European Capitals for Vexillologists Quiz

Answer: Oslo

Founded in 1000, Oslo had become a major trading centre within half a century. King Haakon V made it capital of Norway at the beginning of the 14th century. Virtually destroyed by a 1624 fire, it was rebuilt and renamed in honor of King Christian IV.

The spelling was changed to Kristiania in 1877 but in 1925 its original Norwegian name was restored. The motto around the edge of the city's coat of arms on the flag reads 'Unanimiter et Constanter' in Latin ("United and Constant").

Answer: Budapest

The flag of Budapest features two rows of triangles representing Hungary in the colors of the national flag. In the centre is the city's coat of arms, adopted in 1873 when the three cities (Buda, Pest and Obuda) that has hitherto existed side by side for more than 1,000 years, united to form a single city.

The castle with the single tower represents Pest, home of the national parliament, whilst the 3-towered castle symbolizes Buda, home of the Royal Palace. The white stripe through the middle represents the Danube. Atop the coat of arms is the crown of King Saint Stephen, and on either side are a lion and a griffin.

Buda Castle (or Royal Palace) and the surrounding medieval, Baroque and 19th-century buildings on Castle Hill were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.
Budapest is one of my favorite cities in the world, and if you haven't visited it I can only recommend it highly.

Answer: Riga

The sovereignty of Latvia was recognized in 1921 following the War of Independence against the Russian Empire that had lasted from 1918 until 1920. The Latvian people's independence, though, was relatively short-lived and ended with the onset of World War II, as first the Nazis and then the Russians took control of their small country with devastating effect. Independence was restored in 1991 after some 36 years as a Soviet satellite.

Riga is the largest city in the Baltic States (Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) and is home to more than a third of Latvia's entire population.

A former Hanseatic League member, the city of Riga was founded in 1201 and its Historic Centre was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1997.

Answer: Reykjavik

The Icelandic capital of Reykjavik is the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. The first settlement was established here in 870 A.D., but it would be some nine centuries later that signs of an established urban development were first seen. The city was officially founded in 1786.

Although it is not the place to come if you plan on lying in the heat beside the pool, Reykjavik is a popular tourist destination year round. It is particularly famous for its weekend nightlife, although visitors from non-Scandinavian countries will find the alcohol prohibitively expensive.

It was here that Bobby Fischer famously defeated Boris Spassky for the World Chess Championship in 1972.

Answer: Berlin

This flag was originally adopted as the banner for West Berlin in 1954, but became the flag for the entire city following reunification in 1990. The design of the flag is a German pun, 'Bär' being the German word for 'bear', and thus 'Bärlein' meaning 'little bear', which sounds like 'Berlin'.

In 2014, Berlin was the second-largest city in the European Union (after London).
Settlement was first established here in the 13th Century and, in 1417, it became the capital of the Margraviate of Brandenburg. It was named capital of Prussia in 1701, of the German Empire when the states unified in 1871, and of the Weimar Republic in 1919 following WWI. In the 1920s, it was the third-largest city in the world (after London and New York).

Answer: Ljubljana

Also officially known by the German name of 'Laibach' until 1918, Ljubljana is the capital and largest city in Slovenia. Founded in the early part of the 12th century, it was given 'town rights' in 1220. There is, though, evidence of human activity in this area for more than 4,000 years. The "Municipality of Ig", an archaeological site focusing on lake-dwelling people from that period, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2011.

The medieval Ljubljana Castle dates back to the 15th century and today overlooks the city's 'Old Town'. There has been a castle on this site since at least the 12th century, and the area around the castle has seen permanent human habitation for over 3,000 years.

Answer: Dublin

Although the region around Dublin Bay has been inhabited by humans for more than 2,000 years, the city itself was founded as a Viking settlement and officially celebrated its millennium in 1998. Already established in England for more than a century, the Norman invasion of Ireland came in 1169.

Work on Dublin Castle began on instruction from King John of England in 1204 and was completed around 1230, although much of what can be seen today dates back only to the 18th century. The castle was the seat of English (and later British) government from the time it was built until the formation of the Irish Free State in 1922, when Dublin became the national capital.

The Celtic Harp, or 'cláirseach' in Irish, is a traditional instrument of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and Brittany. It was adopted as the official emblem of the Irish Free State in 1922. The version that appears on Irish currency and coat of arms, and on the Dublin flag, is a 'stringed Argent' (or golden harp)

Answer: Amsterdam

Adopted in 1975, Amsterdam's flag is based on the city's coat of arms, with three St. Andrew's crosses on a black stripe representing the River Amstel, which runs through the city. Look out for the flag on the captain's armband next time you see AFC Ajax playing.

Although The Hague is the seat of the Dutch government, the Constitution of the Netherlands stipulates that Amsterdam is the national capital.

Amsterdam began as a 12th-century fishing village, but the Dutch Golden Age made it one of the world's most important ports. The 17th-century canals for which the city is famous were designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2010.

Answer: Zagreb

The metropolitan area of Zagreb and Zagreb County is the only one within Croatia with more than one million inhabitants, three-quarters of those living in the city itself.

Dating back to Roman times, Zagreb became a Roman Catholic diocese at the end of the 11th century and designated as a 'Free Royal City' in 1242. The various villages and suburbs were unified into a single city in 1850.

Zagreb is home to one of the world's great collections of archaeological artifacts, with approaching half a million items. Notable specific displays at the Archaeological Museum are the Egyptian collection and the collection of historic coins.

Answer: Tirana

Adopted in 2000, the flag of Albania's capital, Tirana, depicts the city's coat of arms on a pale blue background.

Surrounded by hills and with Mount Dajt to the east, Tirana lies about 20 miles inland from Albania's Adriatic coast.

The region around Tirana has seen human habitation dating back thousands of years to the end of the Paleolithic era, as evidenced by the discovery of early Stone Age tools by archaeologists. The first land records date back to the 1430s during the time of Ottoman rule, and the city itself was officially founded in 1614. The 1920 Congress of Lushnjë proclaimed Tirana as temporary capital of Albania, which had become independent in 1912.

Albania has since then been a principality, a republic, a kingdom, an occupied territory under both Italy and Germany, a people's republic, and a socialist republic before returning to an independent state at the end of the Soviet era in 1991.