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Moved Capital Cities

Sometimes countries change their capital city. We give you either the old or the new capital. You guess the other.
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: September 15, 2022
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First submittedJanuary 16, 2018
Times taken46,775
Average score65.0%
Rating4.93
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Year
Old
New
1997
Almaty
Astana
1991
Lagos
Abuja
1990
Bonn
Berlin
1918
Saint Petersburg
Moscow
1912
Fez
Rabat
1868
Kyoto
Edo (Tokyo)
1772
Kandahar
Kabul
1443
Roskilde
Copenhagen
1436
Uppsala
Stockholm
1421
Nanjing
Beijing
Year
Old
New
2005
Yangon
Naypyidaw
1996
Dar es Salaam
Dodoma
1970
Belize City
Belmopan
1960
Rio de Janeiro
Brasília
1983
Abidjan
Yamoussoukro
1982
Colombo
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
1923
Istanbul
Ankara
1865
Auckland
Wellington
1800
Philadelphia
Washington D.C.
330
Rome
Constantinople
+14
Level 75
Jan 16, 2018
Accept Belize for Belize City?
+8
Level ∞
Jan 16, 2018
Ok
+16
Level 76
Jan 17, 2018
I like the quiz but not the Colombo-Sri... I am still not convinced that Colombo shouldn't be considered the capital of Sri Lanka
+6
Level 76
Jan 17, 2018
Agreed
+19
Level 59
May 30, 2018
Even if the Sri Lankan government (i.e. the people who would know these things) state that the capital of their country is in Kotte?
+6
Level 90
May 30, 2018
But the current capital is more or less an area carved out of the former one. It's as if the US moved the Capital to Georgetown. The Metro area would still be Washington DC Looking at google maps it's 9.8 kms from city center to city center. For a metro area of 5.5 million I imagine that the drive between the center of one to the other is continuous urban development.
+4
Level 57
Mar 4, 2021
Even if.
+11
Level 52
May 30, 2018
Everyone in Sri Lanka says the capital is SJK, and while it is a district of Colombo it is very much separate. If you go there you will find that the two are quite different. Probably best to trust the Sri Lankan government on this one.
+10
Level 46
Jun 5, 2018
No, best NOT to trust the ones trying to peddle a nonsense for their own vested interests. The resident government is trying to convince someone that its capital is new and separate. Its not. The government buildings in Colombo were replaced with new ones in a different suburb of Colombo. Is the capital of the US Capitol Hill? No,it's Washington. Is the capital of London Westminster? No, its London. Colombo is the city and capitals are a city, not a district, not a suburb, not a street. Trying to say SJK is a separate, new city is a bureaucratic fantasy. Other countries have tried to do the same thing - New Delhi is a suburb of Delhi. Quezon City is a suburb of Manila. Putrajaya is a suburb of Kuala Lumpur. None of these should be questions in this quiz because the capital is still in the same city.
+1
Level 49
Mar 11, 2023
that's like saying every city in the metro area of a bigger city is automatically a suburb of that city. also capitals are not always cities: yaren (capital of nauru) is a district, majuro (capital of the marshall islands) is a coral atoll, south tarawa (capital of kiribati) is a population center made of multiple islands, saipan (capital of northern mariana islands) is an island. also quezon city is not a suburb of manila, even though it is located in manila's metro area; in fact, counting city proper populations, quezon city is bigger than manila
+20
Level 68
Mar 4, 2021
Capitals are always determined by governments. It's not like they grow in the wild, and you just have to accept wherever it sprouted.
+1
Level 59
Mar 9, 2023
Says its not like they grow in the wild. Then says where ever it's sprouted. Which one do you want?
+3
Level 49
Mar 11, 2023
i think he meant "it's not like they grow in the wild, and (it's not like) you have to accept wherever it sprouted"
+7
Level 59
Mar 5, 2021
MDW has settled it for everyone then - the Sri Lankan government have no say at all in where their capital is located and how it should be referred. We'd better inform the UN that the Sri Lankan government cannot be trusted on this issue.
+8
Level 54
Jun 6, 2018
SJK is the capital of Sri Lanka, which is a suburb of Colombo. But they are two different municipal areas officially, having separate mayors and they are from two different political parties.
+8
Level 71
Mar 4, 2021
Personally, I can accept that "SJK" is the capital of Sri Lanka, but it bothers me that no quizzes allow "Colombo" as a type-in. It just seems silly to me. It's like not accepting "Delhi" for "New Delhi"
+2
Level 55
Mar 4, 2021
There are many reasons why Sri Lanka moved its capital. For one, Colombo is extremely crowded and SJK isn't very far from it. In addition, Kotte has a lot of historical significance. In fact, Colombo is *technically* one of Sri Lanka's capitals - it's the executive & judicial capital of the country.
+8
Level 77
Jan 18, 2018
Finland? The capital was moved from Turku to Helsinki in 1812. Admittedly, we weren't independent then yet.
+11
Level 70
Jan 24, 2018
The list has never claimed to be complete. ;-)

Let's throw in another random one: Prussia 1701 Königsberg to Berlin

(Or I propose to focus only on countries which exist today. Skipping Prussia but also the 330 answer. ;-) )

+3
Level 71
May 30, 2018
Im pretty sure about 6 cities was the capital of the us between philadelphia and dc. Annapolis, trenton, princeton, baltimore and new york comes up straight away and im pretty sure there is some more.
+6
Level 86
May 30, 2018
You have to look at the date. U.S. capital was Philadelphia from 1790-1800, then moved to D.C. Other countries on this list have had multiple previous capital cities as well (Nara/Heijo, Nagaoka, Fujiwara, etc. in Japan, Luoyang, Chang'an, etc. in China).
+2
Level 72
Mar 4, 2021
Eastmountain: technically even more than 6

https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/168699/all-historic-capitals-of-the-us

+6
Level 67
May 30, 2018
If we have "Constantiople" as a clue for the name of the city as it was at that time (330), then Petrograd should also be given as it was the name of St. Petersburg in 1918.

Also, please accept Peking for Beijing.

+5
Level 67
May 30, 2018
Even Constantinople is not really right, since the city was known as Byzantium when the capital was moved. But I agree that there should be some consistency
+2
Level 73
Mar 5, 2021
If you want to get specific, Byzantium was renamed to Nova Roma (New Rome) and that continued to be it's official name until 1453. Constantinople was actually just a nickname of the city.
+3
Level 77
May 30, 2018
Well done to the quizmaster. That's one of the more interesting quizzes on this site.
+1
Level 61
May 30, 2018
Got them all with 1:29 remaining. I had to make some educated guesses for some of them.
+4
Level 65
May 30, 2018
Am I incorrect in believing that the actual capital of the Roman Empire was Ravenna? I thought Rome was only the cultural capital. I may very well be mistaken, though. Nice quiz though. (I know this list isn't complete, but any sequels should have Krakow and Warszawa) :)
+3
Level 56
May 30, 2018
I'm not sure that the idea of a Capital existed in the Roman Empire. I suspect the capital was wherever the Emperor happened to be. Some Emperors moved around a lot (the aggressive ones); others were more sedate (Nero - fiddling !)

But certainly there is evidence that once Alaric sacked Rome, Ravenna was more usually regarded as the capital.

Of course this may all be a degree of bullsh1t, but some is correct

Nice quiz - one day i will remember Astana. My trouble I am astill with Alma Ata, for Almaty

+5
Level 79
Nov 13, 2019
Very late in the history of the (Western) Roman Empire, Ravenna was indeed the capital.
+2
Level 13
May 31, 2018
Actually, the first Brazilian capital was Salvador in 1549. Then in 1793 it was transffered to Rio.
+7
Level 50
Jun 1, 2018
I think Rio also became the capital of Portugal for a short period after this. Would be an interesting one for the list, i believe it is the only capital of a European country to be outside Europe.
+2
Level 43
Mar 4, 2021
When the Real Family moved to Rio, started the process of independence. Rio won privileges existent in Portugal, and became the capital of Portugal of the junction of the countries, making the Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and Algarves
+1
Level 68
Jun 2, 2018
Actually the capital was moved from Salvador to Rio in 1763
+3
Level 82
Jun 4, 2018
It doesn't say anywhere that the "old" capital is the first capital of these places.
+2
Level 43
Mar 4, 2021
Oh yeah, Salvador was in the most next place to Portugal, and they choose the place for build Salvador. After, became Rio de Janeiro, because the discovery of gold in the region of the actual state of Minas Gerais, and because the port for export the gold to Portugal was in the city. In 1960, was introduced a project for build a new capital in the middle of Brazil, the city of Brasília. Projected by Juscelino Kubitscheck, Lúcio Costa, and Oscar Niemeyer, Brasília was planned in the shape of a airplane. They moved the capital once again, for people the Brazilian countryside, and protect the capital of marine attacks. Depends of the concept you want to use: the capital before the actual, or all the former capitals
+4
Level 85
Nov 10, 2019
Accept Constantinople for Istanbul? The city wasn't renamed until 1930.
+1
Level 56
Dec 7, 2020
Especially as Constantinople occurs later in the quiz...
+2
Level 73
Feb 10, 2021
Moreso change the answer to Constantinople as that was the official name then, and have Istanbul as an accepted answer. But I don't think Turkey should even be on this quiz as there is somewhat of a distinction between the Ottoman Empire and the Republic of Turkey.
+2
Level 75
Oct 26, 2020
Nur-Sultan was known as Akmola for 147 days after it became capital of Kazakhstan
+3
Level 59
Nov 26, 2020
Melbourne used to be the capital of Australia before Canberra. Still think Colombo is one of the current capitals of Sri Lanka along with SJK though.
+1
Level 56
Dec 7, 2020
If I might shamelessly plug my own slightly similar quiz... https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/1308368/cities-new-nationality-new-name
+2
Level 65
Mar 4, 2021
Never knew about Philadelphia.
+2
Level 73
Mar 4, 2021
Shouldn't we say that the change of capital from Nanjing to Beijing happened in 1949 with the formation of the PRC as the capital of China (ROC) in Nanjing was moved as Beijing was declared the capital of China (PRC)?

Though the ROC is well and alive on Taiwan, in terms of de jure international recognition, the PRC is considered the successor of the ROC, even more so since 1971 when PRC replaced ROC in the UNSC

+1
Level 72
Mar 4, 2021
If you want some more about the different US Capitals :

https://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/168699/all-historic-capitals-of-the-us

+3
Level 73
Mar 4, 2021
Technically, Bonn and Berlin were not the same country's capital. Bonn was the capital of West Germany and Berlin is the capital of Germany.
+5
Level 78
Mar 4, 2021
Technically, there never was a 'West Germany'. The Federal Republic of Germany was created in 1949, first with Bonn and then, after absorbing the territory of 'East Germany' (the GDR), with Berlin as its capital. It exists to this day.
+2
Level 57
Mar 4, 2021
Nanjing was the capital during WWII as well
+1
Level 69
Mar 4, 2021
Great quiz! Surprising I knew many of these!
+1
Level 71
Mar 4, 2021
I also really liked this quiz. Good Job :)
+1
Level 74
Mar 4, 2021
Weren't Nanjing and Beijing always two co-capitals and Nanjing never the sole capital?
+3
Level 74
Mar 4, 2021
I would not have expected Abidjan to be the least known. Most people I know still think Abidjan is the capital of the Ivory Coast.
+1
Level 62
Mar 4, 2021
I still get them mixed up.
+3
Level 66
Mar 4, 2021
I think it's the least known because

1. It's hard to spell, and the type-in says you must get the spelling exactly correct.

2. The ones who do think it's Abidjan may not know where Yamoussoukro is.

3. Yamoussoukro is one of the harder capitals to memorize.

4. Even the ones who do know Yamoussoukro may not now Abidjan.

+1
Level 66
Mar 4, 2021
I tired 3 different spellings before I googled the answer to get it right. Maybe that is other people's problem too.
+1
Level 68
Mar 8, 2023
I always forget how to spell it and keep trying Abdijan, Adijan...
+2
Level 62
Mar 4, 2021
Aye, good quiz. You always learn something.
+1
Level 75
Mar 4, 2021
Update it with the new capital of Burundi.
+1
Level 75
Mar 4, 2021
Nice. And Rome to Constantinople was the icing on the cake!
+3
Level 19
Mar 4, 2021
Poland also changed capital - from Cracow to Warsaw.
+1
Level 71
Mar 4, 2021
You should change the points system so that it's based on the percentage of questions you answer correctly instead of how many you get right after the 50 percent mark.
+1
Level 18
Mar 5, 2021
I am so mad. I misspelled Philadelphia.
+1
Level 64
Mar 5, 2021
good one!

Thanks

+1
Level 30
Mar 6, 2021
pls add Oklahoma, its highly important. Ty xx
+1
Level 45
Mar 12, 2023
...Oklahoma?
+1
Level 60
Jan 12, 2022
gotten all :P
+1
Level 72
Mar 8, 2023
Great quiz but you missed Pakistan which changed its capital from Karachi to Islamabad (with Rawalpindi being an "interim" capital while Islamabad was being built).
+1
Level 68
Mar 8, 2023
Nara was also the capital of Japan from 710 to 794 AD
+2
Level 72
Mar 8, 2023
Was the capital really moved from Rome to Constantinople* though? The Empire split in two and the latter was really the capital of a whole new country. It's an easy question to answer with the clues provided but I'm not sure it counts as moving the capital.

*or Byzantium, Nova Roma, Istanbul, Miklagard.. take your pick

+1
Level 76
Mar 8, 2023
That was fun.
+1
Level 39
Mar 10, 2023
bro, new york was the capital before washington
+1
Level 61
Oct 12, 2023
Abidjan 29% and lowest? Did it get reset?