Interesting European Heritage Sites Quiz

Évora became a UNESCO site in 1986 as an example of what Portugal was like during its golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries. Unlike Lisbon, which suffered a massive earthquake in 1755, Évora was untouched and is still well preserved today. It is evident that Brazilian architecture has been heavily influenced by the whitewashed houses of Portugal's golden age. Évora was occupied by the Roman empire in the first century, and one of their temples can still be seen there today. The city also has several museums to delight tourists and a cathedral that was established in the 4th century CE.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who has both Portugal and Brazil on his bucket list still.

Located in Barcelona, the Basilica of the Holy Family has the distinction of being one of the largest Catholic churches in the world. Construction began in 1882 by architect Francisco de Paula del Villar. Sagrada Familia is designed to have 18 spires representing the Twelve Apostles, the four Evangelists, the Virgin Mary, and the tallest for Jesus Christ. The basilica also has three grand facades with one for the nativity, one for the passion, and the biggest for the glory of the heavenly Jesus. The interior of Sagrada Familia is breathtakingly beautiful. The entire project has been funded by private donations which is one of the reasons for the lengthy construction. The basilica became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1990.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who marvelled at the beauty of Sagrada Familia on a 1992 European backpacking, train-hopping adventure.

The full name of the cathedral, as recorded by UNESCO is Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi, and Palace of Tau, Reims. It was highlighted by the adjudicators of the foundation because it captures a range of architectural techniques that became available in the 13th century, describing it as a masterpiece of Gothic art. It provided inspiration for a multitude of buildings that followed in its wake.

Also impressive among the cathedral's features was the retention of the nave, which was built in the 9th century and bears the remains of Archbishop St. Remi, the man responsible for instituting the Holy Anointment of the Kings of France. Dedicated to Our Lady of Reims, the cathedral is thought to have been founded by bishop Nicasius in the early 5th century.

This question was listed by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19.

In 1991, the banks of the River Seine in Paris became a UNESCO site, including the Sainte-Chapelle, the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, and the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Sainte-Chapelle was included for its stunning Gothic architecture and the historical significance of several religious relics that were once housed there. The cathedral was commissioned by King Louis IX in 1239 on the palace grounds of Palais de la Cite to house the Crown of Thorns of Jesus. Louis IX had purchased the relic from the financially strapped Emperor Baldwin II of Constantinople.

The cathedral is known for the stunning stained glass windows of its upper and lower chapels. The lower chapel was dedicated to the Virgin Mary and the upper chapel was exclusively for the royal family and three famous relics: the Crown of Thorns, the True Cross, and the Holy Lance.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who has marked Sainte-Chapelle on his next visit to Paris bucket list.

As the name implies, this set of buildings was commissioned by the Roman emperor Hadrian and built between 117 and 138 AD. Hadrian created the complex as a retreat but designed it in the form of his ideal city.
As you may have guessed, there is more than one building here. Thirty buildings there still survive today, and they're nestled in the midst of 120 acres of land in Tivoli. Hadrian employed the best of Egyptian, Greek, and Roman architecture in the planning and construction. The buildings can be divided into four groups. The first includes a theatre and the Temple of Cnidian Aphrodite. The second group is the palace complex, set aside for the emperor and his court, the third is a series of baths and the fourth host's structures such as the Lily Pond and the Roccabruna Tower. Not all of the grand scheme can be viewed directly. Underneath these buildings is a vast body of palazzos, galleries, communication, and storage facilities.

At one point this was a symbol of the might and the wealth of the Roman Empire, but on the death of Hadrian, the complex was left to neglect. The structures were rediscovered in 1461 and restored.

This question was built by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who once walked into a Roman bar, held up two fingers and said "Give me five beers please".

The Lavaux Vineyard Terraces stretch for approximately thirty kilometres of the northern shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. UNESCO has declared them a site of immense universal value. The area displays an excellent example of how a community can work in harmony with its environment, carefully utilize its resources and produce the best of its potential. In this case, that potential has been realized as a very fine wine. This is not a reward for something that has occurred overnight but an interaction that has been in evidence since the Roman times and further developed in the 11th century by the monks from the orders of the Benedictine and Cistercian monasteries.

The Heritage listing covers the entirety of the wine making process from the growing of the grape through to the wine being bottled. Adding weight to the area's listing has been its ability to resist the rapid growth or urbanisation of the region to ensure that the local traditions are maintained and preserved. To this end buffer zones have been created and management plans put in place to ensure the conservation of the villages, buildings, roadways, and vineyard plots.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who enjoys cooking with wine... sometimes he even includes it in the food.

The Beemster Polder or, as the Dutch would call it, Droogmakerij de Beemster, is a cultural landscape. It was created in 1612 by the draining of Lake Beemster. This is reclaimed land, that covers an area of 7,208 hectares (17,811 acres) and the purpose of the reclamation was to (a) combat the floods that afflicted this area and (b) provide for capital investment in agricultural land and the creation of country residences.

Described by UNESCO as "a masterpiece of creative planning, in which the ideals of antiquity and the Renaissance were applied", the polder is laid out in a geometric grid of oblong lots. These are intersected by roads and canals and it follows the outline of the lake as much as it was possible to provide a great deal more stability to the land.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who started writing a question on canals but it proved to be too much of an irrigation... ok, don't slam the door on your way out!

Kronborg castle, also known as Kronborg Slot, became a UNESCO site in 2000. The impressive castle is located on the narrowest stretch of the Řresund strait and is the closest point to Sweden. At the base of the castle is the town of Heisingřr the namesake of Hamlet's castle in Shakespeare's play. At the time Kronborg was built both sides of the sound were part of Denmark, and the castle was the home of the king and queen. Since the Řresund was such a narrow strait, the Danes were able to tax merchant ships passing from the Adriatic to the Atlantic. It is thought that the decadent court life at Kronborg was one of the reasons Shakespeare chose to use it as the backdrop for Hamlet.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who believes that "though this be madness, yet there is a method in it."

Located in beautiful southern Bavaria, the town of Bamberg in 1007 CE was once where Duke Henry II envisioned the founding of a new Rome. With the town being situated at a crossroads between Germany, Hungary, and Poland, this prime location allowed Bamberg to prosper and become influential in Bavaria. Bamburg's gorgeous architecture, which heavily influenced central Europe, is a huge tourist attraction, and one of the primary reasons the town has become a UNESCO World Heritage site. To top it all off, in the 18th century the southern enlightenment of Germany began in Bamberg with great philosophers like Georg Hegel.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who believes October fest might be a fantastic time to admire the architecture of Bamberg while drinking a boot!

Wartburg Castle is situated on a hill in the Thuringian Forest of north-central Germany overlooking the city of Eisenach. Constructed in the Middle Ages, it served as the fortress of the landgraves (nobles with jurisdiction over a large territory) of Thuringia. Although parts of the castle date back to the 12th through 15th centuries, a significant portion of the current layout was added during 19th century reconstructions. The castle stands as one of the best-preserved monuments to feudalism in central Europe and is rich in cultural significance, both religious and secular. It was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999.

Wartburg Castle was the home of Elizabeth of Hungary, princess of the Kingdom of Hungary, and landgravine of Thuringia, who is venerated as a saint by the Catholic Church. It is also where Martin Luther hid under the alias "Junker Jorg" (Knight George) following his refusal to recant at the Diet of Worms. During his time at Wartburg, he continued his scholarly and reform work, most remarkably translating the New Testament of the Bible from Greek into German in just eleven weeks.

This question was contributed by Phoenix Rising's JCSon, who had the good fortune to tour Wartburg Castle whilst visiting his paternal grandmother in her hometown of Eisenach in 2010.

Park Muzakowski is approximately 560 hectares (1380 acres) of incredible parkland that is nestled on the Neisse River along the border of Germany and Poland. Described as a "painting with plants", the area was created by Prince Hermann von Puckler-Muskau, with work starting in 1815 and reaching some sort of completion by 1844. The park provided a new approach to landscaping and design that would influence that style of architecture for years to come in both Europe and the Americas.

A key feature to the park was its ability to seamlessly combine man-made structures with the natural elements and, more importantly, connect the community to the park by means of green passageways, paths and urban parklands.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who once started up a dog minding business... it was a walk in the park.

It was the Italians that created the arcaded Renaissance style of country residences but, with Litomysl Castle, the Czech's captured the ideal to perfection. Supervised by Jan Baptista Avostalis and, later, his brother Oldrich, construction began in 1568 and was completed in 1580. There were extensive renovations installed in 1792 and 1796, which were designed by Jan Krystof Habich, but care was taken to ensure that they retained the building's Renaissance characteristics.

Now owned by the Czech state, the castle represents a fine example of an aristocrat's residence. Its outlying buildings also have a history of their own with the nearby building, the Brewery, being the birthplace of Bedrich Smetana, one of the country's greatest composers.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who is still envious of a composer being born in a building called a Brewery.

Hollóko Village has been deliberately preserved as a living museum to give a glimpse into what life was like in the 17th and 18th centuries. The word Hollóko means "Raven-stone" in Hungarian. The village is nestled around a castle that was built in the 13th century to defend against future Mongolian attacks. Over the centuries the castle changed hands several times between the Ottomans and the Hungarians. The Ottomans abandoned the area in the 1690s after which the current village was built. In 1987 Holloko became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is now a tourist attraction.

This question was written by Phoenix Rising's BigTriviaDawg who is reminded of Colonial Williamsburg.

John Churchill, first Duke of Marlborough, presented the palace to the English nation after they'd defeated the combined Bavarian and French forces in 1704. Construction of the building began in 1705 and was completed in 1722. Set in Oxfordshire, it was designed by John Vanbrugh and it is nestled in a landscaped park designed by the famous Lancelot "Capability" Brown, which UNESCO has described as "a naturalistic Versailles".

In recognizing the building UNESCO decreed that it represented the dawn of a new age of the English Romantic movement, dotted with eclecticism and displaying a love of nature that would provide inspiration in design in the ensuing two centuries.

This question was recorded by Phoenix Rising's pollucci19 who is still peeved that Castle Grayskull has not been UNESCO recognized.

Not many years after defeating King Harold II at the Battle of Hastings in October 1066, King William I (the Conqueror) started construction of a substantial fortress on the banks of the River Thames in London. The first significant building was a tower largely built by French stonemasons using white stone imported from Caen. The White Tower still stands today as the central feature of The Tower of London. Fortifications were added over the centuries, especially during the reigns of Henry III and Edward I, and the buildings making up the complex have been used for a wide variety of functions. Perhaps most famous as a prison for high profile prisoners including royalty, The Tower of London has also served as a barracks, a refuge, a large workshop for forging weapons, armor, and as the royal mint until 1810. Nefarious acts have been commonplace too especially during the War of the Roses in the 15th century with perhaps the most famous being the regicide of Henry VI in the Wakefield Tower; the nearby Bloody Tower is reputedly the site where the 2 young princes were murdered. High profile prisoners were brought into the Tower via boat and the Traitor's Gate. The site is guarded by the Yeoman of the Guard, commonly known as Beefeaters, although their role today is essentially ceremonial, and acting as wonderful tour guides to the millions of people who visit this site of living history each year.

This question was surreptitiously inserted into the quiz by MikeMaster who discovered that the English Realm was safe as the ravens couldn't fly away due to having one wing clipped, and who experienced a brilliant day touring this location. Mike's tip: arrive before opening time and you can see the Crown Jewels on display with no long queues.