15 Things You Probably Don't Know About Diagon Alley

The original Ollivander's wand shop can trace its roots as far back as 382 BCE. The establishment's founder hailed from Rome and went by Ollivander, a surname that appears to mean "He who owns the olive wand." It is said that wands in Britain at this time were primitive, unwieldy, and poorly made as compared to the wands crafted in the Roman Republic. The original shop was little more than a stall that stood in the place where the store would one day be erected.

The business survived for hundreds of years within the Ollivander family, with famous ancestors like Geraint Ollivander, born sometime in the Middle Ages, who kept up the reputation for producing work of the highest quality. This enduring history gives the famous wand shop bragging rights as the oldest store in Diagon Alley.

In one of the biggest upsets in the Harry Potter series, Fred tragically loses his life during the Battle of Hogwarts, leaving the dynamic duo of the Weasley twins permanently shattered. While devastated, George eventually goes back to work at their joke shop and keeps their shared dream alive. Ron, too, initially goes on to become an Auror beside his best friend, Harry, but he finds that the job isn't his true calling.

After two years, Ron leaves the Aurors to join George at Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes. The brothers prove themselves to be a highly successful team, and together they lead the joke shop to new heights, becoming richer and more prosperous than they'd ever dared to dream.

The International Statute of Wizarding Secrecy spelled trouble for the Leaky Cauldron when it was enforced in 1692, just a few years after its introduction. This meant that all of Diagon Alley, including the beloved pub, would need to be veiled in a variety of cloaking spells. Along with these extra safety measures came the instability and loss of customers, threatening the existence of the Leaky Cauldron.

However, the very first Minister of Magic, Ulick Gamp, took action to preserve the historic inn and bar. He designated the Leaky Cauldron as the official entryway into Diagon Alley, ensuring it would remain a safe haven for wizardkind to relax and mingle. This also made sure it would receive its fair share of business as wizards made their way to Gringotts or the other important landmarks on Diagon Alley. It is thanks to Gamp that the gateway to the magical shopping street still remains in the back courtyard of the pub. In honor of his actions, a portrait of Minister Gamp is still hung at the Leaky Cauldron to this day.

In 1997, Voldemort's followers forcibly take over the Ministry of Magic, which effectively allows them to seize control over all of the wizarding world in Britain. While this means they also take charge over areas like Diagon Alley, the Weasley twins are not so easily bullied out of providing laughs to a network of freedom fighters in desperate need of some mirth. Even with their shop closed down and their family in hiding, Fred and George went back to their clandestine ways of selling their products in secret and delivering them by owl post.

Additionally, many of their products proved useful in resisting the Death Eaters, including the Peruvian darkness powder and hats that shielded the wearers from dark curses. They also defiantly made a mockery of the Dark Lord with their U-NO-POO product, a play on "you-know-who."

In addition to the infamous Knockturn Alley, there are also two other well-known streets in the area of Diagon Alley: Carkitt Market and Horizont Alley. The former is an outdoor shopping enclosure built of wrought iron and rendered in the Victorian style. In the center of the market is a small, stone Gothic building called Eternelle's Elixir of Refreshment that serves various beverages and potions. Other attractions of Carkitt Market include an apothecary, a clockmaker, a blacksmith, Dr. Filibuster's Fireworks, the Museum of Muggle Curiosities, the Hopping Pot pub, and Wands by Gregorovitch.

Horizont Alley intersects both Carkitt Market and Knockturn Alley and is a cross-street of Diagon Alley. There you will find a toy shop, a tobacconist, a lantern seller, a barber, and another pub known as the Fountain of Fair Fortune.

At the intersection of Rue Richer and Rue Girardon in Paris stands a bronze statue of a woman sitting atop a pedestal. This is actually the entrance to the French analog of Diagon Alley: Place Cachée. The street, whose name translates to "hidden place" in English, has all the same types of facilities that Diagon Alley boasts: a spellbook retailer, a robes seller, pet shop, Quidditch store, apothecary, and more.

Young French witches and wizards would buy their wands at Baguettes Magiques de Cosme Acajor instead of Ollivander's. France also has its own form of coinage, known as a bezant, and this implies the existence of a banking system present at Place Cachée that is unaffiliated with Gringotts. In 1927, the Circus Arcanus stopped by the neighboring Rue Richer, which seems to be a magical hotspot in the city of Paris.