We're Sailing to Luxembourg! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Belgium

Luxembourg is bordered by Germany to the east, France to the south and Belgium to its north and west. It is one of the world's smallest countries, measuring only 51 miles long; nevertheless, it is an important hub of Europe both politically and financially, with a high-income economy, low unemployment, low crime rate and a good quality of living. The capital city, also called Luxembourg, has many sites of cultural and historical importance including fortifications dating back to Roman times.

Luxembourg has several museums and art galleries, six golf courses, excellent shopping facilities and is noted for its fine restaurants. It has twice been named European Capital of Culture and in 2011 its capital, Luxembourg City, was ranked top city in the world for personal safety.

Answer: Grand Duke/Duchess

Luxembourg is a parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy which was established as a Grand Duchy in 1815. It is ruled by a Grand Duke or Duchess. In 2000 HRH Henri, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, succeeded to the throne following the abdication of his father, HRH Grand Duke Jean.

Answer: True

Originally established in 1952, the European Court of Justice now comprises 27 judges, one for each member state of the European Union. Luxembourg plays an important role in Europe and was one of the founder members of the European Economic Community, the forerunner to the European Union.

Other organisations to which it belongs include NATO and the United Nations, and also the Benelux Union, along with Belgium and the Netherlands; the name 'Benelux' is derived from the names of the three membership countries.

Answer: Luxembourgish franc

Whilst Luxembourg has had a few different currencies over the course of its history including the French franc, Belgian franc and Dutch guilder, it was the Luxembourgish franc which was the nation's currency prior to the Euro. Its value was tied to the Belgian franc, and it remained Luxembourg's currency from 1854 until 1999, apart from a brief spell during World War II when the Reichsmark was the legal tender following German occupation.

In 1944, following Luxembourg's liberation from Germany, the Luxembourgish franc was reinstated as the currency and remained so until 1 January 1999 when the change to the Euro took place.

The old currency, however, remained in use for cash transactions until the issue of the new Euro notes and coinage in 2002, in line with other Eurozone countries.

Answer: athletics

Josy Barthel (1927-1992) won the Men's 1500 metres event at the 1952 Summer Olympics held in Helsinki, Finland, bringing home the only medal for Luxembourg that year. After his retirement from active sport he served as President to the country's Athletics Foundation and also their Olympic and Sporting Committee.

He had a successful political career too, serving as a Minister in the Luxembourg Government. Luxembourg's sports stadium, which is home to both their national football team and athletics club, was renamed in his honour in 1993, a year after his death.

Answer: True

Luxembourg's flag is similar to that of The Netherlands, except that the blue stripe of the Luxembourg flag is a brighter, lighter shade of blue than that of the Netherlands, which is a dark blue. The three colours of Luxembourg's ensign share the same colours as its flag.

The ensign has a field of ten alternating horizontal stripes of white and light blue with the country's symbol, the red lion, depicted in the centre.

Answer: Catholicism

Luxembourg is a secular state and as such does not have an official religion. There are, however, many religions which are represented. Roman Catholicism is the most widely practised, with an estimated 87% of the population being followers, including the Royal Family. Protestantism is understood to be the second largest denomination, and Jews, Muslims and Eastern Orthodox Christians are also well represented. No exact figures are available because it has been illegal for the government to collect statistical information on people's religious views since 1979.

Answer: rose

Luxembourg's national flower is the rose. Many roses have been created there, including 'L'Independance du Luxembourg', which was created to celebrate Luxembourg's 150 years of independence from Belgium in 1989. It is an orange-pink hybrid tea rose with a strong fragrance, bred by the renowned Belgian rose breeder Louis Lens in 1990.

Answer: Findel

Luxembourg's international airline is Luxair. As well as regular passenger flights within Europe it handles large amounts of air cargo worldwide. Findel Airport is one of the busiest airports in Europe for cargo traffic, and was listed as the 28th busiest in the world in 2010. Air cargo is handled by the Cargolux airline. Luxembourg has excellent road and rail facilities too, including a high-speed rail link to Paris which has cut journey times significantly.

The other three choices all lie on rivers that run through Luxembourg and its neighbours. Vianden lies on the Our, Mertert on the Moselle and Esch-sur-Alzette, as its name suggests, on the Alzette.

Answer: English

Luxembourgish is a High German language and is Luxembourg's national language. It is one of the three official languages of Luxembourg along with French and German, and all three are taught in schools. Luxembourg has a trilingual educational system; in the first year children are taught in Luxembourgish, followed by German, with French being taught in secondary schools. Luxembourg has one university, the University of Luxembourg.

Although English is also taught in schools and is widely spoken, particularly in international dealings, it is not actually one of the country's official languages.