Latin Names of European Cities Quiz

Answer: Aurelia Aquensi

The town of Baden-Baden in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, is renowned for its hot springs and termal baths. There are ruins of Roman baths in the city.

The two first ones I made up, Aquisgranium is the German city of Aachen.

Answer: Aquisgranium and Urbs Aquensis

Aachen was the seat of Charlemagne and was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire until 1531. Its French name is Aix-la-Chapelle, it belonged to France from 1801 to 1815.

Answer: Traiectum

Utrecht is a city in the central Netherlands, and has a population of appr. 232000. It was first founded as a Roman fortress.

Traiectum ad Mosam is the city of Maastricht in the southeastern Netherlands, on the river Maas (Meuse).

Answer: Varna, Bulgaria

It is in fact Varna! It was founded by the Greeks as Odessus in the 6th century BC. The city has thereafter been ruled by the Romans, the Byzantine Empire, the Ottomans, the Russians and finally the Bulgarians. It is together with Burgas the most important port in Bulgaria.

Answer: Lincoln, UK

The city of Lincoln, England, is most noted for its cathedral and the castle, founded in 1068 by William the Conqueror.

Answer: Mérida, Spain

Augusta Emerita was the capital of the Province of Lusitania, present Portugal, and was one of the most prominent cities on the Iberian peninsula. It was even called the Rome of Hispania! The Moors took the city in 713, and king Alfonso IX of León in 1228, and after this the city declined to insignificance.

Answer: Dürres, Albania

The city of Dürres (Durazzo in Italian) was founded in 625 BC as Epidamnus by the Corcyreans, the inhabitants of Corfu. The Romans seized the city in the third century BC and renamed it Dyrrhacium. The city has since that been under Byzantine, Venetian, Ottoman and Italian rule, before being an important city in an independent Albania.

Answer: Bordeaux, France

Founded as Burdigala by the Romans, Bordeaux is today France's seventh largest city and a major port.

Answer: Aosta, Italy

The city of Aosta, capital of the region of Valle d'Aosta in northwestern Italy, was founded by the Romans as a military outpost around 24BC.

The Romans did venture far, but they never got as far as founding cities in southern Africa! Pretoria is named after Andries Pretorius, a Boer leader.

Salamanca was known as Salmantica, and Salasso means 'I bleed' in Italian!

Answer: Sofia, Bulgaria

Sofia is a very old city, and today the largest and most important city in Bulgaria.

Answer: Vindobona

Vienna was originally a Celtic settlement, but was taken over by the Romans in the first century BC. The city was for a long time the power center of the Habsburg family, and is today one of the most important, as well as beautiful, cities in Europe.

Answer: Singidunum

Belgrade was founded by the Celts, but later taken by the Romans. Ruled by the Huns, Sarmatians, and Goths; then it was taken by the Byzantines, the Franks, the Bulgars, and again by the Byzantines. The Byzantine Greeks, the Bulgars, the Serbs, and the Magyars (Hungarians) were masters of Belgrade at various times from the 12th century to the beginning of the 16th century. Finally, the Austrians took it, and after WWI it became the capital of the newly created Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (renamed the Kingdom of Yugoslavia in 1929).

Answer: Ratisbon

Regensburg was founded by the Celts, then later taken by the Romans. Today it is considered one of the best preserved medieval cities of Germany. Its French name is Ratisbonne.

Answer: Vitudurum

Winterthur is a city in norhtern Switzerland, in the Zürich canton.

Answer: Ariminum

Rimini, known as Ariminum in ancient times, is today one of the most popular seaside resorts in Italy.