The History of Copenhagen Trivia Quiz

Answer: Absalon's Castle

Absalon was a Danish bishop and close friend to Danish King Valdemar. He is considered one of Copenhagen's founding fathers. Absalon's Castle was actually a complex of several different buildings, including a church. The castle no longer exists but its ruins can be found underneath Christiansborg Palace, home of the Danish Parliament.

Answer: Fishing

Copenhagen's location surrounded by many bodies of water and consisting of many islands made it an ideal city for the fishing industry. This was particularly noteworthy during the Lenten season when Catholics, who made up most of West Europe's population at the time, could not eat meat and Copenhagen's fish made it an even more popular city.

Answer: Eric of Pomerania

Eric VII of Denmark, better known as Eric of Pomerania, was an ambitious king. He attempted to take many different provinces around Europe but almost always failed. Margaret I, who was monarch before Eric, nearly had Schleswig in Danish possession but when he took over, he abandoned her diplomacy for war. He did not take Schleswig and actually lost territory to the Holy Roman Empire.

Although he sent the Danish economy spiraling down, he managed to rebound by instituting tolls on ships called "sound dues". However, Eric had been steadily losing support from all classes of people in Denmark and Sweden and he was thrown out of Copenhagen in 1428.

Answer: Amusement park

Dyrehavsbakken began when Copenhagen's water supply suddenly became undrinkable, and one of the few places to get water was this royal spring. When people flocked to Dyrehavsbakken, entertainers and food vendors also went and it eventually grew larger and larger. Dyrehavsbakken did not actually have any rides until 1932 when a wooden roller coaster called Rutschebanen was built which still exists today. Dyrehavsbakken is Denmark's second most visited amusement park after the famous Tivoli Gardens.

Answer: Staying out of wars

King Christian IV began a number of aesthetic improvements to Copenhagen including commissioning the Rosenborg Castle and the Leda and the Swan statue in Arsenal Harbor. He also allowed for the establishment of trading companies to sell goods exclusively overseas, which was necessitated because Copenhagen factories produced a surplus in order to prevent imported goods from entering the city. King Christian IV also expanded Copenhagen in area by building two new districts to the city, Nyboder, which mainly housed sailors and Christianshavn, a harbor district that today has a distinct personality separate from the rest of Copenhagen.

While King Christian IV attempted to stay out of war, it was not always possible. He aligned with Sweden during the Emperor's War in 1618-1648 when the Holy Roman Empire began threatening Danish territory.

Answer: Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe was a Danish astronomer who lived in the 16th century and is known for laying the foundation for future astronomers who studied and developed his work, measuring the distances between planets and developing a theory of supernovas. Notably, Kepler used Tycho Brahe's works to develop his laws of planetary motion. The Copenhagen Fire of 1728 destroyed over 35,000 books, several churches and the research facilities at the University of Copenhagen.

The 18th century was very tumultuous for Copenhagen as it experienced two large, devastating fires in 1728 and 1795, a minor outbreak of Black Death and naval bombardments from various European powers. Despite this, Copenhagen received significantly less damage from these events than many other European cities did during comparable events and recovered much quicker.

Answer: The British

In 1801, the British were eager to assert their naval dominance in Europe, especially against France. When Denmark joined up with Russia in a free trade deal that the British believed was pro-France, they attacked Copenhagen and were led by Horatio Nelson. The battle was much more difficult than expected with the Danish exhibiting their naval strengths as well. The British did claim victory but did not gain anything.

In 1807, the British again attacked Copenhagen when they believed France was pressuring Denmark to close its sea routes to the British. In this battle, however, the Danish surrendered their fleet to the British.

The 1801 battle is often referred to as the Battle of Copenhagen while the 1807 one is called the Bombardment of Copenhagen to avoid confusion.

Answer: Little Mermaid

Hans Christian Andersen was a popular Danish writer of fairy tales, of which "The Little Mermaid" is one of his most famous. Copenhagen itself is said to be "home to mermaids" and people for centuries have claimed to see mermaids in and around the city's waterways and seas.

In recent decades, the statue has become something of a political statement and target for vandalism. In 1964, a political protester cut off the head. It was later replaced with a new one. Arms have been cut off at various times and the head has been severed and stolen at least twice since the original incident. In 2003, the statue was blown up but it remained mostly whole as it fell into the river. When it was recovered, it was only missing a knee and a wrist. In 2004, it was dressed like a Muslim woman to protest Turkey potentially joining the European Union and in 2006, it was found holding a sex toy and covered in paint, apparently as part of a Women's Day celebration.

Answer: Operation Carthage

Copenhagen had been occupied by Nazi Germany since 1940 and repeatedly asked the British to liberate the city. After the British successfully freed the Danish city of Aarhus the year before, they decided to try Copenhagen. The British targeted the Gestapo headquarters building called Shellhus and successfully demolished the building.

However, over 125 Danish citizens were killed because of the Shellhus' location on a crowded street near the Jeanne d'Arc Boarding School.

Answer: Malmo, Sweden

The bridge has caused some consternation for travelers as Denmark and Sweden use different currencies and passports are needed to travel between the two nations. Most shops on the bridge or just off it on either side will accept both the Danish krone and Swedish krona. While passports are legally required, they are often not checked and travelers hoping to get by without one have often been turned away when they were unexpectedly stopped.

The Oresund Bridge is just one example of how Copenhagen is leading the way for modernization and innovation in the 21st century. Copenhagen is one of the greenest cities in the world and has taken on a strong fight against climate change.