Scandinavian Trivia Quiz
With many thanks to the Nordstjernan for the material used for this quiz.
Move your mouse over the to check the answer!
1.What unusual rock formation exists on the Swedish island of Faro?
A: rauks B: ales stenar C: tors D: diamonds
2. When do Norwegians celebrate their National Day?
A: May7 B: June 6 C: May 17 D: June 7
3. What Scandinavian playwright wrote the plays "Hedda Gabler", and "Rosmersholm"?
A: H.C. Andersen B: Piet Hein C: August Strindberg D: Henrik Ibsen
4. What Province is famous for its harbor seals, cliffs, archipelago, and little islands on Sweden's "Sunny Side"?
A: Bohuslan B: Halland C: Skane D: Sodermanland
5. Which is the northernmost railway in Scandinavia and Europe?
A: Malmbanan B: Kokkola-Vitangi C: Kiruna-Narvik B: Jernbaneverket
6. What Danish Territory is the world's largest island?
A: Iceland B: Gotland C: Svalbard D: Greenland
7. In which city was H.C. Andersen born?
A: Aalborg B: Odense C: Copenhagen D: Kalmar
8. Who wrote the lead song for the film "Pretty Woman"?
A: A-Ha B: Roxette C: Randy Newman D: Benny Andersson
9.What product did 19th centurySwedish inventor J.F. Ljunglof introduce?
A: The AGA Cooker B: The milking machine C: Metallic foil for snus D: The safety match
10. How was Ingrid Bergman related to Ingmar Bergman?
A: No relation B: his niece C: his sister D: his sister-in-law
11. Where is Mariehamn, the largest city (location)?
A: Greenland B: Faroe Islands C: Aland D: Oland
12. Who burned down Goteborg in 1611?
A: Scots B: Russians C: Norwegians D: Danes
13. What is the name of the Danish candy maker famous for his chocolate liquors?
A: Anton Berg B: Anto Fazer C: Anton Marabou D: Anton Cloetta
14. What are the official languages in Finland?
A: Finnish and Russian B: Finnish and North Sami C: Finnish and Swedish D: Finnish and Norwegian
15. What Swede took off on a disastrous polar expedition?
A: Tor Morden B: S.A. Andre C: Esaias Tegner D: Gustave Froding
16. What is the tallest Mountain in the Nordic region?
A: Kebnekaise B: Galdhopiggen C: Slaettaratindur D: Hardangervidda
17. Actress Liv Ulmann was born in Japan, but what is her nationality?
A: Swedish B: Norwegian C: Danish D: Finnish
18. In what Swedish town do Henning Mankell's books about Wallander take place?
A: Lund B: Borgholm C: Ystad D: Fjallbacka
19. On which Danish island is the town of Odense located?
A: Sjaelland B: Falster C: Jylland D: Fyn
20. What is the name of the river that creates a natural border between Finland & Sweden in the north?
A: Karajohka B: Torne Alv C: Tanavattnet D: Klaralven
21. Which Swedish Actress became known as "The Face"?
A: Lena Olin B: Greta Garbo C: Ann-Margret D: Ingrid Bergman
22. The first university in Scandinavia was established in 1477 in what city?
A: Lund B: Roskilde C: Uppsala D: Copenhagen
23. Which Nordic members of the European Union do not use the Euro?
A: Sweden & Norway B: Denmark and Findland C: Sweden & Denmark
24. Who wrote the lyrics for the Norwegian National anthem "Ja, vi elsker. . .?
A: Bjorn Ulvaeus B: Liv Ullmann C: Bjornstjerne Bjornson D: Edvard Grieg
25. Who was the first Christian king in Scandinavai?
A: Harald Bluetooth B: Eric the Saint C: Harald Fairhair D: Sweyn Forkbeard
26. What was the name of the Danish Ffag (and is the oldest state flag still in use)?
A: Dannebrog B: Ampera Danica C: Margretelund D: Ambrosius Bogbinder
27. On what Swedish holiday do witches traditionally fly around the neighborhood?
A: Halloween B: All Saint's Day C: Easter D: Valborg
28. What is Hans Christian Andersen known for?
A: Reversing Danish immigration politics B: Sculpting C: writing fairy tales D: crossing the Atlantic in a 20 foot boat
29. When did the Oresund Bridge open for traffic between Sweden and Denmark?
A: July 2000 B: July 2001 C: July 2002 D: July 2003
30. Which country is pop singer-songwriter Robyn from?
A: Denmark B: Greenland C: Sweden D: Finland
31. In 1927, what inspired the Sankta Lucia tradition to grow into what we know today?
A: A daily newspaper crowned a Stockholm Lucia queen B: SvenskFilmindustri debuted a short Lucia documentary
C: King Gustav V gifted queen Victoria with a Lucia party to cheer her D: Selma Lagerof's noverl set in Sicily
32. In his novel, "The Son of a Servant", whose life does August Strindberg describe?
A: His own B: King Oscar II C: Edvard Munch D: Alfred Nobel
33. What did Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius originally call his scale for temperature?
A: Celsius B: Uppsala Measure C: centigrade D: Swedish thermometer
34. In Astrid Lundgren's story, "Jul i Bullerbyn", what could the children's grandfather smell?
A: The green Christmas tree B: The brown pepparkakor C: The red apple D: The white snow
35. What Olympic sport is Swede Jan-Ove Waldner known for being the best ever?
A: table tennis B: alpine sking C: triathlon D: boxing
36. How old was Nobel Prize in Chemistry winner Marie Curie's son-in-law, Jean Frederic Joilet-Curie, when he was the youngest
person ever to win the Nobel Prize in Chemistry (along with his wife Irene Joilet-Curie) in 1935?
37. What Scandinavian town is known as "rosornas stad" (city of roses)?
A: Lillehammer B:Pasadena C: Trosa D: Visby
38. What does it mean if you break your pepparkakor into 3 pieces?
A: you should eat 3 more cookies B: someone you loved sneezed C: Good luck D: you will have 3 children
39. How many local VASA Order lodges are there in the U.S.?
40. Opinions differ as to which countries make up Scandinavia, but most seem to agree on at least three. Which three?
A: Iceland, Norway, Sweden B: Finland, Norway, Denmark C: Denmark, Iceland, Finland D: Denmark, Norway, Sweden
41. Who raised Swede's interest in mushrooms when he observed that they were a viable food sorce during times of famine in the early 1800's?
A: Gustave Unonius B: August Strindberg C: Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte D: Karl Svamp
42. What spice was used for pastries on special occasions and even imported for King Gustav Vasa's wedding in 1552?
A: saffron B: salt C: cinnamon D: ginger
43. What animal did Stockholm's Swedish National Zoo introduce to the U.S. in 1959?
A: pygmy goat B: Dala horse C: Barnevelder chicken D: musse pig
44. In what country would you receive a pepper shaker and get called a Pepperman or Peppermaid if you turn 30 and are not yet married?
A: Denmark B: Finland C: Norway D: Sweden
45. In what Swedish province, where King Gustav Vasa built Vadstena Castle, is the swan revered?
A: Oland B: Norrbotten C: Halsingland D: Ostergotland
46. What Nordic palace houses today's oldest operating European theater?
A: Norway's Skaugum B: Sweden's Drottningholm C: Denmark's Hirscholm
47. What is the English title of the 1981 Swedish comedy, Gota Kanal?
A: 1000 Boats B: Who Pulled the Plug? C: Anderson's Boat Yard D: Men with Boats
48. What does "Stockholm symdrome" really mean?
A: being homesick for Stockholm B: winning the Swedish lottery C: emotional bonding with captors D: a virus that causes rapid height growth
49. The publisher had to "stop the presses" for the very first issue of Nordstjernan to add what late breaking news in September 1872?
A: A diplomat was seeking a Swedish "domestic" and would pay $25 /month B: congratulations to Chicago, whose Swedish population was biggger than Sweden's
C: the death of King Carl XV D: arranged marriages had been banned in Sweden.
50. The monarchs of Denmark and Norway during WWII were related. How?
A: Brothers B: Father and son C: Sisters D: They were the same person