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Quiz about Major European Dynasties
Quiz about Major European Dynasties

Major European Dynasties Trivia Quiz


How many of these ruling houses can you identify with the nation or nations they ruled?

A multiple-choice quiz by shvdotr. Estimated time: 4 mins.
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Author
shvdotr
Time
4 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
387,436
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Average
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
467
Awards
Top 5% quiz!
Last 3 plays: maninmidohio (10/10), Guest 75 (7/10), Guest 175 (6/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Which family once ruled both Spain and Austria (along with many other states) and included such famous rulers as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Philip II of the Spanish Armada, and Franz Josef I, who saw the beginning of his dynasty's end with the outbreak of World War I? Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Willem-Alexander became King of the Netherlands in 2013, continuing the line of William I, who named himself King of the Netherlands and Duke of Luxembourg in 1815. He himself was descended from William the Silent, the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs in the 1500s. Which dynastic house do these men represent? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. This Bavarian dynasty included kings of Bavaria and Sweden, two Holy Roman Emperors, and one king each of Hungary, Denmark and Norway, and Greece. The family ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918 and is headed today by Franz, Duke of Bavaria. What family is it? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Founded by Humbert the Whitehanded in the eleventh century, this house provided the first monarch of a unified Italy in Victor Emmanuel II, who ruled as King of Italy from 1861 to 1878. Name the family. Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. This Russian dynasty was founded by Mikhail I and ended by the Bolsheviks. Peter the Great was its most outstanding ruler. Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. In 1594 Henry IV was crowned King of France retroactively to 1589. Big names of this dynasty include the Sun King, Louis XIV, and Louis XVI, who was beheaded in the French Revolution. Which dynasty was this? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. The last Portuguese dynasty, founded by Joao IV in 1640, was ended by a revolution in 1910. Joao IV was known as "the Restorer," and his grandson, Joao V (the Magnificent) ruled for 44 years. Which dynasty was this? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Of the following noble houses of the European continent, which produced the fewest monarchs of England and the United Kingdom? Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Named for a castle in southern Germany, this dynasty produced such rulers as Prussia's Frederick the Great and the unifier of the modern German state, Kaiser Wilhelm I. Which of these is it? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Which family included kings of Sweden and Poland, as well as czars of Russia? Gustavus Adolphus, the "Lion of the North" was perhaps its most famous ruler. Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Feb 21 2024 : maninmidohio: 10/10
Feb 04 2024 : Guest 75: 7/10
Jan 22 2024 : Guest 175: 6/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Which family once ruled both Spain and Austria (along with many other states) and included such famous rulers as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, Philip II of the Spanish Armada, and Franz Josef I, who saw the beginning of his dynasty's end with the outbreak of World War I?

Answer: Habsburg

The House of Habsburg takes its name from a castle in Switzerland named for the hawks that flew above it, the German word for hawk being Habicht, thus "Habichtsburg," and "Habsburg." This castle goes back to the 1020s. The first noble to use the name was Otto II, the grandson of the castle's builder, Count Radbot of Klettgau. Otto referred to himself as the Count of Habsburg.

Wikipedia lists over 20 kingdoms and empires as having been ruled by the House of Habsburg through time.
2. Willem-Alexander became King of the Netherlands in 2013, continuing the line of William I, who named himself King of the Netherlands and Duke of Luxembourg in 1815. He himself was descended from William the Silent, the main leader of the Dutch Revolt against the Spanish Habsburgs in the 1500s. Which dynastic house do these men represent?

Answer: the House of Orange

The name Orange is derived from the medieval principality of Orange in old Provence in southern France. In the 1100s, with the disintegration of the kingdom of Arles, the Counts of Orange became vassals of the Holy Roman Emperor and began to call themselves princes. With the death of Philibert de Chalon, Prince of Orange in 1530, the House of Orange became linked to the House of Nassau, a link which continues today.
3. This Bavarian dynasty included kings of Bavaria and Sweden, two Holy Roman Emperors, and one king each of Hungary, Denmark and Norway, and Greece. The family ruled Bavaria from 1180 to 1918 and is headed today by Franz, Duke of Bavaria. What family is it?

Answer: Wittelsbach

Perhaps the most famous Wittelsbach ruler of Bavaria was the "Mad King," Ludwig II, also known as the "Swan King," who built the beautiful fantasy castles of Neuschwanstein and Hohenschwangau in the Bavarian Alps.

Other Wittelsbach kings included Christopher of Bavaria, who was king of Denmark, Norway, and Sweden, and three Swedish kings, Charles X Gustav, Charles XI, and Charles XII. Otto I was made the first modern King of Greece in 1832. Two Wittelsbach Holy Roman Emperors were Louis IV and Charles VII.
4. Founded by Humbert the Whitehanded in the eleventh century, this house provided the first monarch of a unified Italy in Victor Emmanuel II, who ruled as King of Italy from 1861 to 1878. Name the family.

Answer: Savoy

Savoy claims to being the longest surviving dynasty in Europe, having been installed as the ruling family of the County of Savoy by Rudolf III, King of Burgundy, in 1003. It ruled the Duchy of Savoy from 1416 to 1860. Although the territory of Savoy went from France to the Kingdom of Sardinia and then back to France, Victor Emmanuel II, who became King of Sardinia in 1849, headed the Savoy Dynasty and began the unification of Italy.
5. This Russian dynasty was founded by Mikhail I and ended by the Bolsheviks. Peter the Great was its most outstanding ruler.

Answer: Romanov

Peter the Great and Catherine the Great are undoubtedly the two most famous Romanovs, Peter for his stature (6 feet 8 inches) and the modernization of Russia, and Catherine for her legendary sexual appetites. But the end of the Romanov rule is also quite intriguing, from the mad monk Rasputin and the hemophiliac Tsarevich Alexei, to the rumors of the survival of little Anastasia.

Surviving Romanovs include Maria Vladimirovna, Grand Duchess of Russia (born in 1953), as well as Prince Andrew Romanov, born in 1923, and his three sons, princes Alexis Andreevich (born in 1953), Peter Andreevich (born in 1961), and Andrew Romanov Jr. (born in 1963).
6. In 1594 Henry IV was crowned King of France retroactively to 1589. Big names of this dynasty include the Sun King, Louis XIV, and Louis XVI, who was beheaded in the French Revolution. Which dynasty was this?

Answer: Bourbon

The Sun King, Louis XIV, ruled France for 72 years, and famously declared "I am the State." However, his successor, Louis XV, was the Sun King's great grandson! Louis Fifteen himself ruled for 59 years and was only succeeded by his GRANDson, as well, meaning that 14 & 15 together ruled for over 130 years, from 1643 to 1777!
7. The last Portuguese dynasty, founded by Joao IV in 1640, was ended by a revolution in 1910. Joao IV was known as "the Restorer," and his grandson, Joao V (the Magnificent) ruled for 44 years. Which dynasty was this?

Answer: House of Braganza

Also known as the Most Serene House of Braganza, this dynasty was the last of four houses that had ruled Portugal, following the Houses of Burgundy, Avis, and Habsburg. The kings of all four houses, however, all descended from the same monarch, Alfonso I of Portugal, who ruled the kingdom he founded from 1139 to 1185.

Of the four dynasties, Braganza ruled Portugal the longest, a total of 270 years, just 36 years longer than Burgundy.
8. Of the following noble houses of the European continent, which produced the fewest monarchs of England and the United Kingdom?

Answer: the Spanish House of Habsburg

Hanover rule began when George I (who could not speak English) was brought to Britain when the last Stuart ruler, Queen Anne, died childless. To ensure a continued line of Protestant rulers, the German George of Hanover, was brought to England as king. Six monarchs ruled Britain for the Hanoverians.

Angevin rule began with Henry II and included only Richard the Lionheart and his brother John, also called Lackland, who signed the Magna Carta.

Edward VII was the eldest son of Queen Victoria, and while Victoria was the last Hanoverian monarch, Edward's father, Albert, was from the German House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. During World War I, George V, son of and successor to Edward, changed the family name to Windsor due to anti-German sentiment. Elizabeth II is the fifth Windsor monarch.

The only ruler of England from the Habsburg family was Philip II, who married Mary I, but was only king in name, having never lived in England, and the couple had no children.
9. Named for a castle in southern Germany, this dynasty produced such rulers as Prussia's Frederick the Great and the unifier of the modern German state, Kaiser Wilhelm I. Which of these is it?

Answer: Hohenzollern

Like the Habsburg and Romanov empires, the German Empire of the Hohenzollerns was brought down by World War I. But unlike the other two large Eastern European states, the empire of the Hohenzollerns had only recently achieved its imperial status, as the German Empire of Wilhelm I and II had only been established in the 1870s.

Nonetheless, Hohenzollern branches and states go back as far as many other noble European families. Zollern counts, which were elevated to Hohenzollern in 1218, were first mentioned as nobles in the Holy Roman Empire in 1061. Albert of Prussia, the first Duke of Prussia in 1525 and a vassal to the King of Poland, was the last Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights. In 1701 Frederick, the Elector of Brandenburg, became the first King of Prussia.
10. Which family included kings of Sweden and Poland, as well as czars of Russia? Gustavus Adolphus, the "Lion of the North" was perhaps its most famous ruler.

Answer: Vasa

The House of Vasa was one of eleven dynasties to rule Sweden, beginning around 970 with Eric the Victorious of the House of Munsö. The Vasas ruled from 1521 until 1654 when Queen Christina, childless and unmarried, abdicated to her cousin Charles X Gustav of the House of Palatinate-Zweibrücken, a branch of the Wittelsbachs. Christina was the only legitimate child of the great Gustavus Adolphus, who died in 1632 during the Thirty Years' War, when Christina was only six.
Source: Author shvdotr

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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