Where's Durmstrang?

[pengolodh_sc <pengolodh_sc@yahoo.no>]

No: HPFGUIDX 48441

--- In HPforGrownups, GulPlum wrote:
[snip]

Greetings,

An old subject surfacing again - I first posted on it in November 
2000, at post 5961.

[snip]

> After all, we know of Beauxbatons (presumably somewhere in
> France), 

[snip]

JKR said that Beauxbatons probably is located in Southern France at 
the same occasion where she stated that Durmstrang probably is 
located in Northern Scandinavia, at a bookreading in Glasgow sometime 
in late 2000 or early 2001.

> So my doubts remain: why does Krum travel 2,000 miles to go
> to school?

Well, those 2000 miles need not take as long to cross for Viktor Krum 
as they would for a muggle.  At any rate, it is possible that 
Durmstrang was not originally founded where it is presently located.  
The cultural hints that are given about Durmstrang would have fit 
very well with a location in Poland or the Baltic states, but the 
geographical and climate-related information does not fit this.  A 
possible explanation:

Durmstrang was originally founded somewhere in in present-day Poland 
or the South-Western portion of the Baltic states, by German wizards 
in a dedicated effort to bring what they considered the best magical 
education to those portions of Eastern Europe where magical education 
was primitive or non-existant (at least as far as they saw it).  The 
language of instruction at the school was German, though the students 
were East-European.  

Then, however, comes the expansion of the Teutonic Order, a German 
order of knight-monks which Christianised large areas in present-day 
Poland and Baltic states through what I've understood were some 
rather bloody crusades - they created a Teutonic State in that area 
too.  Under pressure from these crusades, Durmstrang - which yet 
hasn't been able to settle itself with good enough protective magic - 
is forced to move - sooner rather than later, to be able to move in 
an organised fashion rather than flee like headless chickens.The 
direction of movement, and the final destination is influenced 
through negotiations with other magical power-centra which are not 
willing to let Durmstrang settle too near them.

[snip]

> GulPlum AKA Richard, who's prepared to admit to being a bit
> surprised by the level of repetition in posts on this subject...

The wheel has indeed been invented many times on this list.