It's a magical place and one of the most intriguing parts of the series.

But how did it form, when did it form, who formed it?

I'm gonna answer all of these questions and explain to you the four founders of Hogwarts.

[4 Founders of Hogwarts Origins]

Hogwarts was founded in 990 AD by four people.

Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin.

The four were some of the most powerful and respected wizards of their time, and they were all good friends.

Godric Gryffindor was known for being the best duelist of his time.

Salazar Slytherin was known for being a "parselmouth," meaning he could speak to snakes.

Helga Hufflepuff was particularly gifted in food spells, and Rowena and Helga were the closest of the four.

The school they decided to create was in a castle somewhere in the Highlands of Scotland.

It's a popular historical theory that the location and name of the school were chosen by Rowena Ravenclaw, who dreamt that a warty hog was leading her to a cliff by a lake, where the school would later be located.

It's also thought that Ravenclaw came up with the ever changing floor plan.

The school had a huge property with sloping lawns, a huge lake, and a giant forest.

Both the lake and the forest filled with many different magical creatures.

The four put many charms on the castle to make it impossible for any muggle to see it.

And thanks to the charms, all that the muggles would see were ruins and several warning signs of danger.

They also made it so witches and wizards could not "apparate" or "disapparate," meaning magically appear or disappear somewhere in the Hogwarts' grounds.

The school was built in a time where magic was feared by the common people.

And witches and wizards suffered much persecution, which might have influenced all the protective charms that the four founders put on the school.

They created many subjects for the school.

Some of which included astronomy, charms, defense against the dark arts, herbology, history of magic, potions, transfiguration, muggle studies, care of magical creatures, and many many more.

Hufflepuff had a gift for food-related charms, and the recipes that she created are still used as the basis of recipes even at Harry's time at Hogwarts.

Hufflepuff was also the one who arranged for house elves to be the cooks for the school.

She thought it would be a good way to make sure that they weren't mistreated or abused, which in that time period house elves were especially mistreated.

The four founders decided to have four houses, and each one of the four houses was named after one of them and each wanted a certain selection of students for their own house.

Gryffindor wanted his students to be brave, daring, have nerve, courage, and chivalry.

The coat of arms that he chose was a lion, which definitely went along with the bravery trait that he was so keen on.

Hufflepuff wanted her students to be the most loyal, patient and honest.

But while the other houses had high standards, she took on the students they both master requirements along with those who didn't fit the others requirements.

So essentially she took the students that no one wanted.

This made the school a better place, because she brought people from different backgrounds together.

She chose a badger as her coat of arms.

Ravenclaw wanted her students to be the most intelligent, have the most wit, cleverness, creativity, and wisdom.

Coat of arms that she chose was an eagle.

And finally, Slytherin wanted his students to have the most ambition, be the most cunning, determined, resourceful and most of all, he wanted them to have good blood purity.

Meaning he preferred pure bloods, a child born from two wizards.

The coat of arms he chose was a snake to go along with his rare ability to speak to them.

Each house had their own common room.

Gryffindor's is on the seventh floor hidden behind a portrait of the Fat Lady.

To get in you give a password to the Fat Lady.

Hufflepuff's common room is near the kitchens, and to get in you have to tap a fake barrel in the rhythm of "Helga Hufflepuff."

Ravenclaw's common room was located on one of the highest towers of Hogwarts.

And to get in you must answer a riddle given to you by an eagle door knocker.

Slytherin's common room is located in the dungeons underneath the Black Lake, and is hidden behind a stone wall.

And to get in, you need a password just like Gryffindor.

After many years of the four founders choosing their students, they weren't sure how they were going to sort the students once they were gone.

To solve this, Gryffindor took off his hat and all four of them enchanted it to can sort students long after their deaths.

And they named it "Sorting Hat".

Everything went very well for the school in the early years, but eventually tension began to grow between the four founders.

This is because Slytherin despised taking students for muggle-born families, and said that he would not have them at their school.

He tried to persuade the others to only take students from pure-blood families.

The other founders didn't agree with this, especially Gryffindor, who was the most in favor of allowing muggle-born students in their school.

Slytherin and Gryffindor had a huge argument, and there may have even been a duel between the two along with the civil war between the houses.

Afterwards, Slytherin chose to leave the school, but he had a secret up his sleeve.

And that secret would ensure the others decision to allow muggle-born students in the school to backfire on them.

Slytherin built a secret chamber underneath the school, which was unknown to the other founders.

The entrance was located in the girls' bathroom.

And the chamber contained a basilisk, which is a type of snake that has one of the longest lifespans on earth.

A basilisk can kill just from looking someone in the eye.

Other than Slytherin himself, the only person that could awake the beast was his true heir.

And that heir would release the basilisk many years later, and purge the school of all muggle-borns.

Eventually in 1943, Tom Riddle or Lord Voldemort, Salazar Slytherin's true heir, would release the Beast and would kill a muggle-born girl named Myrtle.

Years later, Tom ensured that he would be able to open the chamber again.

"One day, I would be able to lead another to finish Salazar Slytherin's noble work."

It didn't kill anyone that time around though, but it did petrify several students and scared the entire school.

Something I think that Salazar Slytherin would have been proud of.

Each founder left behind a relic that they used during their life.

Godric Gryffindor's goblin-made sword was kept as his relic after his death.

"Godric Gryffindor."

"It would take a true Gryffindor to pull that out of the hat."

The relic was extra special because it had a bond to the Sorting Hat, which as I mentioned earlier, was also made by Godric Gryffindor.

Whenever a true Gryffindor needs the sword, it will present itself to that person through the Sorting Hat.

Hufflepuff left behind a small golden cup with a badger engraved on it, the same symbol as Hufflepuff's house.

Rowena Ravenclaw's relic was a diadem, that was said to have special powers which would enhance the wisdom of the wearer.

And finally Salazar Slytherin left behind a locket that was emblazoned with the letter S.

Later in Rowena Ravenclaw's life, she had a daughter named Helena, who Rowena taught her herself at Hogwarts.

Helena was jealous of her mother's famous intellect, so she stole the diadem from her, hoping to use its powers to enhance her wisdom.

Rowena was ashamed of her daughter's treason, and hid her betrayal from everyone, even the other three founders.

Helena fell in love with the Baron, and when her mother fell fatally ill, Rowena asked the Baron to go find her daughter so she could see her daughter one last time before she died.

And pretend like the whole betrayal never happened and have one last moment together.

Unfortunately, the Baron killed Helena in a fit of rage, when Helena refused to come with him.

And Rowena was never able to see her daughter again, and they were never able to put their feud behind them.

Some people think that Rowena's broken-heart over her daughter led to her early demise.

She was the first of the founders to die.

It's unknown how or when the rest of the founders died, but it is known that they left behind one of the greatest legacies in magical history.

Their school would help shape some of the most well-known and successful wizards and witches, ensuring a bright future for the Wizarding World and all it's time to come.