European Capitals Miscellany Trivia Quiz

Answer: Oslo

The Norwegian capital Oslo changed its name to Christiania (later spelt Kristiania) in the 17th century in honour of King Christian IV. The name reverted to Oslo in 1925. Confusingly there is an area of Copenhagen, the Danish capital, known as Freetown Christiania.

Answer: Budapest

The Hungarian capital Budapest is on the River Danube. It consists of Buda and Pest, which lie on opposite banks of the river.

Answer: Paris

Paris is the capital of France. Franklin D Roosevelt metro station is located on the Champs Elysees and was originally named Marbeuf, but was renamed after World War Two in honour of the US president. There are several metro stations named after the Danube in Vienna, but they all use the German name Donau!

Answer: Rome

The ancient part of Rome, Italy lies mainly to the east of the River Tiber. The seven hills referred to are the Aventine, the Caelian, the Capitoline, the Esquiline, the Palatine, the Quirinal and the Viminal.

Answer: Dublin

The Easter Rising took place in Easter week in April 1916, and events were centred on Dublin, Ireland, notably at the General Post Office building in the city. It was carried out by Irish Republicans seeking to end British rule in Ireland. The rebellion was quashed by the end of the month, but the fight for independence returned after the end of the Great War and led to the partition of the country and the formation of the Irish Free State, as it was then known, in 1922.

Answer: Edinburgh

Mons Meg is an ancient cannon to be found in Scotland's Edinburgh Castle, and a more modern artillery gun is fired from the ramparts of the same castle every day at 1pm. The grave of Greyfriars Bobby, the Skye terrier who supposedly stood guard over his master's grave for 14 years until his own death, can be found in Greyfriars Kirkyard.

Answer: Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital of Portugal. The Lisbon earthquake was certainly one of the most destructive in European history. As well as damage from the earthquake itself, subsequent fires destroyed a large part of the city and low lying areas were inundated by a tidal wave, as the epicentre was out in the Atlantic. Estimates of deaths vary wildly from 10,000 to 100,000 killed. Voltaire described the Lisbon earthquake in his novel "Candide" (published 1759).

Answer: Vienna

Vienna is the capital of Austria. Every New Year's Day, the Vienna Philharmonic gives a concert which features works by Johann Strauss the elder and his son of the same name, as well as works by other composers. Demand for tickets is so great that there is an annual lottery for the right to buy them.

Answer: Moscow

Built on the banks of the Moscow River, the White House is the seat of the Russian Parliament, or State Duma. The White House was the centre of events in the constitutional crisis of 1993 which led to the breakup of the Soviet Union, and at one stage it was shelled by Soviet tanks.

Answer: London

Haydn visited London, England between 1792 and 1793 where he composed six symphonies, numbered from 93 to 98. He later composed six more symphonies in Vienna, Austria, numbers 99 to 104, which were performed during his second visit to London. The twelve are known as the London Symphonies.