In what fictional school do J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels mainly take place?

J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels mainly take place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

Hogwarts is a fictional boarding school for young witches and wizards in the United Kingdom. Harry begins attending at age eleven and remains there through most of the series. The school is divided into four houses—Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin—which compete for the annual House Cup.

The castle is protected by magic and contains classrooms, dormitories, the Great Hall, a library, and many secret passages. Its exact location is concealed from Muggles, the non-magical people in Rowling’s world. Students travel to the school by the Hogwarts Express, which leaves from London’s King’s Cross station.

Other wizarding schools appear in the wider series. Beauxbatons is associated with France, Durmstrang with northern Europe, and Ilvermorny with North America. They are not alternative names for Hogwarts, but separate institutions with their own traditions.