World Heritage Sites in Spain Trivia Quiz

The cave of Altamira was inscribed on the World Heritage Site list in 1985. It is a large cave in the autonomous community (province) Cantabria, near the border with Asturias.

The cave was inhabited by prehistoric tribes during the Paleolithic age. Although artefacts of these inhabitants were only found near the entrance, the whole cave has remnants of prehistoric frescoes, mostly representing wild animals that lived in the vicinity during that era.
Altamira was the first cave where prehistoric frescoes were discovered (in 1869). Later discoveries were made in Lascaux, France, but also in various other continents all over the world - including Kakadu National Park in Australia.

Because of the chemical reactions of the paint used so many centuries ago with the gases in every breath a tourist utters, the opening of the cave for mass tourism proved a wrong decision. Thus, the caves were closed for the public in 1977. The cave of Altamira was then for about 20 years opened for limited numbers of visitors, but closed again in 2002. Since then, tourists can only visit a replica of the cave.

Santiago de Compostela is the city where, according to medieval legend, the body of Saint James the Greater was buried. (His head however would have been buried in Jerusalem). When some headless body was identified as that of Saint James, the Bishop of Oviedo ordered to build a cathedral on the very spot of the found relic. Several miracles were reported, and already during the Middle Ages a famous pilgrimage towards Santiago de Compostela started.
The original Cathedral was built in 814 and was destroyed by the Moors. In 1075 construction of the present Cathedral started, and it was consecrated in 1211.

The pilgrims usually enter the Cathedral via the west façade, named the Portica de Gloria. Just across the Portica is Santiago's city hall, named the Pazo de Raxoi. Between the Cathedral and the Pazo de Raxoi is the Praza do Obradoiro, and to the south of this Praza is one of the main buildings of the University of Santiago. In the immediate neighbourhood of the Cathedral are also the Mosteiro de San Martino Pinario and the Museum of Pilgrimage.

All these buildings in the old city of Santiago de Compostela were inscribed as World Heritage Site in 1985, but the accent is of course the Cathedral, that literally surpasses the other buildings around it.

Antonio Gaudi (1852-1926) was a prolific architect in Barcelona. He developed a style of his own: almost every building he designed is easily identified as a Gaudi construction.
In 1984 UNESCO inscribed the Park Guëll, the Casa Mila and the Palau Guëll on the list of World Heritage Sites. In 2005 UNESCO extended this site by adding the Casa Batilo, the Casa Vicens, the crypt at Colonia Guëll, and parts of the Sagrada Familia (by far the best-known building by Gaudi).

The Sagrada Familia was indeed far from completed when Gaudi died. Only one of the façades (the Nativity Façade to the East) was under construction in 1926, and was completed about ten years later. The Passion Façade was started in 1954 according to Gaudi's plans, and was completed in 1976. The third façade, the Glory Façade looking to the south, was only started in 2002.
As Gaudi only supervised construction of the Nativity Façade, only this façade was inscribed into the World Heritage Sites - together with the crypt in which Gaudi was buried.

The Alhambra is one of the best-known Muslim fortifications in Spain. It was built upon the Sabika hill, looking out over the river Darro and the plain across the river to the north. The city of Granada was built around this hill.

The strategic location of the hill was already considered by the Romans, but it was the Moorish dynasty of the Nasrids who built in 1238 the palaces that can still be admired. Three palaces were built in the first years, with many additions later (after the conquest by the Catholic royals of Spain).

Most of the original interior decorations are samples of Arabic calligraphy and geometric motives, as the Quran prohibits the depiction of living animals and humans. But the main entrance also shows a human hand with spread fingers, as the five fingers represent the Five Pillars of Islam.

The Paseo del Prado in Madrid is the main boulevard in north-south direction.

At the south end, where you can hop on or hop off the metro at the Estacion del Arte, you can find the Museo Reina Sofia.
Immediately to the north are the Jardin Botanico, followed a bit further by the Prado Museum.
Just a bit further are the Neptune fountain and the museum Thyssen-Bornemisza.
So the three most important museums of Madrid are grouped along this Paseo del Prado.

Near the northern end of the Paseo del Prado is another interesting museum, the Museo Naval. And at the south end there is the less known IKONO Museum.
And to the east of the Paseo del Prado is the Parque del Retiro, a large park which houses a pond, another museum (the Palacio de Cristal), a sports venue, and the observatory (Real Observatorio de Madrid).

All these places to see fill an area less than one square kilometre. And I've not mentioned all of the attractions over there.

In the centre of the Canary island Tenerife rises the Mount Teide, the highest mountain in all Spain. The whole area around this volcano has been declared a national park in 1954, and the national park has been inscribed on the World Heritage Sites list in 2007.

The national park hosts a number of plants and animals adapted to the climate (high altitude, many hours of sunlight each day, low humidity, high temperatures during the day and low temperatures during the night). At least 33 plants endemic to the Teide National Park have been identified, as well as thirty-odd animal species (mostly invertebrates).

Teide National Park has been used by some cycling teams for training stages, and by scientists to study Martian geology - for the climate is quite similar.

Ibiza is one of the Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean. Most young people (younger than 25) associate this island with the vivid nightlife, but it offers also something for other tourists.

The island has been declared a World Heritage Site in 1999 for two reasons: biodiversity and cultural remnants. The Phoenicians built a harbour and a settlement in Sa Caleta, a hamlet in the south of the island (near the present airport). And some of the walls and fortifications of the capital Ibiza City are still conserved.

As for biodiversity, the most important is the Neptune grass (Posidonia oceanica) - a seagrass endemic to the Mediterranean. It is vulnerable for pollution and quite valuable because it absorbs much more carbon dioxide than other plants. And of course, the "meadows" of Neptune grass are used by several animals as a hiding place.

The city of Burgos in the north of Spain was founded in 884 on a site that had been inhabited for many millennia.

In 1221 the inhabitants started construction of a Gothic cathedral which would be dedicated to the Virgin Mary. The initial Romanesque church that was on the same spot, proved too small for the growing community and thus was demolished. The new church was consecrated already in 1260, but of course over the next centuries there were a number of additions and repairs - but the exterior was mostly maintained in the Gothic style.

Nowadays a small part of the church is reserved for consecrating mass, while the rest is mostly reserved for tourists.
The Cathedral of Burgos was recognized as World Heritage Site in 1984, without any of the surrounding buildings and parts of the Old City (as is more common in Spain).

Toledo is a city about 75 km south of Madrid. The Romans built a fortification on the spot that previously was occupied by the Celts. Although the Roman settlement was considered a small town, it had a large circus for the equestrian races.

The Old City (in a bend of the river Tagus) contains several noteworthy buildings: the Synagogue of Santa Maria la Blanca, the Mosque of Cristo de la Luz, the church of San Sebastian, the Alcazar, the Cathedral of Toledo, the Alcantara bridge... All of the Historic City was inscribed as World Heritage Site in 1986.

Toledo was known as a centre for steel production, and Toledo swords were very in demand.
The painter Domenikos Theotokopoulos (better known as El Greco, 1541-1614) settled in Toledo in 1577 and created there most of his work. Some of his works can still be admired in Toledo. 

Elche is a city in southern Spain, near the Costa Blanca - one of the main tourist beaches in Spain, with the cities of Alicante and Benidorm as better known places.

Elche was founded by the Greeks near the coast. But gradually the city centre moved more inland.
Romans introduced irrigation techniques to grow crops in this hot semi-arid climate. One of the most astonishing results is the Palmeral, an orchard with over 200,000 palm trees. Originally the palms were planted in strict geometrical lines, shading small rectangles where other crops were grown. Alas, the cultivation of other crops has been discontinued.

Since the UNESCO inscribed the Palmeral on the World Heritage Site list in 2000, tourists come to visit the Palmeral, with the National Artistic Garden and the Palm Grove Museum as highlights.