Home › Harry Potter in Norway

Was Harry Potter filmed in Norway?

Partly yes, and not here. Snowy train footage for Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009) was shot at Bjorli on the Rauma Railway in Innlandet, and the Hogwarts Express was composited onto that Norwegian background. Nothing in the series was filmed at Preikestolen.
FilmHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)
LocationBjorli, on the Rauma Railway
RegionInnlandet, not Rogaland
What was shotSnowy railway background plates
The trainComposited onto the Norwegian footage
Filmed at PreikestolenNothing

What actually happened at Bjorli

The production wanted winter railway landscape, and the Rauma Railway runs through a lot of it. Background plates were shot around Bjorli and the Hogwarts Express was added afterwards, so the train you see is not in Norway and the snow is. A Norwegian production officer involved described it as, as far as they knew, the only time the series filmed outside the United Kingdom, which makes those few seconds of track an odd little footnote in a very British set of films.

Why people ask this on a Preikestolen site

Because a dramatic Norwegian cliff in a blockbuster gets filed in memory under whichever franchise is closest to hand. The film people are thinking of when they look at this rock is Mission: Impossible – Fallout, whose climbing climax was genuinely shot on the plateau in November 2017 and which is covered on the films page. Once you have seen that sequence the confusion makes sense: both involve a very high edge and a great deal of weather.

Can you visit the Bjorli location

You can go to Bjorli and you can ride the Rauma Railway, but it is a long way from here. Innlandet is in eastern Norway; Preikestolen is in Rogaland in the south-west, about an hour from Stavanger by road. They are not a day trip from each other and I would not plan a single holiday around both. What is a day trip from Stavanger is set out on the Stavanger page.

The honest short answer

Yes, Norway appears in one Harry Potter film, as winter railway scenery in Innlandet, for a short sequence, with the train added afterwards. No, there is no Harry Potter connection to Preikestolen, the Lysefjord or Rogaland. If somebody has told you otherwise they have mixed up two films, and the one they are half-remembering is the better fit for this cliff.

Local tip

If the goal is film locations in Rogaland specifically, stop looking for wizards and look at the Mission: Impossible sequence instead. It is the only major production shot on the plateau, and the numbers behind it are stranger than the film.

What there is to book

Not the trail. Nobody sells a ticket to Preikestolen and nobody can, so anything you pay for is something else: the ride out of Stavanger, the guide who walks it with you, or the boat that shows you the cliff from the water. Which of the three you actually need is set out on the bookings page and in the comparison.

Check dates & book
We are an independent guide, not a tour operator and not the trail. Booking links go to GetYourGuide and are affiliate links — if you book through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you. See our affiliate disclosure.

Frequently asked questions

Was any Harry Potter film shot in Norway?

Yes, snowy railway footage for Half-Blood Prince was shot at Bjorli on the Rauma Railway in Innlandet, with the Hogwarts Express composited in.

Was Harry Potter filmed at Preikestolen?

No. Nothing in the series was shot here. The film shot on the plateau is Mission: Impossible – Fallout.

Is Bjorli near Preikestolen?

No. Bjorli is in eastern Norway and Preikestolen is in Rogaland in the south-west.

Guided Preikestolen hike4.8 ★ · 467 reviews · Transport from StavangerBook