Made in Europe Trivia Quiz

A dark shade of red with purple or brown undertones, burgundy is named after the red wines from the French region of Burgundy. It is a rich, sophisticated colour, widely used in fashion and interior decoration, which suggests luxury and prestige. A popular choice for autumn and winter because of its warm and cozy feel, in 1981 burgundy was adopted by the European Union as the standard colour for member states' passport covers. Similar shades to burgundy are claret (also known as bordeaux), mulberry and maroon. All these colours are often simply referred to as wine-red.

Burgundy (Bourgogne in French) is a historical region in eastern France, once the centre of a powerful duchy that existed between the 10th and the 18th centuries. The wines (both red and white) produced there - in particular in the valleys west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône - have been highly prized for centuries, and are accordingly expensive.

One of the earliest pigments used by humans, sienna is an earth pigment containing iron oxide and manganese oxide. Its natural form, a shade of yellowish-brown, is called raw sienna; when heated (burnt sienna), it becomes a rich, reddish brown. The pigment's name comes from the Italian city of Siena, as it was extracted from a quarry near Monte Amiata, an extinct volcanic massif that was part of the territory of the Sienese Republic in the Middle Ages. The colour of raw sienna is also reminiscent of the clay hills - known in Italian as "Crete" - found south of Siena. Both raw and burnt sienna were widely used by Renaissance and Baroque painters. Another earth pigment, umber, is named after the region of Umbria in central Italy, not far from Siena.

Founded by the Romans in the 1st century AD, Siena is located in the central part of Tuscany, south of Florence: it is one of the region's provincial capitals. It is a beautiful hill town surrounded by walls, home to magnificent medieval buildings such as the Duomo (cathedral) and the Palazzo Pubblico (town hall). It is also famous for the Palio, a horse race run twice a year in the scenic Piazza del Campo.

Both Angora goats and rabbits have their origins in the region of Ankara, the capital of Turkey, which was historically called Angora in many European languages. The fibre made from the hair of Angora goats is called mohair, while Angora wool is produced from the downy coat of Angora rabbits. Both these fibres are characterized by their silky, fluffy texture, and prized for their lightness and warmth. Mohair is obtained by shearing the goats, usually twice a year. Angora wool, on the other hand, is traditionally collected by plucking of combing the rabbits' fur when they moult, though shearing is less time-consuming. Another fluffy animal associated with the Turkish capital is the Turkish Angora cat, a beautiful, long-haired domestic feline.

Located in the Central Anatolia region, Ankara is a city of ancient origin, known as Ankyra (anchor) by the Greeks. It became the capital of Turkey in 1923, when the Republic was established. Home to over 5 million people, it is Turkey's second-largest city after Istanbul.

Eau de Cologne is a perfume that originated in the German city of Cologne in the early 18th century. Created by Italian-born perfumier Giovanni Maria Farina in 1706, the perfume quickly became an international success, bringing fame and fortune to its creator - who gave the perfume the name of the city as an act of gratitude for having been granted citizenship. The original Eau de Cologne was based on a mixture of citrus essential oils, with the addition of oils extracted from a number of aromatic herbs. Today the word cologne denotes a fragrance usually marketed towards men, or a less concentrated version of a perfume.

One of Germany's most populous cities, Cologne (Köln in German) is located in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia, on the banks of the river Rhine. Its cityscape is dominated by the twin spires of its imposing Gothic cathedral (whose construction took over 600 years to complete), which survived the Allied bombings that destroyed most of the city during WWII.

Suede refers to a kind of soft leather with a napped finish, made from the underside of an animal's skin. The skins most commonly used come from calves, lambs, goats, and deer. Though less durable and more likely to get dirty than leather made from the outer skin layer, suede is versatile because of its pliability, which makes it suitable not only for shoes and bags, but also for clothing and upholstery. Its name comes from the French "gants de Suède", meaning gloves from Sweden, as it was originally used for manufacturing gloves.

Sweden (Sverige in Swedish) is the largest of the Scandinavian countries, and the fifth-largest country in Europe. Glove-making came to Sweden from France in the 17th century, and took root especially in the southern part of the country, where the industry flourished during the 19th century. Another item named after Sweden is the root vegetable known as swede or rutabaga, which is native to Northern Europe.

A spa is a town, a resort or a business specializing in various kinds of health, wellness and beauty treatments. The name comes from the town of Spa in Belgium, which has been renowned since Roman times for the supposed medicinal properties of its mineral waters. Spa towns and resorts are especially popular in Europe, where they have a long tradition inherited from Roman bathing practices. Today the name day spa denotes businesses that offer facilities geared towards wellness and relaxation, as well as a wide range of beauty treatments.

Known by the Romans as Aquae Spadanae, Spa is located in the Belgian province of Liège, in eastern Belgium. A popular tourist destination, it is also known for its motor racing circuit. Along with another ten famous European towns, Spa is part of a transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site called The Great Spa Towns of Europe, inscribed in the list in 2021. Notable for their handsome 18th- and 19th-century architecture and innovative urban planning, this group of towns also includes Bath (England), Vichy (France), Montecatini (Italy) and Baden-Baden (Germany).

Also known as a ski mask, a balaclava is a type of knit headgear worn over the head and part of the face - usually exposing only the eyes, though there are styles that also leave nose and mouth uncovered, wrapping around the chin. The balaclava is named for the Battle of Balaclava fought in 1854 during the Crimean War, ending in the infamous Charge of the Light Brigade. The British soldiers stationed in the Crimea wore handmade knitted headgear, sent over from Britain, to protect themselves from the bitter cold during the winter. Over time, this head covering became known as "balaclava helmet". In modern times, balaclavas are often worn when practicing winter sports; special balaclavas made of fire-retardant material are worn by racing drivers under their crash helmets. Balaclavas are also used by the military in various parts of the world, and worn by gang members to conceal their identity.

The town of Balaklava is part of the city of Sevastopol, the largest city in the Crimean Peninsula, which is part of Ukraine but occupied by Russia since 2014. It is located on an inlet of the Black Sea. and dominated by the ruins of a fortress built by the Genoese in the late 14th century.

A limerick is a five-line poem with a fixed rhyme scheme of AABBA; lines 1, 2 and 5 have three feet, while lines 3 and 4 have two. Its origins are believed to lie in a nonsense verse parlour game whose refrain mentioned the Irish city of Limerick. According to another theory, Limerick was home to a group of poets who were known to write such verses. The earliest forms of limericks date from the 18th century, though they became popular in the mid-19th century thanks to English poet and artist Edward Lear, who wrote 212 of them, accompanying each of them with an equally humorous illustration.

Located in western Ireland, in the county of the same name, Limerick is one of Ireland's most populous cities. A major port, it lies on the banks of the River Shannon, the island's longest river, at the head of its estuary on the Atlantic Ocean. Limerick also boasts a number of historic building from various eras.

The popular textile pattern known as paisley is based on an ancient design from Persia named "boteh" (shrub or bush). Shaped like a curved teardrop, it has often been interpreted as a stylized depiction of a cypress tree (a symbol of life and eternity in the Zoroastrian religion) merged with a floral spray. One of the most common motifs found in Persian carpets, the boteh was introduced to Europe in the late 18th century, when the British East India Company brought Kashmir shawls to England and Scotland - where they became an immediate fashion sensation. The town of Paisley, in western Scotland, was the first place in Europe where the design was reproduced using jacquard looms. The paisley pattern experienced a revival of popularity in the 1960s, when it became associated with hippie culture, and is still a popular design for items such as scarves and home textiles.

Paisley is located in west-central Scotland, in the council area of Renfrewshire; it is part of the Greater Glasgow area. Originally a small market town, it became an important industrial centre in the late 18th century, specializing in the production of textiles - in particular the luxury shawls mentioned in the previous paragraph, some of which belong to the collection of the town's museum.

The iconic marathon has its origins in the legend of Pheidippides, a Greek soldier who, during the Battle of Marathon (490 BC) pitting Athenians against Persian invaders, ran the entire distance between the battleground and the city of Athens (about 40 km/25 mi) without stopping to bring the news of the Athenian victory. According to the version by Lucian of Samosata, the heroic messenger burst into the citizens' assembly, shouted "We have won!", and then collapsed and died. Inspired by this moving legend, the modern marathon was introduced in the very first modern Olympic Games, which took place in Athens in 1896. It is now traditionally run on the final day of the Summer Olympics as the last event of the athletics calendar. In addition, hundreds of marathons are organized worldwide - many of them also including a wheelchair division.

The town of Marathon is located in the East Attica region of Greece. It is the starting point of the Athens Classic Marathon, which has been held annually in November since 1972. A large burial mound, known as the Soros, erected for the 192 Greeks who fell in the Battle of Marathon, rises on the coastal plain where the battle was fought.