Special Sub-Topic: German Names of East European Cities Click Here To Play: German Names of East European Cities

Starting in Estonia. The capital Tallinn was called ______ in German?

Reval. Tallinn was established in the 10th century. In 1219 it was conquered by the Danes. Its name originally meant "the Danish city". Then it was German 1285-1561, Swedish 1561-1710, before Peter the Great conquered it in 1710.

We stay in the Baltic, now in Latvia. Ventspils was an important harbor, in German it was called _______?

Windau. This city was established by Germans in the 13th century. At the end of the 19th century it became important for the export of Russian grain.

Liepaja - also in Latvia - was an important port and naval base. In German it was called _________?

Libau. The city was established by Germans in 1263. It was the capital of Courland. It was also the temporary capital of Latvia in 1918-19.

Another important harbor on the Baltic - Klaipeda is now in Lithuania. In German it was called ________?

Memel. Memel was established by Germans in 1252. It was a Free City after WW II, but was occupied by Lithuania in 1923.

After WWII the Polish border was moved to the west. Large parts of Germany in East Prussia and Silesia ended up within the Polish borders. Hence a lot of cities changed names. For example, Wroclaw, which in German was called _______?

Breslau. Wroclaw/Breslau is in Silesia and was the biggest German city to be Polish after WWII. Its population before the war was almost entirely German.

Another Polish city. Gdansk was called _____ in German?

Danzig. Between WWI and WWII Danzig was a Free City with a German speaking majority.

Yet another Polish city. Bydgoszcz was called in German _____?

Bromberg. This city belonged to Prussia from 1772-1807 and 1815-1919.

This town on the Baltic is now called Kaliningrad. It is within the Russian enclave with the same name. In German it was called _______?

Königsberg & Konigsberg & Koenigsberg. Königsberg was capital of East Prussia. Philosopher Immanuel Kant was born here and was later Professor of Philosophy at the University of Königsberg.

This city is now in the Ukraine. Before WWII it belonged to Poland. Before WWI it belonged to Austria-Hungary. It is now called Lvov or Lviv. In German it was called ________?

Lemberg. Lemberg was capial of the Austrian 'crownland' of Galicia.

This city is now the capital of Slovakia. In German it was called _____?

Pressburg&Preßburg. Bratislava/Pressburg was capital of (Habsburg) Hungary from 1536-1784. The Hungarians called it Pozsony.

One of the biggest cities in Hungary is called Györ, but the Germans called it ______?

Raab. The Turks invaded the city in 1592.

The capital of Slovenia, Ljubljana, also had a German name, which was _______?

Laibach. This city was part of the Habsburg monarchy 1278-1918. It was capital of Napoleon's Illyrian Provinces 1809-1813.

There was a large minority of Germans in Romania, especially in Transylvania. The city os Cluj (Cluj-Napoca)was called ________ in German?

Klausenburg. Klausenburg was capital of Transylvania up to the 18th century when Karlsburg (Romanian: Alba Iulia) became administrative capital.

Before WWII three million Germans lived in Czechoslovakia, most of them in Sudetenland.The city now called Liberec was called ______ in German?

Reichenberg. Reichenberg was capital of Sudetenland.

Another city in Sudetenland (Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic), Karovy Vary, was called ______ in German?

Karlsbad. Karlovy Vary is known for its spas.