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Selected Former and Historic Capitals of Europe

Being more of a Romantic than not, I felt like making an exploration and instruction of a little bit of European History. Let's undertake a slight tribute to capital cities of the past shall, we? These cities were the capitals of duchies (grand or otherwise), kingdoms, margravates, principalities, republics, voivodeships, etc. With only a few exceptions, these are all from the 2nd millennium CE onwards (1000 CE - on). Also, these are all either in continental Europe or on a Mediterranean island. With 2 exceptions, none of these are in any of the former Soviet Republics - trying to keep this quiz from being too unwieldly. None of these cities are still capitals of any nations, although some are still provincial/state capitals. As a history buff, I am a novice. So if any more advanced historians feel that there are significant omissions here, my apologies, and please feel free to make your own quiz! INSTRUCTIONS: You will see 5 columns: 1) Current country the city is in; 2) Former entity/territory city was a capital of; 3) Time during which the city was the capital; and 4) Current population of that city or its metro/urban area. These are all multiple hints to help you get your 5) Answer. Source: All over bunches of Wikipedia pages.
Quiz by Milo74
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Last updated: December 22, 2022
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First submittedDecember 22, 2022
Times taken30
Average score42.0%
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Country
Territory
Period
Population
Answer
Albania
 
late 12th - 15th
60,000
Kruje
Albania
 
13th - 14th, 20th
110,000
Durres
Austria
Tyrol
mid 19th - early 20th
225,000
Innsbruck
Belgium
Civitas Tungrorum
early 1st millennium CE - ?
30,000
Tongren
Belgium
Frankish Kingdom
5th - early 6th
70,000
Tournai
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Herzegovina
unofficial - past and present
115,000
Mostar
Bulgaria
 
late 9th - late 10th
10,000
Velike Preslav
Bulgaria
 
late 12th - late 14th, late 19th (briefly)
70,000
Veliko Tarnovo
Croatia
 
ancient, WWII (provisional)
350,000
Split
Croatia
 
mid-late 18th
50,000
Varazdin
Czechia
Moravia
ca 1000 - mid 17th
375,000
Olomouc
Czechia
Moravia
mid 17th - 20th
700,000
Brno
Finland
 
early 19th
330,000
Turku
France
Visigoth, Languedoc
5th - 6th, 13th - 18th
1,500,000
Toulouse
France
 
late 17th - late 18th
85,000
Versailles
Germany
Germania Inferior
1st - 4th
3,500,000
Cologne
Germany
Germania Superior, Rhenish Hesse
early 1st millennium CE, 19th respectively
220,000
Mainz
Germany
Electorate of Cologne, West Germany
late 16th - late 18th, mid/late 20th, respectively
330,000
Bonn
Greece
Greece / Macedonia / Various
2nd BC - 19th AD
1,100,000
Thessaloniki
Hungary
 
10th - 13th
30,000
Esztergom
Hungary
 
mid 19th (briefly)
325,000
Debrecen
Italy
Ostrogoths, Lombards
mid 6th - early 14th
75,000
Pavia
Italy
Republic of Genoa
11th - late 18th
575,000
Genoa
Italy
Kingdom of Sicily
12th - 19th
1,300,000
Palermo
Italy
Kingdom of Sardinia
early 14th - early 19th
150,000
Cagliari
Country
Territory
Period
Population
Answer
Italy
Duchy of Ferrara
15th - 16th
130,000
Ferrara
Italy
Tyrol
early 15th - mid 19th
40,000
Merano
Italy
Duchy of Parma
mid 17th - early 19th
200,000
Parma
Italy
 
mid - late 19th (briefly)
365,000
Florence
Kosovo
 
(historical)
175,000
Prizren
Lithuania
 
20th (interwar)
400,000
Kaunas
Montenegro
 
15th - 20th
15,000
Cetinje
Poland
 
10th - early 11th
65,000
Gniezno
Poland
 
11th - 16th
1,725,000
Krakow
Poland
Duchy of Silesia (Lower)
early 12th - 14th
1,250,000
Wroclaw
Poland
Silesia (Upper)
late 12th - Renaissance
125,000
Opole
Portugal
Gallaecia, Suebi
3rd - 12th
200,000
Braga
Romania
Moldavia
late 14th - mid 16th
175,000
Suceava
Romania
Moldavia
mid 16th - mid 19th, 20th (briefly)
500,000
Iasi
Romania
Transylvania
late 16th - late 17th
65,000
Alba Iulia
Romania
Transylvania
early 17th - early 19th
275,000
Sibiu / Hermannstadt / Nagyszeben
Romania
Transylvania
late 18th - mid 19th
400,000
Cluj / Kolosvar / Klausenburg
Romania
Wallachia (NOTE: answer has multiple words!)
until early 15th
25,000
Curtea de Arges
Romania
Wallachia
early 15th - mid 17th
80,000
Targoviste
Romania
Serbian Vojvodina
mid 19th
470,000
Timisoara
Russia
Prussia
early 17th - early 19th, early 19th (briefly)
475,000
Konigsberg / Kaliningrad
Slovakia
Soviet Slovak Republic
early 20th (briefly)
110,000
Presov
Spain
Visigoths
6th - 8th
85,000
Toledo
Spain
Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba
beginning early 8th
325,000
Cordoba
Spain
Aragon
12th - 18th
675,000
Zaragoza
+2
Level 71
Dec 22, 2022
As you all can see, I am the maker of this quiz. IT IS MEANT TO BE EDUCATIONAL! I say that because it's also meant to be educational for me. Even though I made this just last night and early this a.m., I only got 34/50 right. Maybe could have gotten a couple more right if my spelling was more on-track.

Well, it's always interesting to learn about previous capitals. They may be "dethroned", but that doesn't mean that they aren't still important. Plus there is history there, and there is a fair chance that they will be more scenic (and less expensive) than the current capitals.