Piznai Ukrainu! (Discover Ukraine!) Quiz

Answer: Yalta Conference

The Livadia Palace, located near Yalta, was a summer house for the Russian imperial family during the second half of the 19th century. Czar Nicholas II had it torn down and rebuilt under the guidance of the architect Nikolay Krasnov. The new palace, officially inaugurated on 11 September 1911, has a different architectural style for each of its four facades. In fact, the entire palace is built and decorated in an assortment of styles, including a portico of Carrara marble, an Italian patio, an Arabic patio, a Florentine tower, a Pompeian vestibule, a Jacobean study lined with maple, a Neo-Baroque dining room, and an English billiard room. The palace currently houses a Ukrainian museum, and is occasionally used for international governmental meetings.

The leaders of the United States, Great Britain and Russia had previously met in Tehran, Iran during November and December of 1943, when they planned their strategy for the final stages of the war against Germany and its allies. The leaders met again (with Harry Truman replacing Roosevelt, who had died, and the representative of Great Britain changing from Churchill to Clement Atlee during the conference) during July and August of 1945 in Potsdam, Germany. This meeting focused on details of the peace treaties being negotiated, and punishment of Germany.

Answer: Greek, Roman and Byzantine ruins

The picture shows St Vladmir's Cathedral, with the gold dome, overlooking the excavations of ancient ruins in suburban Sevastopol. The Greek colony of Cheronesus, in the region then known by the name of Taurica, was settled by the Greeks in the 6th century BCE. The Romans gained control during the rule of the emperor Trajan, and was captured by the Huns in the 4th century CE. It subsequently became a possession of the Byzantine empire, followed by the Varangian ruler of Kiev, Vladmir the Great, then the Genoese during the 13th century CE. St Vladmir's Cathedral was completed in 1892, commemorating the site of Vladmir's baptism.

The Russian government started excavation of the ancient ruins in 1827. They include a Roman amphitheatre and a Greek temple, as well as an extensive defensive wall. This archaeological site rated fifth in the Seven Wonders of Ukraine competition.

Answer: Dnieper

Khortytsia, one of the largest islands in the Dnieper River, was the base for the Zaporozhian Cossacks, who were a powerful military and political force during the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, before being absorbed into the Russian Empire in 1775. The Cossacks were dispersed, and Prussian Mennonites were invited to resettle the area, where they established a thriving timber trade. The Zaporizhian Cossack Museum, built in 1983, has displays showing life in the area from the Stone Age through to the present; unsurprisingly, the Cossack era is heavily featured.

The Khortytsia Reserve placed equal third in the voting for the Seven Wonders of Ukraine competition.

Answer: Trees

An arboretum is a collection of trees and other plants collected for the purposes of scientific study. Dendrology is the study of woody-stemmed plants. Located in the city of Uman, near the centre of Ukraine, Sofiyivsky Park was built between 1796 and 1802 by Count Stanislaw Potocki as a birthday present for his wife Sofia, from whom it gets its name.

It now contains over 2,000 different species of trees and shrubs, arranged to produce a variety of different micro-environments. As well as being a popular tourist spot, it is the site of a significant research institute run by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine.

Answer: Kiev

Kiev is the capital city of Ukraine, as well as being the chief city in the Kiev Oblast (an oblast being one of the administrative regions into which Ukraine is divided). The other three cities are also the chief cities of their oblasts.

Saint Sophia cathedral may have been named in homage to the famous Hagia Sophia in Constantinople, or it may have been modeled on the multi-domed cathedral of Saint Sophia in Novgorod. Whichever is the case, it is a stunning piece of architecture, built during the 11th century. It has five naves, five apses, and thirteen domes, and has large galleries around three sides. The interior includes some of the original mosaics and frescoes. During the 20th century the building was taken under the control of the Soviet government rather than any church. Return to religious control was delayed after the end of the Soviet era because of schisms within the church, and the failure of any one group to establish grounds for being given complete control. Many groups use the church on an occasional basis, but it is basically a tourist site at the start of the 21sth century.

Answer: Belfry

The Great Lavra Belltower dominates the Kiev skyline, and came equal first in the competition to find the Seven Wonders of Ukraine. When it was built in the 18th century it was the highest free-standing bell tower in the world. It's still pretty impressive! There are four tiers, with a dome on top. Each tier has a distinctive architectural style: the first tier is solid brick to provide an adequate foundation to the structure; the second tier features 32 Dorian columns, the third tier 16 Ionic columns, and the fourth tier 8 Corinthian columns. There is a viewing platform on the third tier, from which a great view of the city and surrounding area can be obtained, and the fourth tier has a clock which chimes every quarter of an hour. Three of the original 18th century bells are still there.

Kiev Pechersk Lavra, a name which translates to Kiev Monastery of the Caves, had its origins in a group that set themselves up in a cave overlooking the Dnieper River. It includes several churches, and a very complex system of caves in which can be seen many items of historical and religious significance.

Answer: Mongol Empire

After the Mongol Golden Horde had destroyed the original castle, it was rebuilt by the Daniil Ostrogky, member of a family from which came many famous Ukrainians - military, civilian, and artistic. The family remained staunch supporters of the Eastern Orthodox faith, which they supported by establishing schools, providing Bibles printed in the local dialect, and providing ongoing financial assistance to support the construction of new church buildings. It was on the grounds of the castle that the "Ostrog Bible", one of the earliest Slavic translations of the Bible, was produced in 1581.

The Ukrainian government nominated Ostroh Castle as a Ukrainian Wonder, on the grounds that it is a significant spiritual monument.

Answer: Ottoman

The Battle of Khotyn took place between 2 September and 9 October of 1621, and ended in a stalemate - bad weather led the Ottomans to abandon their siege. One story of the origin of the large dark stain on the fortress wall is that it was made by the tears of citizens who died while trapped during the siege; another states that the tears came from a girl whom the Ottomans had buried alive in the walls of the fort.

The original fort was built in the 10th century, and has been destroyed and rebuilt many times; the current fortress was built during the 14th century. It has featured in a number of territorial disputes over the years, belonging at different times to Kievan Rus, the Halych-Volhynian Kingdom, the Kingdom of Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Russia, Ukraine, the Moldovan National Republic, Austria-Hungary, and Romania; most of these countries controlled Khotyn at several different times during the area's turbulent history.

Khotyn fortress, which placed seventh in the competition to choose Seven Wonders of Ukraine, has often been used as the setting for movies in need of a medieval castle, including the 2009 Russian film "Taras Bulba". This film's thesis that Russians and Ukrainians are a single people who should be a single nation has made it less than popular in Ukraine.

Answer: A medieval castle

The city of Kamyanets-Podilsky actually has a number of tourist attractions. As well as the castle pictured, there are several cathedrals and other buildings of architectural significance. Ballooning in the canyon of the river is very popular, and the city hosts the national ballooning championships, as well as the annual Cossack Games, car racing, music festivals, and a range of art and drama activities which mean there is always something going on.

Kamyanets-Podilsky was first mentioned in writing in 1062. In 1241 it was destroyed by the Mongol invaders, and rebuilt. In 1352 it was taken over by Poland, and became the capital of the voivodship of Podole; during the time of Polish control the castle was rebuilt and enlarged to help provide defense against potential Ottoman and Mongol invaders.

Kamyanets-Podilsky was equal third in the competition to choose Seven Wonders of Ukraine.

Answer: Easter egg

As you can see in the picture, the main area of the world's first museum dedicated to the Easter egg is constructed to resemble a large egg. Technically, the pysanka is a specific type of decorated egg whose traditional Ukrainian folk design is written onto the surface with a stylus that has been dipped into hot wax. The name 'pysanka' comes from the verb 'pysaty', 'to write'.

The museum collection includes over 10,000 pysanky, as well as examples of a range of other types of decorated eggs. These include krashanky (boiled eggs dyed a single color), krapansky (eggs with a pattern made from wax dots, and no other symbols), dryapanky (decorated by dying an egg then scratching away the dye), malyovanky (painted with a brush), and biserky (beads are embedded into a wax coating to make designs). Aside from the krashanky, these are meant for decoration rather than eating, and the egg is often blown out of the shell before decoration commences.