A Trip down the River Rhine Quiz | Europe

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. The source waters of the Rhine can be found in a number of localities in the Swiss canton of Grisons. Which lake near the Oberalp Pass in the Gotthard region is traditionally thought of as the source of the Anterior Rhine and the Rhine as a whole?

Answer: Lake Toma

Lake Toma is situated at the northern face of Piz Badus, above the village of Tschamut in the canton of Grisons, and is generally deemed to be the official source of the Rhine.

All the incorrect answer options are lakes in Switzerland.

2. The Alpine Rhine flows westwards into the 200-square-mile Lake Constance, whose shoreline is shared between three countries. If somebody on the lake shore had been looking upwards on 2 July, 1900, what would they have seen?

Answer: The first flight of a Zeppelin

The world's first airship, the LZ1, was designed and built by Ferdinand, Count Zeppelin. On 2 July 1900 it made its maiden voyage, taking off from a large floating hangar moored on the lake near Freidrichshafen. It must have been an astonishing sight.

Airship trips became very popular, leading even to cross-Atlantic voyages. However the fact that the vessels were filled with highly flammable hydrogen gas led to disaster. The worst incident was the destruction of the Hindenberg, which crashed in flames in New Jersey in 1937. Airships were consequently more or less abandoned, although the Zeppelin company still produces safer, more advanced models.

3. What notable river feature can be seen on the Rhine at Schaffhausen in Switzerland?

Answer: A waterfall

Schaffhausen is the location of the Rhine Falls, which are 150 m (490 ft) wide and 23 m (75 ft) high; it's the most powerful waterfall in Europe. They were formed approximately 14,000 to 17,000 years ago during the last ice age by erosion-resistant rocks narrowing the riverbed. A large rock in the middle of the Falls, the Rheinfallfelsen, is the remnant of the original limestone cliffs flanking the former channel.

The Falls have been a major tourist attraction for many years; J. M. W. Turner painted "Fall of the Rhine at Schaffhausen" there, and other visitors include John Ruskin, Goethe and Shelley.

4. In the middle of the river near Basle is the Dreilandereck. What geographic feature does this mark?

Answer: A "three-country corner"

The Dreilandereck marks the spot in the middle of the Rhine where the borders of Switzerland, Germany and France meet. It's marked by an artificial spur of stone.

5. On the right bank of the Rhine in the Rhine Gorge at Sankt Goarshausen can be found the Lorelei. What exactly is this?

Answer: A rock

The Lorelei is a 132-metre-high (433 ft), steep slate rock.

A long artificial line of rocks stretches out from the cliff face, with a statue of a woman at its end.

The rock has been an infamous shipwreck site for over a thousand years. Explanations for this range from hostile dwarfs to a siren whose song seduced the navigators - the statue at the site represents her.

6. There are many wine-growing regions along the Rhine, some of them of remarkably high quality. The Rheingau region is particularly famed for its white wines, made mostly from which grape variety?

Answer: Riesling

Around Wiesbaden the Rhine deviates from its northward flow: it heads west for about 30 km before flowing north again. The greater part of the Rheingau is situated in this stretch on the river's right bank, but the region also includes the stretch along the Rhine after it turns northward again, spanning about 50 km from end to end. It makes up only three percent of the total German vineyard area, but some of the most highly prized.

About 78% of the grapes harvested are Riesling, a higher proportion than in any other German wine-growing region.

7. As the Rhine flows through the city of Duisberg in North Rhine-Westphalia it is joined by a tributary flowing in from the right (east) bank. This tributary formed the backdrop to the huge industrial expansion in Germany from the early 1800s onwards. What is the name of this river?

Answer: River Ruhr

The Ruhr is a relatively small river - about the size of the Thames - but its importance in the development of Germany as a European power cannot be overstated. The area around the confluence of the Rhine and the Ruhr - known as the Ruhrgebeit - was Germany's primary industrial region during the early- to mid-20th century The first metalworks in the area started production in 1844, followed in the next 20 years by the opening of over 700 coalmines employing over 100,000 people. By 1871 Germany was the second-biggest coal producer in the world (after the UK), and the Ruhrgebeit was home to the largest steel works in Europe.

By 1945, of course, this powerhouse was dead. The Marshall Plan went some way towards reviving the area, but more recently it has slumped again; Duisberg is now a very depressed city.

8. The Rhine is at its widest as it flows towards the towns of Arnhem and Nijmegen after crossing the border between Germany and the Netherlands, before it splits into a number of distributary branches. It also undergoes a change in its name. By what name do the Dutch call the main channel of the Rhine in their country?

Answer: The Waal

The Waal is the major waterway connecting the port of Rotterdam to Germany, but its main outlet is at Hoek van Holland (literally "The Corner of Holland").

9. The city of Utrecht stands on the Kromme Rijn ("Crooked Rhine"), about 25 miles south of Amsterdam. Running through the city is an installation - a long continuous crack in the road and pavement surfaces, about an inch wide, that emits a sheet of green light. What historic event does this line commemorate?

Answer: The frontier of the Roman Empire

The light display marks the northern frontier of the Roman Empire.

The Romans arrived in the area now known as the Netherlands in 57 BCE, and in 45 CE they built a settlement called Castellum Traiectum where Dom Square in Utrecht is now situated. The green light installation marks the line of the frontier through what is now the city of Utrecht. Soon afterwards the Emperor Claudius decreed that the River Rhine should mark the official frontier of the Empire, the "Limes Germanicus" or Germanic Frontier.

The Romans used the term Limes (border) when referring to the Empire's frontier, which is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Running for about 3,750 miles, the Limes was guarded by a system of forts, watchtowers and roads. Three of the best-preserved forts in the Netherlands can be found in and around the city of Utrecht.

Utrecht was also the birthplace of the only Dutch Pope, Adrian VI, in 1459.

10. How many countries does the Rhine flow through or past in its journey from Switzerland to the North Sea?

Answer: 6

The Rhine flows through or past six European countries: Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Austria, Germany, France and the Netherlands. Firstly it originates in the Swiss Alps and flows north. It then forms the border between Liechtenstein and Switzerland, and then the border between Switzerland and Austria as it enters Lake Constance.

A large portion of the river's central route is in Germany, and it then forms the boundary between France and Germany. It eventually forms a delta in the Netherlands.

Source: Author Southendboy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

A Trip down the River Rhine Trivia Quiz

The River Rhine runs for about 720 miles through Western Europe, passing wonderful scenery and carrying enormous quantities of freight and tourists. This quiz is about some of the sights on the river.

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>

NEXT>