History of Paris Trivia Quiz

Answer: Swamp

The Parisii called it Lucotocia (or Leucotecia) which means swamp because their settlement was near the Seine River. Specifically, they settled in the area where the Seine was the easiest to cross. It had the added benefit of being near both the Seine and Rhone rivers as well as being roughly halfway between Rome and Britain.

The Parisii were part of an uprising led by Vercingetorix against Julius Caesar and his campaign for Gaul. In the 52 BC Battle of Lutetia, the Parisii suffered devastating losses at the hands of the Romans.

Answer: St. Denis

Denis was not well received by the Roman authorities and he was beheaded sometime around 250 AD. The site of his execution was Mercury Hill, which is now called Montmartre or Martyr's Hill. According to legend, St. Denis picked up his decapitated head and walked to the Vicus Cattulliacus, a covert Christian cemetery, where he died.

The Basilica of St. Denis was built over his grave in 1144 and still stands today.

Answer: Bjorn Ironside

Bjorn Ironside was King of Sweden towards the end of the 9th century. During that century, the Vikings had repeatedly attacked Paris but the most they ever achieved was destroying some part of the city. They repeatedly failed to take the city. Much of the their failures can be attributed to the work of Clovis I and Charlemagne in the preceding centuries.

Clovis I and Charlemagne built up Paris' defense fortifications and infrastructure, which allowed the city to ward off the Vikings. Bjorn Ironside tried to invade Paris via the Seine River but he was turned away by the city walls and fortresses.

Answer: Philip II

In the Middle Ages, the French were increasingly concerned about English invasions. Philip II built the Louvre to be Paris' main defense center. Most of the original Louvre no longer exists but parts of it can been seen today in the Louvre's basement.

It was called Louvre Castle when it was built and was renamed Louvre Palace in 1546. Today it is a museum, simply referred to as the Louvre. Philip II was the first French king to call himself King of France as opposed to King of the Franks. He greatly improved the French infrastructure, particularly that in Paris.

He also participated in the Third Crusade.

Answer: Knights Templar

The Knights Templar was an order of Catholic men who gave military support to the Pope. The Knights Templar fought in the Crusades but were also well known for their charity and their financial acumen. King Philip IV, however, was heavily indebted to the Knights Templar and seized their property and ordered the arrest of all of their members in 1307. Philip IV was able to do this because the Knights Templar was embroiled in controversy over various issues. Philip IV claimed the Knights Templar was offensive to the faith and had them all arrested. In reality, he just wanted to expand his own powers and wealth and eliminate his debt to them.

Jacques de Molay was the leader of the Knights Templar at the time. Many member were tortured into giving false confessions and then executed by burning.

Answer: Bastille

The Bastille was the famous French prison that played a huge role in the French Revolution. However, it was originally built during the Hundred Years' War for use as a fortress. The French became concerned that the Eastern parts of the city were not as suitably defended as the west.

At first, it was not really used as a prison officially even though it did hold a few prisoners. It became used more for as a prison beginning in the early 15th century. The Bastille's first prisoner was Hugues Aubriot who was the man who built it. Aubriot was accused of heresy when he defended Paris' Jewish population. Aubriot also built many of Paris' historic sewers.

Answer: Henry VII of England

The French Wars of Religion was a conflict mainly between Catholics and Protestants at the time of the Reformation. Paris was overwhelmingly a Catholic city but King Henry III of France was seen as being a moderate and something of a bridge between Catholics and Protestants. Henry of Lorraine was a stricter Catholic and the leader of the Catholic League. Henry of Lorraine pushed for stricter pro-Catholic laws and was successful in pushing Henry III to outlaw Protestantism. Henry of Lorraine was primarily funded by King Philip II of Spain.

Henry of Navarre was a French Protestant or Huguenot. He was supported by Queen Elizabeth I of England. Henry III had removed Henry of Navarre from as the heir apparent to the French throne at the urging of Henry of Lorraine. Henry III's royalists or politiques were loosely aligned with Henry of Lorraine against Henry of Navarre. However in Paris, the people supported Henry of Lorraine more than King Henry III as the king tried to compromise between the two religions, while the Parisians wanted a strong Catholic win.

The War of Three Henrys distracted France from the actions of Philip II of Spain who wanted to invade England. By the wars end, Henry III was assassinated by a Catholic partisan and Henry of Navarre became King Henry IV of France but converted to Catholicism. His conversion did not go over well and many Parisians distrusted him. As king, Henry IV legalized Protestantism and extended the rights of Protestants.

Answer: Moliere

Moliere was a 17th century playwright whose most famous works are "The Misanthrope" and "Tartuffe". In 1643 he opened the Illustre Theatre with an acting troupe. The theater was not successful and closed soon afterward but did have a tremendous impact on the Parisian drama and literature crowd.

Moliere suffered great financial loss when the Illustre Theatre failed. While in a debtor's prison, he contracted tuberculosis. Once free, Moliere returned to the stage and infamously suffered a coughing fit and hemorrhaging on stage. He died at home soon afterward. His death gave rise to the superstition that actors should never wear green on stage.

Answer: Wedding of Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette

Most of the deaths were caused by the fireworks directly. During the wedding ceremony of the future ill-fated monarchs, a strong gust of wind blew some of the rockets onto a crowd of people. This caused mass chaos and an ensuing stampede killed dozens more.

This event is the deadliest fireworks accident in history. The official death toll is either 132 or 133 (depending on the source). However, historians suggest the total number of death could be almost a thousand as the French government felt a higher death toll would be an embarrassment to the new couple.

Answer: American Revolution

The French had come to the aid of the American colonists during their war against the British Crown. The Treaty of Paris ended the American Revolution when it was signed on September 3, 1783. Some of the major items in the treaty was that the British relinquished all rights to the American Colonies, recognized the U.S. as a sovereign nation and released prisoners of war.

Around the same time, Britain and France signed the Peace of Paris. This was mostly a morale victory for France as they received very little aside from some small territories overseas. However, the French saw it as a victory against their long time foes, the British.

Answer: Bread

Bread was incredibly expensive and scarce at this time in Parisian history. This was mostly brought about because King Louis XVI had deregulated the grain markets the prior decade. Food riots were nothing new to Paris during this time but when rumors spread the King Louis XVI was planning on destroying excess wheat crops (which would likely have led to a famine) the lower class women of the Third Estate rose up and marched to the Palace of Versailles.

This event was one of the first riots of the French Revolution and signaled a shift in power from the monarchy to the Third Estate.

Answer: Battle of Austerlitz

Paris is full of monuments commemorating various victories of Napoleon, such as the Arc de Triomphe. Thr Vendome Column was modeled off of Trajan's Column in Rome. It celebrates Napoleon's victory at the Battle of Austerlitz (1805) in the Napoleonic Wars.

In that battle, France defeated Russia and Austria, whose forces were far more in number than France's. As a result, the Holy Roman Empire dissolved and basically became a buffer territory between France and its enemy, Prussia. The Battle of Austerlitz is considered Napoleon's greatest victory.

The Arc de Triomphe is more loosely asssociated with the Battle of Austerlitz.

Answer: Artists

Many artists opposed the construction of the Eiffel Tower because they thought it was structurally impossible to build. Many artists also objected to the look of the Eiffel Tower, with many thinking its metallic look was not a good look for an 'artsy' city like Paris.

The designer, Gustave Eiffel, responded by saying many great building and landmarks were also written off as impossible before they were achieved. He also engraved the names of 72 scientists into the tower as a tribute to the scientific advancements that let him build the tower.

Answer: Balard Shooting Range

Arthus and Benoit along with Jacques Baudry, Pierre Grelot and Lucien Legros, are collectively known as the Martyrs of the Lycee Buffon. The five students were members of the French Resistance during World War II. They were executed by firing squad for their opposition to the Nazi presence in Paris and in France.

It was a common tactic of the Nazis to capture rebels and resistors in Paris and execute them as a warning to others or hold them and threaten to kill them if rebellions did not die down.

The killing of these five students was one of the most notorious murders committed by Nazis in France. The five martyrs were awarded Legion of Honor medals posthumously.

Answer: Charlie Hebdo

The attack was initiated in response to a controversial cartoon the magazine published about the Prophet Mohammed. Other European magazines had previously found themselves embroiled controversy for publishing similar cartoons. Two men affiliated with Al-Qaeda stormed the Charlie Hebdo headquarters and killed twelve people and injured eleven others. The attack was seen as an attack on French values and the free press. Several other incidents followed later in the week, including an attack at a Jewish grocery store.

In November 2015, Paris experienced its deadliest terrorist attack in history which left 130 people dead. The attack was perpetrated by ISIS sympathizers. Many of the victims were killed in a mass shooting at the Bataclan Theater while others were killed in drive by shootings.