Pottering Across Europe Trivia Quiz

Answer: London

The boundary between the western and eastern hemispheres is found at 0 degrees longitude and is known as the prime meridian or Greenwich meridian. However, lines of longitude are entirely arbitrary designations and the Greenwich meridian was only selected as the reference point for the world's time zones and co-ordinate system at the International Meridian Conference of 1884 - over 1,800 years after the city was originally founded. The Romans named their city Londinium and it subsequently underwent several names changes, including the Anglo-Saxon Lundenwic and Lundenburh, before the modern version was settled on in the years following the Norman Conquest. As the city expanded over the centuries, many of its early features were lost beneath the miles of concrete and buildings--including many rivers that were culverted and buried, although their names live on in the modern city's areas and streets.

London was the first place Harry Potter visited following the discovery of his wizarding heritage in 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. He took a trip on the 'Tube' with the distinctly over-sized Hagrid; visited Diagon Alley, where he got his first taste of the magical world and acquired his owl, Hedwig; and went on a subterranean journey through the vaults of Gringotts Bank. The city continued to feature throughout the series - being the home of King's Cross railway station (and its magical platform 9 and ¾); the Ministry of Magic; St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries; and No.12 Grimmauld Place, the house Harry inherited from Sirius Black.

Answer: Romania

Romania is a nation in central south-eastern Europe. The historic region of Transylvania coincides with central areas of the country, and includes the cities of Cluj, Brasov and Sibiu. The modern boundaries of the nation were drawn up as part of the peace settlement following the Second World War and include several areas (particularly in the central region) where a large proportion of the population are ethnic Hungarians. Romania's Black Sea coastline gives it important strategic access to the Mediterranean Sea and the tourist industry focused there is also important to the country's economy.

Romania gets a mention early on in the 'Harry Potter' series as Harry's best friend, Ron Weasley, has an elder brother called Charlie living there. Charlie works with dragons and is therefore the obvious person to help re-home Hagrid's baby dragon, Norbert. The rapidly growing example of a Norwegian Ridgeback later turned out to be a girl, and was renamed Norberta.

The incorrect options are all countries with Black Sea coastlines.

Answer: Albania

The Balkan peninsula is an area of south-eastern Europe surrounded by the Black Sea, Sea of Marmara and Mediterranean Sea. Albania is located in the western Balkans with 480 kilometres (or 300 miles) of coastline on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas (which are both part of the wider Mediterranean Sea). Mount Korab, part of a small range of the same name, is the highest point of both Albania and neighbouring Macedonia, and is depicted in the latter's national emblem. Albania uses a two-headed eagle as its national symbol, which appears on both its flag and coat of arms.

A bleak and isolated Albanian forest was the location Lord Voldemort chose to flee to after losing his body in his ill-advised attempt to kill Harry Potter as a baby. Harry later discovered that Lord Voldemort had previously visited this unlikely destination in order to obtain a famous diadem belonging to Rowena Ravenclaw (one of the four founders of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry). He later turned it into one of his horcruxes.

The incorrect options are all Balkan nations, but only Serbia borders Macedonia.

Answer: Poland

The Masurian Lake District (or Masurian Lakeland) is located in north-eastern Poland, towards its border with the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad Oblast. The area contains over 2,000 lakes connected together (and to the Baltic Sea) via a network of rivers and canals and is a popular tourist destination. Generally speaking, Poland's topography can be split into three main areas: the low-lying plains of the north and west; the hills of the central and eastern uplands areas; and the mountainous south, which includes parts of both the Carpathian and Sudeten ranges.

Poland only got a brief mention in 'Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix', when Hagrid related the tale of his and Madame Maxime's journey to meet with giants and the fact that they'd met with some "mad trolls on the Polish border". The aim of the trip was to enlist the giants for the anti-Voldemort side in the upcoming war, but it was ultimately unsuccessful. Hagrid did however discover the fate of his giantess mother and met his half-brother, Grawp, for the first time.

Of the incorrect options, Estonia and Slovakia were both among the ten states that joined the European Union (EU) in 2004. Estonia has a Baltic coastline and Slovakia also contains parts of the northern Carpathian mountains. Finland is informally known as the 'land of a thousand lakes', but joined the EU in 1995.

Answer: France

France has a land area of about 550,000 square kilometres (212,000 square miles) excluding its overseas territories - therefore the only European (or partly European) countries larger than France are Ukraine and Russia. The Pyrenees mountain range runs along the border between France and Spain, while the Alps separate France from Switzerland and Italy. Further north, France also has land borders with Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany. In addition to many world skiing events, France is also home to cycling's Tour de France and, in the 20th century, the nation also hosted the Olympic Games five times (three Winter and two Summer Games) and the FIFA (soccer) World Cup twice.

In the world of 'Harry Potter', France is home to the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. The school is first introduced in 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire' when the headmistress, Madame Maxime, turned up with a bunch of her students in order to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Although the exact location in France of the school was never stated in the books, JK Rowling later revealed on her 'Pottermore' website that it can be found in the Pyrenees.

The incorrect options are all countries well known for their skiing opportunities. However, none of them (especially Andorra) come anywhere near France in size.

Answer: Heidelberg

The River Neckar is a tributary of the Rhine and joins that larger river at the city of Mannheim, about 20 km (12 miles) to the north-west of Heidelberg. The University of Heidelberg was founded in 1386 by Rupert I, Elector Palatine. This makes it the oldest in Germany, but still 300 years younger than the University of Bologna (in Italy) - the oldest surviving university in the world. The Electors Palatine were the rulers of the Palatinate of the Rhine (part of the Holy Roman Empire), a fragmented territory that was located roughly around the route of the River Rhine. Heidelberg Castle was home to the Electors Palatine from around 1400 to 1720, when they moved their capital to Mannheim. The castle was destroyed by lightning in 1764.

Heidelberg doesn't actually get a mention in any of JK Rowling's seven 'Harry Potter' novels. It appears instead in 'Quidditch Through the Ages' by Kennilworthy Wisp, a fictional book about the history of the wizarding sport, quidditch. JK Rowling wrote a 'real' version of this book in support of the UK charity event, Comic Relief, in 2001. The book included some information about the Heidelberg Harriers - a quidditch team from Germany who once played a week-long match against the Holyhead Harpies (the team for which Ginny Weasley later became a professional chaser).

The incorrect options are all German university cities.

Answer: Bulgaria

The River Danube rises in Germany and then flows through, or along the border of, a further nine countries (including Hungary and Moldova) on its way to the Black Sea. It forms the majority of the Bulgarian border with its northern neighbour Romania, from the city of Vidin, in the west, to Silistra, an ancient city dating back to the Roman period, in the east. Shopska salad is popular across south-east Europe and takes its name from the traditional Shopluk region which is roughly the area where Bulgaria, Macedonia and Serbia now meet. The dish is also known as Bulgarian salad.

Viktor Krum, the Durmstrang entrant to the Triwizard Tournament and famous international quidditch player, was from Bulgaria. In 'Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows' Krum revealed that he had lost several family members during the reign of terror of the evil wizard, Grindelwald, suggesting that Grindelwald's power in Europe extended at least as far as Bulgaria in the south-east. Krum played seeker for the Bulgarian national team, who appeared at the Quidditch World Cup final (featured in 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire') complete with Veela mascots - siren-like magical beings, similar to the Vila of Slavic mythology.

Answer: Greece

Greece is formally known as the Hellenic Republic and called Hellas or Ellada in Greek. It is home to many ancient monuments and buildings (such as the Parthenon in Athens) and famous as the birthplace of the Olympic Games. The Greek mainland is located at the southern tip of the Balkan peninsular, much of which is mountainous. The many Greek islands (the estimated total varies between about 1,000 and 6,000 depending on the definition) are located around the mainland in various different areas of the Mediterranean Sea, particularly the Aegean and Ionian Seas. Cephalonia and Corfu are the two largest Ionian Islands and Santorini is part of the Cyclades group of the Aegean Sea.

The nation of Greece featured in the Daily Prophet article about the late Albus Dumbledore, written by his old school-friend, Elphias Doge. Dumbledore and Doge had been due to embark on a 'Grand Tour' of the world after they completed their education at Hogwarts, but in the end only Doge went on the trip as Dumbledore had to remain at home to care for his younger brother and sister after the death of their mother. Doge's article included the fact that he had written to Dumbledore to describe some of the highlights of his tour - including meeting Chimaeras in Greece (Chimaeras being a hybrid fire-breathing creature of Greek mythology).

Malta and Cyprus are both Mediterranean island nations, while Italy is famous as the birthplace of the Roman Empire in 27 BC and the home of the ancient Roman civilisation that is also believed to date from around 10,000 years ago.

Answer: Sweden

Approximately 70% of Sweden's land area is covered by forest or woodland and the majority of its population therefore live in the more agricultural (and warmer) south of the country. It is one of the three main countries that make up Scandinavia (Norway and Denmark being the others), although Finland and Iceland are also sometimes included as part of that area. The provinces of Halland and Dalsland are located on Sweden's south-west coast, while Lappland (or Lapland) is located in the north. Historical Lapland was a much larger area that also covered part of modern day Finland and both the Swedish and Finnish parts are now famed for being the home of Father Christmas - a significant tourist draw for the area.

Sweden does not appear in any of the 'Harry Potter' novels, but one of its fiercest magical residents does - the Swedish Short-Snout dragon. The silvery-blue dragon was imported into Britain as part of the first challenge to be undertaken in the Triwizard Tournament (as recalled in the conversations between Cornelius Fudge and the muggle prime minister in 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince') and Cedric Diggory was given the task of retrieving a golden egg from underneath it.

Answer: Ireland

The island of Ireland is split between the Republic of Ireland and the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland gained independence in 1922 (as the Irish Free State) but Northern Ireland (which had been formed by the partition of Ireland in 1921) opted to remain part of the UK, a situation that continues in the 21st century. Oddly enough though, the most northerly point of the island of Ireland, Banba's Crown near Malin Head, is actually located in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. The Giant's Causeway, made up of large basalt columns, can be found in County Antrim, in Northern Ireland.

Ireland, as a close neighbour of the UK, was mentioned more often in the 'Harry Potter' series than most other European nations. Harry's classmate and fellow Gryffindor student, Seamus Finnigan, was Irish and Ireland won the Quidditch World Cup in 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire'. The Irish team mascots were leprechauns, a type of fairy from Irish mythology who hid pots of gold at the ends of rainbows. JK Rowling's creatures handed out galleons made of leprechaun-gold to the crowd watching the Quidditch World Cup final; unfortunately the money disappeared after a few hours, a cause of particular disappointment for Fred, George and (once he noticed) Ron Weasley.