Q 01/05

On which river does Warsaw stand?

A) Danube

B) Oder

C) Vistula

D) Elbe

Answer · why

C) Vistula

The river divides the city into a left bank on the moraine plateau and a lower right bank.

Q 02/05

Warsaw is the capital of which voivodeship?

A) Silesian

B) Lesser Poland

C) Masovian

D) Pomeranian

Answer · why

C) Masovian

Warsaw was made capital of the Duchy of Masovia in 1413, long before it was capital of Poland.

Q 03/05

Which king moved the Polish capital from Kraków to Warsaw in 1596?

A) John III Sobieski

B) Stanisław August Poniatowski

C) Sigismund III Vasa

D) Casimir the Great

Answer · why

C) Sigismund III Vasa

Warsaw sat conveniently between Kraków and Vilnius, the capitals of the Commonwealth's two halves.

Q 04/05

What mythical creature appears on Warsaw's coat of arms?

A) A dragon

B) A mermaid

C) A unicorn

D) A griffin

Answer · why

B) A mermaid

Polish syrenka is a cognate of siren, but she is properly a freshwater mermaid called a melusina.

Q 05/05

In folk legend, which fisherman fell in love with Sawa, a creature of the river?

A) Krak

B) Wars

C) Lech

D) Piast

Answer · why

B) Wars

The two names combine into Warszawa, though scholars think the name really derives from a personal name, Warsz.