Equestrian Statues from Around the World Quiz

Answer: Buenos Aires, Argentina

There are numerous statues commemorating the achievements of José de San Martín throughout Argentina. The pictured monument stands in Plaza San Martín in Buenos Aires. San Martin was born in the town of Yapeyú in Corrientes province in what is now the extreme northeastern corner of Argentina but was then in the Spanish "Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata".

In his 20s, San Martín actually fought for Spain, in the Peninsular War against France. He returned to his native country in 1812 to lead nationalist armies to victory in both Argentina and in Chile.

He is regarded as a national hero in both countries.

Answer: Armenia

A mountainous country in the South Caucasus region between eastern Europe and western Asia, the Kingdom of Armenia was formed in the 6th Century, succeeding the Urartus. Nine hundred years later, around 301 A.D., it became the world's first officially 'Christian nation'. Divided between the Ottoman and Russian empires and then swallowed by the Soviet Union, the Republic of Armenia was declared in 1990 and recognized a year later. The statue of King Argishti I riding a chariot drawn by two horses stands outside the Erebuni Museum of History in the center of Yerevan.

The opening of the museum in 1968 was part of the 2750th anniversary celebrations of the founding of the city.

Answer: Charlemagne

Like his father, Pepin the Short, Charlemagne was born in a village just outside the modern-day city of Liege in Belgium. Born sometime between 742 and 748, Charlemagne, also known as Charles the Great and Charles I, was a member of the Carolingian dynasty. Following his father's death, Charlemagne and his brother Carloman I were crowned as joint rulers of the Frankish Kingdom on October 9, 768, and Carloman's death three years later left Charlemagne as undisputed King of the Franks.

He then became King of Italy (technically King of the Lombards) in 774 and, on Christmas Day 800, became Holy Roman Emperor and Augustus. Sometime referred to as "Pater Europae" (the Father of Europe), he united western Europe and became the first emperor of that region since the fall of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th Century. Charlemagne died in 813 and was succeeded by his son, Louis the Pious. Charlemagne was buried in his imperial capital, what would become the city of Aachen in modern-day Germany.

Answer: Simon Bolivar

Commonly known as Simón Bolívar, he was born Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Blanco in 1783 in the city of Caracas, now the capital of modern-day Venezuela. He was instrumental in the fight for independence in Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador and Colombia (which also included Panama then).

In 1819, he became the first President of the newly-formed republic of Gran Colombia, a position he held until his death in 1830. He was also President of Peru from 1824 until 1827 and of Bolivia for a few months at the end of 1825.

He is considered the liberator of Hispanic-America and remains even today a hero throughout Latin America.

Answer: Saint George

Saint George was born sometime between 275 and 285 A.D. in the city of Lydda in the region of the Roman Empire known as Syria Palaestina. Today this is the city of Lod, located a few miles southeast of Tel Aviv in central Israel. That he was a soldier and an officer in the Roman army and that he became a Christian martyr in Nicomedia (in what is now Turkey) on April 23, 303 is about all that is certain about his life, although there are plenty of myths of heroic deeds done by Saint George.
The date of his death is today celebrated as Saint George's Day. In the Canadian province of Newfoundland & Labrador it is a provincial holiday. It is also a major holiday in the Catalonia region of Spain. He is the patron saint of England, one of the patron saints of Portugal (along with St Anthony of Padua). He is the patron saint of Beirut in Lebanon, and one of the patron saints of Milan and Genoa in Italy.
In Cairo, there is a metro station named after him. In Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, a the cathedral, the main soccer team and even a beer are all named St George. He appears on numerous city coats of arms in Germany. In the U.S.A., he is the patron saint of the "Boy Scouts of America".
The statue of Saint George slaying the dragon in Prague Cathedral is not unique -- there are similar statues in Berlin, Germany, in Freedom Square in Tiblisi, capital of Georgia, in the city of Cluj-Napoca in Romania, in the Swiss capital of Basel and in Stockholm, Sweden.

Answer: Saint Petersburg

Commissioned by Catherine the Great, the statue is located in Senate Square (previously known as Decembrists Square) in Saint Petersburg.
It is mounted on the enormous "Thunder Stone", which originally weighed 1,500 tons and is considered the 'largest stone ever moved by man'. It was moved 3.7 miles overland to a barge on the Neva River using no animals or machines, a truly amazing achievement.
During the 900-day "Siege of Leningrad" during WWII, the statue was covered with only sandbags and a wooden shelter, but survived virtually untouched by the artillery fire and bombing.

Answer: Bangkok, Thailand

Originally called Dusit Palace Plaza, Royal Plaza or Equestrian Plaza is in front of the Ananta Samakhom Throne Hall, formerly part of Dusit Palace and now a museum in Bangkok. The former home of King Chulalongkorn Rama V, also known as "the Great Beloved King", who reigned from 1868 until his death in 1910, Dusit Palace was later used as the first home of the Thai Parliament.

Answer: Mexico

Pancho Villa was born in 1878 in the city of Durango in San Juan del Río province in northwestern Mexico.
A modern-day Robin Hood, Villa and his supporters seized land which they then gave to peasants and soldiers, printed their own currency, and robbed trains during the Mexican Revolution which began in 1910. He was pursued for nine months in 1916 by U.S. Army forces but evaded capture. He retired in 1920 but re-entered Mexican politics three years later. Shortly thereafter, on July 20, 1923 he was assassinated in Parral in the state of Chihuahua.
The pictured equestrian statue of Pancho Villa stands in Zacatecas, the capital and largest city in the state of the same name in north central Mexico. There is another equestrian statue honoring him is the city of Chihuahua.

Answer: Wilhelmina

She was born Wilhelmina Helena Pauline Maria, a member of the House of Orange-Nassau, in 1880 at Noordeinde Palace in The Hague. She became Queen Wilhelmina of The Netherlands at the age of just 10 on the death of her father, King William III, although her inauguration did not take place until just after her 18th birthday in 1898.
Of the 17 European monarchs (16 kings and one queen) who were sitting at the time of Wilhelmina's coronation in 1898, she was the sole survivor 50 years later. Indeed, the Dutch royal family was one of only seven left in Europe.
After almost 58 years as Queen, Wilhelmina abdicated in favor of her daughter, Juliana, in September 1948. She survived as Princess Wilhelmina for another 14 years before her death at the age of 82 at Het Loo Palace in Apeldoorn.

Answer: Marcus Aurelius

Born Marcus Annius Catilius Severus in 121 A.D. in Rome, Marcus Aurelius became joint emperor of Rome with Lucius Verus following the death of Antoninus Pius in March 161. The death of Lucius Verus in 169 left him as sole ruler. He is considered the last of the "Five Good Emperors". He died in the city of Vindobona (now Vienna in Austria) in 180.
Trajan and Hadrian each ruled for around 20 years early in the 2nd Century. Commodus, son of Marcus Aurelius, ruled jointly with his father from 177 and then as sole emperor until his assassination in 192.