Global Seats of Power Quiz

100 questions · by Qwiz Rush

Global Seats of Power Quiz is a free 100-question multiple choice, letters and numbers quiz on Qwiz Rush, made by Qwiz Rush, split into 10 rounds. Test your knowledge of the world's most influential capital cities, from their historic landmarks to their political significance.

Host it live for friends, family, a class or a quiz night: everyone joins with a game code on their own device, no app needed. Or play it solo with Free Play and see how many you get right.

Every question runs on a 10-second countdown and the fastest correct answers score the most. All the questions and their choices are listed below so you can see what the quiz covers; the answers are revealed in the game. Want to change something? Make your own copy and edit it in your library.

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The 100 questions

  1. Which African capital city sits at the confluence of the White Nile and the Blue Nile rivers?

    • Khartoum
    • Cairo
    • Juba
    • Kampala

  2. Located at the confluence of the Danube and Sava rivers, which European capital has historically been fought over in more than 115 wars?

    • Belgrade
    • Budapest
    • Vienna
    • Bratislava

  3. Which Asian capital city lies directly on the Mekong River, forming part of its country's border with Thailand?

    • Vientiane
    • Phnom Penh
    • Hanoi
    • Bangkok

  4. Historically known as the 'City of Peace', which Middle Eastern capital was founded on the banks of the Tigris River in 762 AD?

    • Baghdad
    • Damascus
    • Amman
    • Riyadh

  5. Which North American capital city is situated on the south bank of its namesake river, directly across from the city of Gatineau?

    • Ottawa
    • Washington, D.C.
    • Mexico City
    • Nuuk

  6. Which pair of capital cities face each other directly across the Congo River, forming the closest pair of sovereign capitals in the world?

    • Kinshasa and Brazzaville
    • Vienna and Bratislava
    • Buenos Aires and Montevideo
    • Rome and Vatican City

  7. How many national capital cities does the Danube River flow through or touch along its course?

    Answer with a number.

  8. In what year did the 'Great Stink' occur in London, when the overwhelming smell of untreated human waste from the River Thames shut down Parliament?

    Answer with a number.

  9. Name the historic French capital city that grew from a Celtic settlement on the Île de la Cité in the middle of the Seine River.

    Answer with a letter.

  10. Name the largest city and capital of Egypt, situated on the banks of the Nile River near the head of the Nile Delta.

    Answer with a letter.

  11. The Palace of Westminster, home to the UK Parliament, was rebuilt in the 19th century in which architectural style?

    • Gothic Revival
    • Neoclassical
    • Baroque
    • Brutalist

  12. Which influential modernist architect designed the striking, futuristic National Congress of Brazil building in Brasília?

    • Oscar Niemeyer
    • Le Corbusier
    • Frank Lloyd Wright
    • Ludwig Mies van der Rohe

  13. The historic São Bento Palace, which serves as the seat of the Assembly of the Republic, is located in which European capital?

    • Lisbon
    • Madrid
    • Rome
    • Athens

  14. What is the common English name for Cheong Wa Dae, the historic executive office and official residence of the President of South Korea until 2022?

    • The Blue House
    • The Red Pavilion
    • The Lotus Palace
    • The Golden Hall

  15. Designed by British architect Edwin Lutyens, the massive Rashtrapati Bhavan complex serves as the official residence of the president of which nation?

    • India
    • Pakistan
    • South Africa
    • Australia

  16. The Hungarian Parliament Building, famous for its grand Neo-Gothic facade and dome, sits directly on the banks of which major European river?

    • Danube
    • Rhine
    • Seine
    • Elbe

  17. In what year did construction finish on the original Reichstag building in Berlin, allowing it to open as the seat of the Imperial Diet?

    Answer with a number.

  18. In what year did George Washington lay the cornerstone for the United States Capitol building in Washington, D.C.?

    Answer with a number.

  19. What is the name of the official residence of the President of France, located near the Champs-Élysées in Paris?

    Answer with a letter.

  20. What is the name of the historic fortified complex in the heart of Moscow that serves as the official residence of the President of the Russian Federation?

    Answer with a letter.

  21. The Union Buildings serve as the official seat of the South African government and house the offices of the President. In which city are they located?

    • Cape Town
    • Pretoria
    • Johannesburg
    • Bloemfontein

  22. Designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, the Palácio do Planalto is the official workplace of the president of which Southern Hemisphere nation?

    • Argentina
    • Chile
    • Brazil
    • Peru

  23. In what year did Australia's federal parliament officially relocate from its temporary home in Melbourne to the newly opened Provisional Parliament House in Canberra?

    Answer with a number.

  24. What is the name of the distinctive pink-colored executive mansion and office of the President of Argentina, located in Buenos Aires?

    Answer with a letter.

  25. The distinctive executive wing of the parliamentary complex of New Zealand, located in Wellington, is universally known by what architectural nickname?

    • The Beehive
    • The Silo
    • The Dome
    • The Pyramid

  26. Located in Santiago, the neoclassical Palacio de La Moneda serves as the seat of the President of which South American republic?

    • Colombia
    • Ecuador
    • Peru
    • Chile

  27. How many official capital cities does South Africa have, dividing its governmental seats of power among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches?

    Answer with a number.

  28. What is the name of the planned capital city of Australia, selected in 1908 as a compromise between rivals Sydney and Melbourne?

    Answer with a letter.

  29. Which major Indonesian city, serving as the country's historic seat of power, is currently being replaced by the new planned capital of Nusantara?

    • Surabaya
    • Jakarta
    • Bandung
    • Medan

  30. The Palacio Quemado, or 'Burnt Palace', is the traditional official residence of the president of which landlocked South American nation?

    • Paraguay
    • Uruguay
    • Bolivia
    • Ecuador

  31. According to Roman mythology, which of the Seven Hills of Rome was the exact site where Romulus founded the original city?

    • Aventine Hill
    • Palatine Hill
    • Capitoline Hill
    • Quirinal Hill

  32. The founding myth of Tenochtitlan, the ancient Aztec seat of power now known as Mexico City, involved an eagle perched on a cactus devouring what creature?

    • A snake
    • A jaguar
    • A frog
    • A hummingbird

  33. In the mythical contest for the patronage of Athens, what gift did Athena present to the citizens to defeat Poseidon's gift of a saltwater spring?

    • A golden shield
    • A domesticated horse
    • An olive tree
    • A grape vine

  34. According to Varro's traditional Roman chronology, in what year BC was the city of Rome founded?

    Answer with a number.

  35. Name the historical Japanese capital, founded in 794 AD as Heian-kyo, which served as the nation's imperial seat of power for over a millennium before the capital moved to Tokyo.

    Answer with a letter.

  36. According to Korean founding myths, the ancient state of Gojoseon was established by which legendary demigod king, said to be the grandson of heaven and the son of a bear-woman?

    • Dangun
    • Jumong
    • Hyeokgeose
    • Onjo

  37. According to medieval British legend popularized by Geoffrey of Monmouth, what exiled Trojan hero founded London under the original name 'Troia Nova'?

    Answer with a letter.

  38. According to Phoenician and Greco-Roman myth, which legendary queen founded the ancient North African seat of power, Carthage, by cleverly measuring out land using a cut-up bull's hide?

    • Zenobia
    • Cleopatra
    • Artemisia
    • Dido

  39. In what year AD did Roman Emperor Constantine the Great officially dedicate Byzantium as his new imperial capital, renaming it Nova Roma?

    Answer with a number.

  40. When Caliph Al-Mansur founded Baghdad in the 8th century as the seat of the Abbasid Caliphate, what geometric shape did he famously choose for the city's layout?

    • An octagon
    • A perfect circle
    • A square
    • An equilateral triangle

  41. Which city serves as the seat of government and administrative capital of Bolivia, sitting at an altitude of approximately 3,640 meters (11,942 feet) above sea level?

    • Sucre
    • La Paz
    • Cochabamba
    • Santa Cruz de la Sierra

  42. Located at an elevation of 2,850 meters on the slopes of an active volcano, which city is the closest high-altitude capital to the equator?

    • Quito
    • Bogotá
    • Caracas
    • Lima

  43. In what year did the government of Brazil officially transfer its seat of power from coastal Rio de Janeiro to the high-plateau planned capital of Brasília?

    Answer with a number.

  44. Situated in a high valley of the Himalayas at over 2,200 meters, which city has served as the official seat of government of the Kingdom of Bhutan since 1955?

    • Paro
    • Thimphu
    • Punakha
    • Jakar

  45. Which South American capital city, situated on a high plateau in the Andes known as the Savannah, is the third-highest capital in South America after La Paz and Quito?

    Answer with a letter.

  46. Which African capital, serving as the headquarters of the African Union, is situated at the foot of Mount Entoto at an elevation of approximately 2,355 meters?

    • Nairobi
    • Addis Ababa
    • Asmara
    • Kigali

  47. In what year did North and South Yemen unify, establishing the high-altitude city of Sana'a (elevation 2,300 meters) as the political capital of the unified republic?

    Answer with a number.

  48. Situated at an elevation of over 1,600 meters in a valley of the Maloti Mountains, which city serves as the capital and administrative hub of Lesotho?

    • Mbabane
    • Maseru
    • Gaborone
    • Windhoek

  49. Which ancient capital city, overlooked by the snow-capped Mount Ararat and situated at an average elevation of nearly 1,000 meters, serves as the administrative heart of Armenia?

    Answer with a letter.

  50. Situated at an elevation of 1,023 meters in the Pyrenees, which city is the highest capital city in Europe?

    • Madrid
    • Andorra la Vella
    • Sarajevo
    • Sofia

  51. What is the name of the official residence and office of the President of Singapore, which translates directly to 'Palace' in Malay?

    • The Istana
    • Istana Negara
    • Malacañang Palace
    • Sri Temasek

  52. Established in 930 AD, the national parliament of Iceland, the Althing, originally met at which historic outdoor assembly site?

    • Thingvellir
    • Gullfoss
    • Geysir
    • Akureyri

  53. Located along the banks of the Pasig River, which historic palace serves as the official residence and principal workplace of the President of the Philippines?

    • Malacañang Palace
    • Coconut Palace
    • Malago Clubhouse
    • El Deposito

  54. Which iconic neo-Gothic palace on the banks of the River Thames serves as the meeting place for both houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom?

    • Palace of Westminster
    • Buckingham Palace
    • Kensington Palace
    • Windsor Castle

  55. What is the official administrative capital of Sri Lanka, housing its national parliament, distinct from the commercial capital of Colombo?

    • Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
    • Kandy
    • Galle
    • Jaffna

  56. Modeled after the US Capitol but built slightly larger, El Capitolio was the seat of government in which Caribbean island nation's capital until the 1959 revolution?

    • Cuba
    • Dominican Republic
    • Haiti
    • Jamaica

  57. In what year did Wellington officially replace Auckland as the capital city of New Zealand?

    Answer with a number.

  58. In what year did the government of the Republic of China (Taiwan) officially relocate its seat of power to Taipei during the Chinese Civil War?

    Answer with a number.

  59. Name the hilltop capital city of Madagascar, historically the seat of the Merina Kingdom, known for its historic Rova palace complex.

    Answer with a letter.

  60. Name the capital city of the Bahamas, located on New Providence Island, which serves as the seat of the nation's parliament and the Governor-General's residence.

    Answer with a letter.

  61. Which South American capital city's name literally translates to "Good Airs" in Spanish?

    • Bogota
    • Buenos Aires
    • Caracas
    • Asuncion

  62. The name of which Asian capital city translates to "Eastern Capital" in its native language?

    • Beijing
    • Seoul
    • Tokyo
    • Hanoi

  63. Which European capital city's name is derived from an Old Polabian stem meaning "swamp" or "wetland"?

    • Berlin
    • Warsaw
    • Brussels
    • Amsterdam

  64. The capital city of Iraq, Baghdad, has an etymological origin tracing back to Middle Persian. What is its most widely accepted translation?

    • City of Peace
    • High Fortress
    • By the River
    • Gift of God

  65. Which capital city's name translates to "Red Hero" in its native language, honoring a prominent revolutionary leader?

    • Pyongyang
    • Hanoi
    • Ulaanbaatar
    • Beijing

  66. The name of which European capital city translates to "The Threshold" in its native Slavic tongue, historically referencing rapids on the Vltava River?

    • Prague
    • Bratislava
    • Sarajevo
    • Zagreb

  67. The name of Russia's former imperial capital and seat of power, St. Petersburg, was changed to Petrograd to remove its German-sounding suffix in which year?

    Answer with a number.

  68. In what year was the federal seat of power in Brazil officially moved from Rio de Janeiro to the newly constructed planned city of Brasília?

    Answer with a number.

  69. Name the capital city of Iceland whose name translates to "Smoky Bay" due to the geothermal steam observed by its first Norse settlers.

    Answer with a letter.

  70. Name the capital city of Kenya, which derives its name from a Maasai phrase meaning "place of cool waters".

    Answer with a letter.

  71. Which famous modernist architect designed the master plan for Chandigarh, the planned joint capital of the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana?

    • Le Corbusier
    • Oscar Niemeyer
    • Walter Burley Griffin
    • Frank Lloyd Wright

  72. Designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer, the layout of Brazil's planned capital, Brasília, was famously designed to resemble what shape when viewed from above?

    • An airplane
    • A perfect hexagon
    • A five-pointed star
    • An infinity symbol

  73. In 2019, Indonesia announced it would relocate its capital from the congested and sinking city of Jakarta to a newly planned city on the island of Borneo. What is the name of this new capital?

    • Nusantara
    • Putrajaya
    • Sejong
    • Naypyidaw

  74. Which American architect, along with his wife Marion Mahony Griffin, won the 1912 international competition to design Australia's new capital city of Canberra?

    • Walter Burley Griffin
    • Daniel Burnham
    • Louis Sullivan
    • William Wardell

  75. Naypyidaw officially replaced Yangon as the administrative capital of which Southeast Asian nation in November 2005?

    • Myanmar
    • Laos
    • Cambodia
    • Vietnam

  76. What is the name of the planned federal administrative centre of Malaysia, founded in 1995 to ease congestion in Kuala Lumpur?

    • Putrajaya
    • Cyberjaya
    • Shah Alam
    • Petaling Jaya

  77. In what year did Brasília officially replace Rio de Janeiro as the federal capital of Brazil?

    Answer with a number.

  78. In what year did Nigeria officially move its capital from the coastal city of Lagos to the planned, centrally located city of Abuja?

    Answer with a number.

  79. Name the planned capital city of Kazakhstan, which was renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019 before reverting to its previous name in 2022.

    Answer with a letter.

  80. Name the planned capital city of Belize, established in 1970 after Hurricane Hattie devastated the former coastal capital.

    Answer with a letter.

  81. Which Swiss city hosts the headquarters of the International Committee of the Red Cross and served as the seat of the League of Nations?

    • Geneva
    • Zurich
    • Bern
    • Basel

  82. The 1993 accords that established a framework for peace between Israel and the PLO are named after which European capital city?

    • Oslo
    • Stockholm
    • Copenhagen
    • Helsinki

  83. Which city serves as the de facto capital of the European Union, hosting the European Commission and the Council of the European Union?

    • Brussels
    • Strasbourg
    • Luxembourg
    • The Hague

  84. The 1955 treaty that established a mutual defense alliance among Soviet satellite states was signed in which Eastern European capital?

    • Warsaw
    • Budapest
    • Prague
    • Bucharest

  85. Which Dutch city is known as the international city of peace and justice, hosting the International Court of Justice?

    • The Hague
    • Amsterdam
    • Rotterdam
    • Utrecht

  86. In 1997, a major international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions was adopted in which Japanese city?

    • Kyoto
    • Tokyo
    • Osaka
    • Hiroshima

  87. In what year was the North Atlantic Treaty, which established NATO, signed in Washington, D.C.?

    Answer with a number.

  88. In what year was the Treaty of Versailles signed, officially ending World War I?

    Answer with a number.

  89. What is the capital of the United States, where the historic 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel was signed?

    Answer with a letter.

  90. Which Austrian capital city hosted the famous 1814-1815 congress that redrew the map of Europe after the Napoleonic Wars?

    Answer with a letter.

  91. Which grand Baroque complex in Madrid is the official residence of the Spanish Royal Family, though it is now used primarily for state ceremonies?

    • Zarzuela Palace
    • Royal Palace of Madrid
    • Royal Palace of Aranjuez
    • Alcázar of Seville

  92. Located in the Chiyoda ward of Tokyo, what is the name of the primary official residence of the Emperor of Japan?

    • Kyoto Imperial Palace
    • Tokyo Imperial Palace
    • Akasaka Palace
    • Heian Palace

  93. Which royal residence in Edinburgh serves as the official residence of the British monarch when they are performing official duties in Scotland?

    • Balmoral Castle
    • Palace of Holyroodhouse
    • Glamis Castle
    • Edinburgh Castle

  94. Which UNESCO World Heritage site on the island of Lovön serves as the private residence of the Swedish royal family?

    • Stockholm Palace
    • Drottningholm Palace
    • Gripsholm Castle
    • Haga Palace

  95. What is the name of the spectacular complex of buildings in Bangkok that has been the official residence of the Kings of Siam (and later Thailand) since 1782?

    • Dusit Palace
    • Grand Palace
    • Bang Pa-In Royal Palace
    • Phya Thai Palace

  96. Perched high on the Rock of Monaco, what is the name of the official residence of the Sovereign Prince of Monaco?

    • Prince's Palace of Monaco
    • Villa Sauber
    • Monte Carlo Pavilion
    • Grimaldi Castle

  97. In what year did Queen Elizabeth II ascend to the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI?

    Answer with a number.

  98. How many sovereign countries, known as Commonwealth realms, share the British monarch as their official head of state?

    Answer with a number.

  99. What is the name of the official winter residence of the Danish Royal Family in Copenhagen, famous for its four identical classicizing palace fronts surrounding an octagonal courtyard?

    Answer with a letter.

  100. What is the name of the historic fortress, royal palace, and secure vault on the north bank of the River Thames where the British Crown Jewels are kept?

    Answer with a letter.