European Castles and Palaces: Pt 1 Quiz

Answer: The Dukes of Marlborough

John Churchill, the Duke of Marlborough was granted this residence by a grateful Queen (Anne) and the nation in recognition of his victory against Louis XIV in the War of the Spanish Succession. The annual rent is a small Bourbon banner displayed at Windsor Castle.

The Palace of Westminster is so called because it was once a royal palace.

Answer: All of these

Originally part of an abbey, it was the official burial place of the later Scottish kings - until the union with England. Henry Darnley, husband of Mary Queen of Scots, was buried there.

Answer: Thomas Wolsey

Wolsey originally built Hampton Court as his own private residence. At the time of its completion, Wolsey was falling out of favour with Henry VIII, partially due to his failure to obtain Henry's divorce and also due to a long standing hostility between Anne Boleyn and himself.

In an attempt to regain favour, Wolsey gave it to Henry who undertook extensive renovations. William and Mary also undertook extensive renovations in the late 17th century.

Answer: Madame de Pompadour

Catherine Briconnet was the wife of the orginal builder Thomas Bohier, who was finance minister to Francis I. Henry II, son of Francis I purchased it and gave it to his mistress Diane de Poitiers. When Henry died, his widow, Catherine de Medici forced Diane to relinquish Chenonceau in return for Chaumont. De Pompadour, one of Louis XV's mistresses, had no part in Chenonceau's history but she did purchase Menars in the Loire valley which she extensively renovated.

Answer: Ludwig II

Ludwig was responsible for the building of two other residences besides Neuschwanstein, Linderhof and Herrenchiemsee. Upon his abdication and death (possibly murder), his brother Otto I became King of Bavaria. Due to mental instability, Otto was confined for his entire reign with authority being vested in his uncle Prince Regent Luitpold and later his cousin Ludwig.

His cousin in 1913 had an instrument of abdication passed and became king as Ludwig III. Maximilian II was the father of Ludwig II and responsible for the building of the Maximilianeum and Maximilianstrasse in Munich. Ludwig I, father of Maximilian II had public buildings constructed in a Greek style.

Answer: Hohenzollerns

Charlottenburg is one of the palaces in Berlin formerly used by the Hohenzollerns. It is located outside the centre of the city and was hence a 'country' residence. (Charlottenburg was for a time a town in its own right until it became part of Greater Berlin in 1921).

The main Prussian palace, located in the heart of Berlin (and thus part of the Soviet sector after World War II) was destroyed after the war, although there are persistent rumours that it may be reconstructed. The Guelphs were in Hanover and the Glucksbergs in Belgium.

Answer: Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel

Although George IV would probably wished to have his wife, Caroline of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel exiled to Celle, he did not do so. (She was popular in England). George I, however, his great-great-grandfather imprisioned his wife Sophia Dorothea there. They had been married as part of a dynastic union which provided for the union of the Electorate of Hanover with the Duchy of Celle.

She had an affair with Count Philip of Königsmark and had her marriage repudiated and was imprisoned in Celle. Philip mysteriously disappeared.

In true double standard fashion, George suffered no penalties for his extra martial affairs. Caroline Matilda, wife of Christian VII of Denmark and sister of George III of Great Britain, was imprisoned in Celle after her affair with her husband's minister and favourite was discovered.

Answer: Kaiser Wilhelm I

Albert and his brother Ernest spent much of their youth there. Queen Victoria, on her frequent visits to Coburg delighted in the small castle. There is no record of Wilhelm I, Germany's first kaiser, having stayed there. (Note. This Rosenau shouldn't be confused with Rosenau (Rasnov) near Bran in Transylvania).

Answer: Francis I

Although there are stories that da Vinci had a part in its contruction, there is no definitive proof that he contributed to its constuction. Henry II stayed there but had no part in its construction. Louis XV gave it as a residence to his father-in-law Stanislaus, onetime King of Poland.

The chateau contains a museum to the abortive attempt to restore the Bourbon monarchy after the fall of Napoleon III.

Answer: True

In order to protect Luther from persecution from the Catholic hierarchy, the reigning duke housed him in the fortress for a period of six months in 1530. This was only one of several places where he hid for safety.

Answer: Schönbrunn

There is a legend which says that a Holy Roman Emperor was out hunting and, being thirsty, quenched his thirst at a spring. The water was so refreshing that he had a palace built there. The present structure, although started by Leopold I, was not finished until the reign of Maria Theresa.

Although the palace contains almost 1,500 rooms, it is a modest fraction of what was originally planned by Fischer von Erlach.

Answer: Pau

Pau was the capital of the kingdom of Navarre which was united with France when Henry IV succeeded Henry III as king. Henry IV, as a solution to the religous strife facing France at the time converted to Catholicism with the phrase that "Paris" was worth a mass.

The Chateau de Loches is a chateau in the Loire. Anet was the property of Diane de Poitiers, mistress of Henry II, to which she retired after being forced to exchange Chenonceau for Chaumont. Fere was an old fortified castle, now mostly destroyed, on the royal route between Paris and Reims. Part of it is now a castle-hotel.

Answer: Armory Palace

The Great Kremlin Palace is the site of many of the display rooms of the Romanov court and which are still used today. Until the Palace of the Congresses was built, it was used for Party Congresses. St George's Hall is one of these rooms. The Armory Palace is one of the palaces in the Kremlin and is a treaure vault.

The Hermitage is in St Petersburg and is a noted art museum. The Catherine Palace is in Pushkin, outside St Petersburg. Extensively damaged in World War II, it has been beautifully restored.

Answer: Alexander Palace

The Alexander Palace in Tsarkoe Selo (renamed Pushkin) was the usual residence of the tsar. The first railway line in Russia connected St Petersburg with his palace compound at the tsar's village. This compound contained the elaborate Catherine palace and the smaller more intimate Alexander palace which he used. Pavlovsk, also located outside St Petersburg was built for Catherine the Great's son Paul who was murdered there. Orienbaum was a summer retreat to the west of St Petersburg frequented by Catherine the Great.

It has an artificial toboggan run for the entertainment of the court. The Winter Palace was the large palace in St Petersburg but Nicholas and Alexandra preferred the more intimate atmosphere of the Alexander Palace.

Answer: Gmünden

Archduke Johann Salvator of Tuscany was one of the generation of Habsburgs that clashed with the imperial authority. He was a friend of Crown Prince Rudolf. After breaking with the family, he became a seaman and obtained his master mariner's licence.

Although rumours persisted of his survival, he was apparently lost with his ship the Saint Margaret and its crew off Cape Horn. Gmünden is near Salzburg but is not on a lake. Maria Wörth is located at the south end of the Wörther See. It was a base for the conversion of the Austrian province of Carinthia (Kärnten) to Christianity. Velden, on the west side of the Wörther See is the site of a schloss which was built in 1590 and is now a castle hotel.

Answer: Schloss Dürnstein

Dürnstein, on the banks of the Danube, is a picturesque wine village. It was while Richard was imprisoned in this schloss, according to legend, that the minstrel Blondel located him by singing a song which had been written by Richard and by hearing him reply with another verse. Festung Hohensalzburg was built by the prince-archbishops of Salzburg. Schloss Anif, also in Salzburg, is famous for its appearance in the movie "The Sound of Music". Stift Melk is a Benedictine Abbey located on the Danube.

Answer: Blois

Site of the meeting of the Estates General in 1576 and 1588 (the last time the Estates General were called together until the reign of Louis XVI almost two hundred years later, Blois is one of the royal chateau on the Loire. Henry III, who ordered the murder of his rival in the "War of the Three Henrys" (Henry III, Henry Duke of Guise and Henry of Navarre - later Henry IV) was himself murdered shortly afterwards.

Answer: Chinon

Most of Chinon is now in ruins but is a worthwhile excursion. Archaelogical digs confirm that it has been the site of a stronghold since before the time of the Romans. The Romans also fortified the area when they conquered Gaul. Loches was also a strategic castle in the Loire. Surrendered to France by the English as part of the ransom of Richard the Lionheart, it was recaptured by Richard after he was freed.

After his death, the French were again successful in capturing it and it became a state prison. Gue Pean is a quaint Loire Chateau that was often visited by Louis XII and his English wife Mary Tudor (sister of Henry VIII - *not* to be confused with his daughter) and more recently, the Shah of Persia. Part of it is a castle hotel while the rest remains the residence of the current owner. Saumur was another chateau prison on the Loire.

It presently houses several museums including the museum of decorative arts and a museum of the horse tracing the history of that animal in wartime and in peace.

The dungeons are also open to visitors.

Answer: True

Just outside Paris, it was a country retreat during Napoleon's time as First Consul and as Emperor. When Josephine was divorced, she received Malmaison as part of the settlement. She retired there, and at the fall of Napoleon, received many of the Allied sovereigns, including Tsar Alexander I of Russia, there.

She died shortly after a reception for the Allied sovereigns during which she caught a cold which developed into a fatal illness.

Answer: False

The Brighton Pavilion was built by George IV in the manner of a moorish palace. It continued as a royal residence until the reign of Queen Victoria when the people of Brighton bought it, making it the only former British royal residence to be owned by a public organization.