World Book Trivia Challenge Advanced-cities Of Europe--4/1

In A.D. 43, armies of the Roman Empire established a military camp along the Thames. A few years later, the Romans built a trading port on the Thames near present-day London Bridge. They probably chose this site because the riverbanks east of this point were too marshy for settlement. The Romans called the port Londinium. The name London comes from this word.

Athens's greatest fame dates from the 400's B.C., when it was the world's most powerful and most highly civilized city. The city's name in Greek is Athinai. From 1456 until 1833, Athens was controlled by the Ottoman Empire.

Berlin developed as a trading village about A.D. 1200. Over time, its location at the junction of the Spree and Havel rivers—a trading crossroads—helped to establish its importance. In the 1600's, Berlin became the capital of Prussia, an emerging German state.

Madrid remained a small, unimportant town until 1561, when Philip II made it the capital of Spain. Philip, who ruled a huge colonial empire, chose Madrid primarily because of its central location. During the late 1500's and early 1600's, Madrid grew rapidly and became one of the great cities of western Europe.

The capital of the Netherlands, Amsterdam, lies on marshy land slightly below sea level. Most of its buildings stand on large wooden or concrete piles (posts) driven into the soggy ground. The city's canals and attractive buildings help make Amsterdam one of Europe's most charming cities.

Vienna became the capital of the duchy (territory ruled by a duke) of Austria in 1150, under the Babenberg dynasty. The Habsburg (or Hapsburg) family acquired the Babenberg lands in 1278. Vienna was the base for the Habsburgs for most of the years until 1918. The Habsburg dynasty collapsed at the end of World War I (1914-1918).

The River Siene runs through the center of Paris, the French capital. Pairs has long been a world center of the arts, intellectual life, and education. For hundreds of years, important styles in painting and literature have developed there.

Antwerp is Belgium's largest city, but Brussels is the nation's capital. Many international agencies are headquartered in Brussels. Metropolitan Brussels is officially a bilingual (two-language) area. Both Dutch and French, the two official languages of Belgium, are used for education and public communication. However, French is the everyday language of most of the people.

The Tiber runs through Rome, the capital of Italy. Rome is one of the world's great historic cities. It has been an important center of civilization for over 2,000 years. Because of its long history, Rome is called the Eternal City.

The Czech capital of Prague lies on both banks of the Vltava River. Prague Castle, once the home of the kings of Bohemia, stands on Hradcany (Castle Hill) on the river's left bank. Prague Castle houses a number of art treasures, and part of the castle serves as the official residence of the president of the Czech Republic.