Q 01/05

Which animal appears on both the flag and the coat of arms of the German city-state of Berlin?

A) Eagle

B) Bear

C) Lion

D) Horse

Answer · why

B) Bear

Bear images marked Berlin's seals and coins for centuries before the animal joined the coat of arms in 1709, probably as a pun on the city's name.

Q 02/05

Which state, the largest in Germany by area, is home to the fairy-tale castle of Neuschwanstein?

A) Saxony

B) Hesse

C) Bavaria

D) Thuringia

Answer · why

C) Bavaria

Bavaria's Neuschwanstein inspired Disneyland's Sleeping Beauty Castle, though King Ludwig II built it as a private retreat and it opened to visitors o...

Q 03/05

Which state completely surrounds Berlin, though its voters rejected a merger with the capital in a referendum?

A) Brandenburg

B) Saxony

C) Thuringia

D) Lower Saxony

Answer · why

A) Brandenburg

Brandenburg voters feared taking on Berlin's large public debt and losing their identity to the capital, while Berliners narrowly backed the merger.

Q 04/05

Which state, the smallest in Germany, shares its name with the city in the Grimm tale of four animal musicians?

A) Hamburg

B) Saarland

C) Berlin

D) Bremen

Answer · why

D) Bremen

Bremen is really two cities: the state also takes in the seaport of Bremerhaven, an exclave further down the River Weser that is cut off by another st...

Q 05/05

Which German state capital, the headquarters of BMW, hosts the Oktoberfest beer festival every autumn?

A) Munich

B) Stuttgart

C) Hanover

D) Dresden

Answer · why

A) Munich

Munich held the first Oktoberfest in 1810 to celebrate a royal wedding, and the festival now draws around seven million visitors a year.