The Cathedrals of Europe Trivia Game | World Sites

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Known as 'Piazza dei Miracoli' ("Square of Miracles" in English), the cathedral pictured here, with its separate baptistery in the foreground, is one of the finest architectural complexes in the world. In which Italian city is it located?

Answer: Pisa

A slightly wider angle to the photograph would have made this question too easy, since 'Piazza dei Miracoli' stands adjacent to the famous Leaning Tower of Pisa. The whole square was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Named for Santa Maria Assunta (St. Mary of the Assumption), construction of the the medieval cathedral that is now home to the Archdiocese of Pisa began in 1064.

It was seriously damaged by fire in 1595. Inside are the tombs of Saint Ranieri (Pisa's patron saint) and Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII (1312-13) who was also King of Germany and the first emperor of the House of Luxembourg.

2. A UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000, the 440-foot long, five-towered "Cathedral of Our Lady", also known as 'Notre-Dame de Tournai', is located in which European country?

Answer: Belgium

Work began on Tournai Cathedral in the middle of the 12th Century, although there had been a diocese centered here for more than 500 years before that. Home to around 70,000 in 2013, the ancient Walloon city of Tournai is located on the river Scheldt near the French border, around 50 miles southwest of Brussels in the province of Hainaut.

A stopping place known as Tornacum on the Roman road from Cologne to Bologne, the city was fortified in the 3rh Century and was the capital of the Frankish Empire in the middle of the 5th Century. Tournai shares the distinction as Belgium's oldest city with Tongeren.

3. Built of red sandstone, the "Cathedral of St Peter" has four round towers, two large domes, and a choir at each end and today is designated as a 'basilica minor'. The cathedral pictured is located in which German town on the River Rhine that will always be associated with Martin Luther?

Answer: Worms

Building began here in 1110 and was mostly completed in 1181, although the vaulting and the west choir were added in the 13th Century. Worms Cathedral was the seat of the "Catholic Prince-Bishopric of Worms", an ecclesiastical principality of the Holy Roman Empire which lasted from 770 until 1801. Although it may sound something like a particularly nasty way of losing weight, the "Diet of Worms" was actually a formal deliberative assembly held in 1521 with Emperor Charles V presiding.

It was at these proceedings that Martin Luther was officially excommunicated for promoting the Protestant Reformation.

4. St. Stephen's Basilica is named after the country's first king, who reigned from 1000 to 1038. Completed in Neoclassical style in 1905, it is the country's most important church building as well as one of its most significant tourist attractions. In which European capital can you visit the pictured cathedral?

Answer: Budapest, Hungary

Born sometime around 975 A.D. in the city of Esztergom on the River Danube right on the Hungarian/Slovakian border, Stephen I was crowned the first King of Hungary on Christmas Day in 1000 A.D. His birthplace would become Hungary's capital a century later, and remain so until the middle of the 13th Century, when the royal seat moved 30 miles southeast to Buda. The basilica named for Saint Stephen rises to a height of 315 feet, making it jointly the tallest building in Budapest (a record shared with the Hungarian Parliament). Regulations stipulate that no other building may be built higher than this within the city. Of particular note at this cathedral are its bells and its stained-glass windows.

5. Built between 1070 and 1300, Nidaros Cathedral is the world's most northerly medieval cathedral. It was built over the burial site of Saint Olaf, the 11th-Century king who would later be adopted as the country's patron saint. In which European country can you visit the pictured cathedral?

Answer: Norway

Born �lafr Haraldsson in 995 in the municipality of Ringerike in Buskerud county in southern Norway, he became King Olav II at the age of just 20. Olav's reign was cut short by the invasion of King Canute the Great of Denmark in 1029, and he was killed on July 29, 1030 during one of Norway's most famous battles, the Battle of Stiklestad. A year later, Olav was canonised locally, and his sainthood was later confirmed by Pope Alexander III in 1164.
Posthumously given the title "Rex Perpetuus Norvegiae" ("Norway's Eternal King" in English) Olav was buried in the west-coast city now named Trondheim (historically called Kaupangen, Nidaros and Trondhjem). Nidaros Cathedral was subsequently built over his burial site.
Olav's place as Norway's patron saint is traditionally represented by the golden axe with the silver blade wielded by the lion rampant on Norway's coat of arms.

6. A religious site has stood here since 930 and the current structure dates back to the 14th Century. Burial site of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, the "Metropolitan Cathedral of Saints Vitus, Wenceslaus and Adalbert" (pictured) dominates the skyline of which European capital?

Answer: Prague, Czech Republic

Saint Vitus Cathedral is the largest and most important church in the Czech Republic. Located in the Hradcany district of Prague, the cathedral stands within the confines of the 9th-Century Prague Castle, the official home to the country's President and the world's largest ancient castle.
The present-day Gothic cathedral dates back to 1344, when the Prague diocese was elevated to archbishopric status. Work continued for many centuries thereafter and consecration took place only in 1929.

7. Constructed between 1220 and 1270 and designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981, the pictured cathedral stands on a ridge overlooking the River Somme. With an internal height of 139 feet, it is the tallest completed cathedral in France and also has the largest internal volume. In which French city can you visit the pictured cathedral?

Answer: Amiens

At the turn of the 20th Century, the "Cathedral Basilica of Our Lady of Amiens" was the world's 19th-largest church. Constructed in the French Gothic style in the 13th Century, the cathedral's western portals are notable for their elaborate sculpture. The interior is noted for its works of art (from every period since it was built) and its stained-glass windows, most of which survived the two World Wars.

The building itself was used as a hospital during the Battle of the Somme during WWI. Also here is the alleged "head of John the Baptist", brought back to France from the Fourth Crusade (1202-04).

8. Built in the Gothic style in the 1220s, Renaissance additions were made to the pictured cathedral in the 15th and 16th centuries. Famous for its vast size and unique architecture, this is the only Spanish cathedral that is designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site without also being joined with the city's historic center or with other buildings. In which Spanish city can you visit the pictured cathedral?

Answer: Burgos

The historic capital of the vast Castile region, the city of Burgos in northern Spain was founded in 884. In 2012 it was home to around 180,000. The city boasts a large number of churches, palaces and other buildings dating back to the medieval period, the most significant of which is Burgos Cathedral, dedicated to the Virgin Mary and ordered by King Ferdinand III of Castile in 1221.
Inside the cathedral, visitors can find the tomb of El Cid and his wife, Do�a Jimena. The national hero of Spain was born Rodrigo D�az de Vivar around 1043 in the nearby town of Vivar del Cid.

9. "The Abbey of Saint Gall", a Carolingian-era abbey that has existed since 719, became an independent principality during the 13th century and was for many centuries one of the chief Benedictine abbeys in Europe. Today it houses one of the world's richest medieval libraries. Designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983, in which country can you visit the pictured cathedral?

Answer: Switzerland

The city of Saint Gallen is the capital of the Swiss canton of the same name in the extreme north-east of the country. Founded from the 7th-Century hermitage of Saint Gall, the city is now home to around 160,000. The abbey itself was founded by the monk and priest Saint Othmar (689-759), who became its first abbot.
The current building is built in the Baroque style. Its famous library houses one of the most comprehensive collections of early medieval books in German-speaking Europe with more than 160,000 books, 2,100 of them handwritten.

10. Notable for its Neo-Classical style (resembling a Greek temple) with a detached Baroque bell tower, the pictured cathedral represents the heart of the country's Catholic spiritual life. It is dedicated to two saints, Stanislaus of Szczepan�w, the Bishop of Krakow martyred by King Boles�aw II the Bold of Poland in 1079, and Ladislaus I, King of Hungary from 1077 and of Croatia from 1091 until his death in 1095. In which European capital is the pictured cathedral located?

Answer: Vilnius, Lithuania

"The Cathedral of Vilnius" stands in the "Old Town" at the heart of the Lithuanian capital. Religious structures have occupied this site since pre-Christian times. Construction of the current cathedral took place between 1779 and 1783, although it took a further two decades to complete the work on the interior.
Inside are the tombs of numerous famous people from both Lithuania and Poland. During the Soviet occupation following WWII, the building was converted into a warehouse, but its cathedral status was restored following independence in 1990.

Source: Author EnglishJedi

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor stedman before going online.
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The Cathedrals of Europe Trivia Quiz

This continues the pictorial tour of the world's great cathedrals that began in the United Kingdom before crossing the Atlantic to North America...

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