Journey Around the Globe [38] Trivia Quiz

Answer: Suriname

A Dutch name, 'Fort Zeelandia' actually appears in more than just Suriname and Taiwan as a result of Dutch expansion and trade in the 17th and 18th centuries. The one we're looking for here is in Suriname, specifically the capital city of Paramaribo. Found on the Paramaribo River, this fort hasn't only lasted the long haul through periods of British, French, and Dutch rule, but has held every function, acting as a house, a prison, and a museum (amongst other purposes). The fort in Guyana, found on the Essequibo River, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but mostly sits in ruins, having been damaged severely in the Fourth Anglo-Dutch War.

Another Fort Zeelandia can be found in Anping, Taiwan and, similarly, it's mostly ruins, a result of conflicts between the Chinese and the Dutch East India Company in the 17th century.

Answer: Hoorn

At one time one of the Netherlands' most prosperous port cities, Hoorn became a key destination for those who perpetuated Dutch sea trade as far back as the 14th century, and it's because of this that the city became the namesake upon which Cape Horn and the Hoorn Islands (of Wallis and Futuna) were based. Cape Horn is, of course, the southernmost tip of Tierra del Fuego, and one of the riskier locations around which ships needed to navigate to pass around the Americas (at least until the Panama Canal was created).

Today, Hoorn is the capital of West Friesland with a significantly reduced capacity as a shipping hub due mostly to the construction of the Afsluitdijk, sealing off IJsselmeer from the ocean.

Answer: Kutná Hora

Although this region has been inhabited for more than two thousand years, Kutná Hora would become a massive city for silver mining in the Middle Ages, developing to become what was, then, one of the more prosperous cities in Central Bohemia. Silver mining would diminish during the eighteenth century, but not before Kutná Hora found comfortable prominence in the rolling hills east of Prague.

Today, Kutná Hora is perhaps more famous for its unique religious buildings. Aside from the Gothic St. Barbara's Church in the city's center, the city is also home to the Sedlec Ossuary, home to tens of thousands of skeletons, many of which died during a wave of the Black Plague, forming the furnishings and ornamentation within.

Answer: Danube

Sitting on the west side of the Danube in the heart of Budapest, Hungary, Buda Castle was first erected in the 13th century but has since been added to and rebuilt several times over to form the defensive structure that long-acted as the home to the Hungarian Kings. In more current times, atop Castle Hill, Buda Castle acts as a cultural hub containing a museum, an art gallery, and the National Library, and with the region around it, it makes up the UNESCO-protected Castle Quarter.

The Danube River, Europe's second-largest waterway, doesn't just carve its way through Budapest though. Along its route it also passes through Vienna, Bratislava, and Belgrade - and that's just the capitals!

Answer: Adriatic Sea

Peljesac Peninsula is one of Croatia's largest, and the entire major coastline of this Southern European nation, stretching nearly 1,800 kilometres, rests on the Adriatic Sea along with Italy, Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Albania.

Ston is a picturesque town in this region, found slightly northwest of the fortified city of Dubrovnik, and it's known not just for its picturesque bay, surrounded by hills on most sides, but for the lengthy walls that surround it through said hillsides. Historically, the town has been known for its long-running saltworks and, naturally, seafood.

Answer: Romania

Located in the national capital of Bucharest, Carol Park was named after King Carol I of Romania, who reigned there for more than thirty years. Formerly the home of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the massive monument located in the middle of this park transitioned into becoming the Mausoleum of the Communist Heroes.

Carol Park is located in the southwest of Bucharest, and though it was constructed in the style of a classic French garden in 1906, the city itself is hundreds of years older than that, having been founded by Vlad the Impaler in the mid-15th century. Only a few kilometres north in the old city centre, the city's oldest gardens, Cismigiu Gardens, form the largest park within the city limits.

Answer: The Acropolis

The Acropolis of Athens, built at the highest point on a rocky outcrop overlooking the Greek capital, is the home to the world-famous Parthenon, the Propylaea, the Temple of Athena Polias, and the Temple of Athena Nike, and while it has lasted the long-haul, it's been repeatedly restored to continue existing for thousands of years past its construction. The Parthenon in particular is one of the most-recognized landmarks in all of Europe and a symbol for Greece as a whole.

As for the other options, Mount Olympus is in Greece, but much further north (and Greece's highest peak), Mount Zion is in Jerusalem, and Palatine Hill is in Rome.

Answer: Brazzaville

Kinshasa and Brazzaville may very well be the closest capitals in the world (if you're not looking at a Rome-Vatican City arrangement) as they're separated by only two miles of the Congo River from side to side.

Though Pool Malebo has been settled for centuries, it was 'discovered' by the Portuguese at the end of the 15th century. While Léopoldville (now Kinshasa) was established on one side in 1881, Brazzaville formed in 1883. These two cities, despite being capitals of two different nations (the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Republic of the Congo), are often considered a combined greater area, and with the population between them, represent one of the largest urban centres on the African continent.

Answer: Hobart

Located on the River Derwent under the shadow of Mount Wellington, Hobart is the capital of Tasmania. Founded in 1804, the British used Hobart as a penal colony for nearly fifty years across the first half of the nineteenth century, but it developed into a city of industry, especially in the way of fishing and whaling, over later years. Hobart, in the twenty-first century, would grow to hold nearly half of the population of Tasmania.

The second-largest city in Tasmania, Launceston, is much further to the north at the start of the Tamar River (where the North and South Esk Rivers converge).

Answer: The Bronx

Of the five boroughs of New York, the Bronx is the furthest north, across the Harlem River from Manhattan and found on the New York mainland. Every borough has its landmarks-- New York City seems to be wall-to-wall landmarks-- but the Bronx has options that some may not realize should be at the top of their tourist lists. Yankee Stadium, for instance, opened there in 1923 and became the home field for the New York Yankees MLB team (and the New York Giants NFL team for a couple decades).

If you're planning to spend a few days in the Bronx, you might also visit the world-famous Bronx Zoo, the New York Botanical Garden, and the sculpture grounds at the Hall of Fame for Great Americans.