The City Formerly Known As... Trivia Quiz

Answer: Vienna

Vindobona was originally a Caltic settlement, which the Romans turned into a "castrum" (fortified military camp) in 15 BC, when the Celtic kingdom of Noricum became part of the Empire. Indeed, its name is of Gaulish origin, probably meaning "white village". Situated on the southern bank of the Danube, Vindobona became one of the strategic settlements that protected the borders of of the Empire.

It was part of the Roman province of Pannonia, which included modern-day eastern Austria, western Hungary, western Slovakia, and the northern parts of Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina.

The layout of the ancient military camp can still be recognized in the street plan of Vienna's centre. Emperor Marcus Aurelius is said to have died in Vindobona, while taking part in a military campaign against Germanic tribes in the spring of 180 AD.

Answer: Bath

Like its modern-day English name, the name of the Roman town of Aquae Sulis ("waters of Sulis") reflects the presence of mineral hot springs - the only naturally occurring ones in the United Kingdom. These springs also had a religious purpose, as they were sacred to the Celtic goddess Sulis (who was later identified with Minerva).

The Romans probably began building a temple around 70-60 BC, and baths were added to the complex at a later date. The walls that defended the city date from the 3rd century AD, though they were largely rebuilt during the Middle Ages. With the decline of the Western Roman Empire, Aquae Sulis also declined, and the baths fell into disrepair. Rebuilt in the 18th and 19th centuries, the Roman Baths are now one of the many sites of interest in the city of Bath, in the English county of Somerset. Jane Austen lived in Bath from 1801 to 1805; her novels "Persuasion" and "Northanger Abbey" are set there.

Answer: Zürich

Though the imperial tax-collecting point of Turicum - located on the border of the Roman provinces of Germania Superior and Raetia - was founded in 15 BC, the site around what is now known as Lake Zürich had been inhabited since prehistory. The first record of the town's name (probably derived from Celtic) was found in an inscription on the gravestone of a one-year-old child, dating from the late 2nd century AD.

The core of the Roman settlement was Lindenhof hill, which is now part of the historic centre (Altstadt) of the city of Zurich.

In the 4th century AD, under emperor Valentinian I, a fortified citadel was built on top of the hill against the migrations of the Alamanni, a confederation of Germanic tribes coming from the north who eventually took over the area when the Roman military retreated back to Italy.

Answer: Seville

The capital and largest city of Andalusia, Spain's southernmost region, Seville is over 2,200 years old. The Roman city of Hispalis was built in an area previously settled by the indigenous pre-Roman people of Tartessos (which gave the settlement the name of Ispal), and then conquered by the Carthaginians. After the fall of Carthage in the 3rd century BC, the Romans took over. The city, whose original name was Latinized in Hispalis, was granted the status of Roman colony by Julius Caesar after his defeat of Pompey in 54 BC. In the following centuries, Hispalis developed into a great commercial and industrial centre, while the neighbouring town of Italica (the birthplace of emperors Trajan and Hadrian, now called Santiponce) was mainly residential.

Seville (especially the neighbourhood of Triana) is also known as one of the main centres for flamenco, a uniquely Andalusian dance and music tradition; the stunning Alcázar, or Moorish royal palace, is one of the city's foremost historic sights.

Answer: Lyon

Founded in 43 BC, Colonia Copia Claudia Augusta Lugdunum was one of the most important cities in Roman Gaul and in the whole western part of the Empire. The name Lugdunum is a Latinization of a Gaulish word meaning "fortress of the god Lug". Built in a strategic location, at the confluence of two navigable rivers, the Saône and the Rhône, the town quickly became an important communications hub, as well as the capital of the province of Gallia Lugdunensis. Soon Lugdunum found itself at the junction of four major roads leading to different parts of the Empire, and its enhanced status led to a branch of the imperial mint being established there in 15 BC. Two emperors, Claudius and Caracalla, were born there - a sign of the favour the city had gained in the eyes of the Roman Empire's ruling classes. With the decline of the Empire, Lugdunum also lost much of its relevance; however, in the 5th century AD it became the principal city of the Burgundian kingdom.

Lyon has a long-standing tradition in terms of food and wine, and has been called "the gastronomic capital of the world".

Answer: Ljubljana

Many cities of Roman origin started out their life as "castra", or fortified military camps, and Slovenia's capital, Ljubljana, is no exception. Emona or Aemona (short for Colonia Iulia Aemona) was the easternmost city of Roman Italy, located in the region of Venetia et Histria. Founded around 35 BC as a military stronghold, it developed into a city in the early years of the Christian era, with a population mostly composed of merchants and craftsmen. Emona also gained importance as an early Christian centre, and later as the seat of a bishopric. Numerous archaeological remains have been found in the centre of Ljubliana in the past 100 years, which bear witness to Emona's significant role in the region.

The city's decline came in the mid-5th century, when it was attacked by Attila's Huns and almost completely destroyed.

By the early 6th century, no one lived there anymore.

Answer: Turin

The Roman colony of Augusta Taurinorum started out in the 1st century as a "castrum" built on the site of Taurasia, the chief town of the Taurini (a Celto-Ligurian tribe), which had been captured and destroyed by Hannibal in 218 BC. The city was later dedicated to Augustus, the first Roman emperor. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Augusta Taurinorum became part of the Longobardic Kingdom of Odoacer. The original grid plan of the fortified city can still be seen in the centre of Turin, especially in the neighbourhood known as the Roman Quadrilateral (Quadrilatero Romano). However, the most important testimony of the Roman era is the magnificent Porta Palatina (Palatine Gate), flanked by two tall towers.

One of the largest Italian cities, Turin is located at the foot of the Alps, on the banks of the River Po. In 2006 it hosted the Winter Olympic Games; it is also the main hub of the Italian automotive industry.

Answer: Canterbury

The Roman town of Durovernum Cantiacorum (Durovernum of the Cantiaci, a Celtic people who lived in the area now known as Kent) grew from a hillfort (oppidum) built during the Iron Age. It was situated in a strategic location on Watling Street, the ancient route that connected the port of Rutupiae (Richborough) in southeastern England with the city of Viroconium (Wroxeter) in modern-day Shropshire. Though the Roman military had occupied the fort after their invasion of Britain in 43 BC, Durovernum did not fully develop as a town until the Flavian period (69-96 AD), when religious and civil buildings were erected.

As most other Roman cities, its decline coincided with the decline of the Empire itself, and the town was abandoned when the Romans left Britain in 410 AD. Almost 200 years later, St Augustine of Canterbury established the episcopal see that has endured to this day.

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief religious figure of the Church of England, and the spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion.

Answer: Mainz

Mogontiacum was founded (probably towards the end of the 1st century BC) by the Roman general Nero Claudius Drusus, stepson of Augustus and father of emperor Claudius, during his successful campaign in Germania. Its name came from the name of the Celtic god Mogons, which had been adopted as a deity by the Roman soldiers defending Gallia. Mogontiacum became an important military town because of its strategic position at the confluence of two major rivers, the Rhine and the Main, and later gained the status of capital of the province of Germania Superior. A funeral monument to Drusus (now called Drususstein, or "Drusus stone") was built there by the general's men to commemorate him. During the years of the Empire's decline, the city was repeatedly attacked by Germanic tribes, but the military installation was never permanently abandoned by the Romans.

Johannes Gutenberg, a craftsman born and based in Mainz, manufactured the first movable-type printing press in 1450, ushering an era of scientific and cultural revolution in Europe.

Answer: Sofia

Modern-day Bulgaria occupies the area inhabited by the Thracians, and the city of Serdica (established around 1400 BC) was named after the Serdi, a tribe probably of mixed Celtic-Thracian origin. Around 29 BC, Serdica was conquered by the Romans, who greatly expanded it, and its importance in the region increased.

The name "Ulpia" was added during the reign of emperor Trajan (who was a member of the gens Ulpia), when the city became a "municipium" (town or city proper). Serdica became even more significant with the spread of Christianity throughout the Empire; however, in 447 AD it was destroyed by the Huns.

After over a century of oblivion, it was rebuilt by Byzantine emperor Justinian I with the name of Triaditsa.