry’s reaction the first time Hagrid tells him of Gringotts’ existence…
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