Touring Ukrainian Cities Trivia Quiz

Answer: Lviv

Lviv was founded in 1250 by King Daniel of Galicia. Eleven years later it was destroyed by the Mongols, after which it was rebuilt by King Lev, who was Daniel's son. Over its long history, the city has traded hands several times. It was part of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the Kingdom of Poland, the Hapsburg Empire, the Second Polish Republic, and the USSR, among others.

In the 1980s and 1990s Lviv became a center of Soviet dissidents who wished to form an independent country. Considered to be one of Ukraine's most important cultural centers, It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1998.

Answer: Bucha

While Westerners may called Bucha a suburb of Ukraine, in Ukraine it is called an oblast, which is similar to a province or region of a country. Located about 25 miles west of Kyiv, Bucha was founded in 1898 when the Kyiv-Kovel Railroad was built as a train stop. It was named after the nearby Bucha River and gained city status in 2006; before that it had been a town.

Answer: Odesa

Today known as the "Southern Capital", Odesa (or Odessa) was originally settled by ancient Greeks during the 6th century BC, who founded many settlements on the shores of the water they called "Euxinus Pontus", or "hospitable sea", even though the water was generally rough and the people who already lived there were anything but hospitable. Many archaeologists today believe the city was a trade settlement.

The area has been ruled by many people, including the Mongols, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Ottoman Turks, and has had many different names. It was the Ottomans who changed the name from Khadjibey to Odesa, and really built the city into an important sea port. Home to many different cultural groups, the city was part of Russia after WWI, and part of the Ukrainian SSR after WWII. Since the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Odesa has been an important base for Ukraine's navy and fishing fleet, as well as a variety of industries.

Answer: Chernobyl

The first historical evidence of the existence of Chernobyl is from 1193; it is part of the description of a duke's hunting lodge. By 1362 it was a crown village belonging to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, complete with its own castle; in 1569 Chernobyl became part of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland. It was taken by the Russian Empire in 1793.

In the 1500s Chernobyl saw a rise in Jewish population, and it became an important center of Hasidic Judaism by the 1700s. Many of its residents were victims of the Holocaust during WWII. While part of the Ukrainian SSR, the site was chosen in 1972 for the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant. The worse nuclear disaster (to date) in history occurred there in 1986, and all but about 1,000 residents were relocated.

Answer: Mariupol

Located in an area that was ravaged by different groups of invaders, Mariupol's history began on an old site of an encampment of Cossacks, legendary tribal horsemen. Founded in 1779, the city was either named after a nearby ancient Greek settlement, the Empress Maria Feodorovna, or the Virgin Mary. The city quickly became a trading and manufacturing center of the Russia Empire, being close to both the Donets Basin coal, and wheat grown in Yekaterinoslav.

While it is recognized as part of Ukraine, the city is administered by the Donetsk People's Republic, which came into existence in 2014 after the Revolution of Dignity. The Donetsk People's Republic is a pro-Russian breakaway state in the Ukraine.

Answer: Kharkiv

Kharkiv, also known as Kharkav, was founded in 1654 as a fortress town; while it was first designated as a self-governing area under the control of a military leader, it later became part of the Russian Empire, and was settled by Cossacks.

"Sloboda" means "freedom". During the time of the Russian Empire Kharkiv was a type of settlement that was exempt from taxes and other fees for a time, a technique used to lure new colonists to the area. It became an important industrial center in the early 1800s, and continues to be a center of industry, culture, and education in Ukraine today.

Answer: Donetsk

Donetsk was founded in 1779 during the time of the Russian Empire as the city of Aleksandrovka. In 1869 a foreign investor, John Hughes, began to develop coal mines and establish steel plants, which brought many workers to the area. Today it is an important center of industry, as well as a cultural, educational, and religious center.

While internationally the city is considered to be part of Ukraine, since 2014 it has been the capital of the Donetsk People's Republic, controlled by pro-Russian separatists since the Revolution of Dignity.

Answer: Kyiv

Even though Kyiv was named for a legendary founder named Kyi, there isn't much information regarding early settlers in the area. It is considered to be one of the oldest cities in Eastern Europe; tradition states that the city was founded in 482. Since then it has survived damage and ruin caused by numerous invaders, including Grand Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky (1169), Prince Rurik Rostislavich (1203), the Mongols (1240), and Crimean Tatars (1482).

The city became part of the Tsardom of Russia in 1667 and continued to grow and flourish during the Russian Empire. Today it serves as not only the capital of Ukraine, but is an important center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity, as well as a center of industry and trade.

Answer: Dnipro

The city of Dnipro has been known by a number of names, but was given its current name after the nearby river in 2016. Historically, people have been living in the area at least since 870 AD, when Byzantine monks founded a monastery there. Tartars destroyed it in 1240, after which the area was controlled by the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and later Cossack tribes. Catherine the Great ordered that it be called Ekaterinoslav, and the city was formally founded in 1787, although the date was later changed to 1776.

During the Soviet era the city was closed, meaning that anyone who didn't reside in the city, who wanted to visit or stay overnight there, had to have government authorization. This was due to the fact that the industry in the city produced goods for the military and space exploration.

Answer: Sevastopol

Although there are some interesting Greek ruins in the area, the city of Akhtiar, now Sevastopol, was not founded until 1783, when it became an important base for the Russian Black Sea Fleet, as well as a seaport. During the Crimean War, while Sevastopol was under siege by opposing forces, the Russians decided to sink their entire fleet, which also blocked the entrance to enemy ships.

The city was under siege again during WWII from 1941-42, this time by the Axis powers, and, after 240 days, the city fell to German forces. Liberated in 1944 by the Soviets, Sevastopol subsequently became a closed city. Anyone not living in the city had to apply for a special permit to visit. In 1991 Sevastopol became the main base for Ukraine's navy; since 2014, however, the city has been administered by Russia after its annexation of Crimea.