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Spain, officially known as the Kingdom of Spain, is a country located in Southwestern Europe, bordered by Portugal, France, and Andorra. With a population of over 47 million people, Spain is known for its rich culture, history, and diverse landscapes. From the beaches of the Mediterranean to the snowy peaks of the Pyrenees, Spain offers a wide range of tourist destinations.
Famous for its art and architecture, Spain is home to some of the world's most iconic landmarks such as the Alhambra, Sagrada Familia, and Park Guell. Spanish culture is also known for its delicious food and wine, including dishes such as paella, tapas, and sangria. Spain is also known for its festivals such as La Tomatina, Running of the Bulls, and La Feria de Abril. Spain is also known for its famous football teams and players.
With so much to explore, Spain trivia questions are sure to be a fun and educational experience. Whether you're a history buff, foodie, or sports fan, there is something for everyone to learn and discover about this fascinating country.
1. In Spain, he goes by the name Don Limpio. In Italy, he’s Mastro Lindo. Procter & Gamble says a Pensacola Navy sailor was the model for the chesty, chrome-domed mascot known by what name in the U.S.?
Answer: Mr. Clean
2. In 1541, Hernando de Soto claimed what is now Louisiana as a territory for which European country that would eventually lose it to France in 1682?
Answer: Spain
3. Which Romance language that is predominantly spoken in eastern Spain is the official language of Andorra?
Answer: Catalan
4. In 1588 an armada of 130 ships carrying troops with the intent to invade England and overthrow Elizabeth I was defeated in battle and marked a major turning point in the balance of naval power on the globe at the time. From what country did this armada sail?
Answer: Spain
5. Commonly eaten in Spain and Portugal and known for being served cold, gazpacho, which is made with raw, blended vegetables, is a type of what dish?
Answer: Soup
6. What national Spanish museum, located in Madrid, was built in 1819 and designed by Rafael Moneo and Juan de Villanueva? This “P” museum is home to works by Goya and Velazquez.
Answer: Prado
7. Listed by Forbes Magazine as one of the 100 largest companies in the world, Banco Santander is the largest bank in which country?
Answer: Spain
8. What consumer product advertising icon is known in Spain as "Don Limpio" and in China as "Mr. Proper?"
Answer: Mr. Clean
9. In 1542, Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo claimed the area that is now LA for what European country? In 1781, the governor of that same country, Felipe de Neve, founded the city.
Answer: Spain
10. Camp Nou is the largest football (soccer) stadium in all of Europe and is the home pitch for what Spanish soccer team?
Answer: FC Barcelona
11. Dudes on bicycles analogy time! Le Tour is to France, as La Vuelta is to what other EU country?
Answer: Spain
12. Rendered in shades of black, white, and gray, what famous 1937 mural by Pablo Picasso is named for the Basque town in Spain that it commemorates?
Answer: Guernica
13. One of the largest public libraries in the world is La Biblioteca Nacional de España, located on the Paseo de Recoletos in what city?
Answer: Madrid
14. Euskara, a language isolate (i.e., a language that cannot be shown to be related to any other language), is spoken in what region that straddles Spain and France, next to the Pyrenees?
Answer: Basque
15. In Spain, a tradition in the first seconds of the New Year is to quickly eat 12 uvas for good luck. In English, what fruit are uvas?
Answer: Grapes
16. In Spain, hot chocolate is often served at breakfast alongside what long pastry made from dough that is extruded, then fried?
Answer: Churros
17. With the Adams-Onis Treaty of 1819, the United States was able to negotiate the acquisition of Florida from what European power?
Answer: Spain
18. In the 1898 Treaty of Paris, Spain ceded Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and Guam to the United States. In the same treaty, what country was designated as a protectorate of the United States, though it would gain formal independence just four years later?
Answer: Cuba
19. Literally translating as "drink coffee," Toma Café is a beloved coffee shop in the Malasaña neighborhood of what European capital city?
Answer: Madrid
20. In 2010, UNESCO declared what Spanish art form as one of the Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity? The form itself is based on various folkloric music traditions of southern Spain in the autonomous communities of Andalusia and Murcia. More broadly, the form is considered a clap-happy dance.
Answer: Flamenco
21. The Spanish Constitution of 1978 uses not the word "Spanish" or "Español" to describe its official language, but what other word referring to a former kingdom in what is now Spain?
Answer: Castellano (Castilian)
22. Although also associated with the region of Galicia in Northwestern Spain, Caldeirada is a fish stew that is mainly synonymous with which European country?
Answer: Portugal
23. In 1543, the islands of the Philippines were named after Philip II, king of what country?
Answer: Spain
24. The largest of the brands owned by Inditex, what fast-fashion retail chain got its start in Galicia, Spain in 1975 as a store named Zorba?
Answer: Zara
25. Historian Robert Conquest describes what sort of "T" state as "a state which recognizes no limit on its authority in any sphere of public or private life and extends that authority to whatever length it considers feasible"? Spain under Francisco Franco is an example of such a regime.
Answer: Totalitarian
26. New Orleans was originally founded by the French. What country took possession of it via the Treaty of Paris in 1763?
Answer: Spain
27. Brothers Pau and Marc Gasol are both Spanish athletes that have collectively reached the pinnacle of their sport three times, and this sport's champions are honored with the Larry O'Brien trophy. What sport do these brothers both play professionally?
Answer: Basketball
28. Mallorca and Menorca are the two largest of Spain's Balearic Islands. The third biggest is what island known for its nightlife?
Answer: Ibiza
29. 1795’s Pinckney’s Treaty between the United States and what European nation allowed the US to traverse the Mississippi River? The treaty is also known as the Treaty of San Lorenzo.
Answer: Spain
30. Sharonne, crowned Next Drag Superstar, wore a gown inspired by the Trencadís mosaics in her hometown of Barcelona on an edition of "RuPaul's Drag Race" filmed in what peninsular Euro country?
Answer: Spain
31. What man received the first official permit from the King of Spain to commercially produce tequila? The permit was granted in 1795.
Answer: Jose Cuervo
32. Actress Penélope Cruz appeared in two different versions of the film "Vanilla Sky," amongst dozens of additional roles. Cruz was born and raised in what country?
Answer: Spain
33. In the 1795 Peace of Basel treaty, Spain lost control over two-thirds of the island of Hispaniola. To what other nation did they cede this land?
Answer: France
34. In addition to the US flag, three more nations’ flags have flown above Michigan. Name all three.
Answer: Spain France and England
35. Spain's biggest port on the Mediterranean west coast is also the third most populous city in the country. What is this city?
Answer: Valencia
36. The fifth largest city in Spain by population starts with the letter Z. What is this capital city of its eponymous province?
Answer: Zaragoza
37. Rather than the more modern word "amarillo," the archaic word "gualda" in Spanish is used to describe the central and widest stripe of Spain's flag, which is what color in English?
Answer: Yellow
38. Spain is located on what mountainous peninsula, which it mostly shares with Portugal? This “i” place gives its name to an extinct language thought to have connected Latin with modern Spanish.
Answer: Iberian Peninsula
39. The famed Spanish delicacy jamón ibérico de bellota is made from the meat of purebred black pigs who have fed on what item, which is what "bellota" means in English?
Answer: Acorn
40. The Philippines were previously named Las Islas Filipinas by European explorer Ruy López de Villalobos in 1565 to honor of King Philip II of what country?
Answer: Spain
41. What start-of-the-alphabet brand of Pilsner, owned by Heineken International as of 2000, was founded in Seville and is Spain's largest producer of beer?
Answer: Cruzcampo
42. Which alliteratively named Spanish military General led the Nationalist faction in the Spanish Civil War, and took power in Spain following the conclusion of the war in 1939?
Answer: Francisco Franco
43. One of Renaissance painter El Greco's most famous works is a landscape that depicts a "View of" what city in Spain (not Ohio)?
Answer: Toledo
44. The body of which artist is buried below an eponymous museum located in Figueres, Spain, the front of which is decorated with giant egg sculptures?
Answer: Salvador Dali
45. Found in South-Western Spain, what cape gives its name to a famous naval battle in the Napoleonic Wars in 1805?
Answer: Trafalgar
46. What palace/fortress complex in Granada, Spain, has a name that comes from the Arabic for "the red one"? The complex was begun in 1238 by the Muslim rulers of Granada.
Answer: Alhambra
47. Due to its collection of works by artists such as Ribera, Murillo, Goya, and El Greco, the Meadows Museum in Dallas is nicknamed the "Prado on the Prairie" - the Prado being the national art museum of which country?
Answer: Spain
48. One of the most popular walking trails in the world, for adventure-lovers and religious pilgrims alike, is a 500-mile route to the remains of the apostle St. James at Compostela in what country?
Answer: Spain
49. The official seal of the City of Los Angeles contains the coat of arms of Mexico, and the lion and castle from the coat of arms of what other country?
Answer: Spain
50. Spain and Portugal are the two countries that make up what second-largest peninsula in Europe by area?
Answer: Iberian Peninsula
51. The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas divided claims to the "New World" between Spain and what other European country? The treaty had a significant impact on the languages that were spoken in certain South American countries.
Answer: Portugal
52. In Excel's EUROCONVERT function, ITL is the ISO code for Italy, FRF is France, and ESP is what other E.U. country?
Answer: Spain / España
53. In 1976, the nation of Spain donated to the U.S. a statue of what literary figure, which now stands outside D.C.'s Kennedy Center?
Answer: Don Quixote
54. In 2024, French athlete Kylian Mbappé continued his professional soccer career by joining Real Madrid CF, a European football club based in what country?
Answer: Spain
55. The city of Havana was founded by the Spanish and given the title of capital by Philip II in what century?
Answer: 16th century
56. La Masia de Can Planes is an "academy" in eastern Spain that served as both educational facilities and sporting grounds for promising youth talent in a specific sport. What sports TEAM is the owner and operator of this academy?
Answer: FC Barcelona
57. Although details on who first brought back chocolate to Europe are disputed, it is generally agreed that chocolate first appeared in Europe in what country?
Answer: Spain
58. What is the Spain-headquartered software company, with annual revenue of more than $5.5 billion, that creates technology for travel searches, accommodation and transportation bookings, and more? The company shares its name with a famous composer’s middle name.
Answer: Amadeus
59. On one of the coats of arms represented on Spain's flag, what color is the crowned lion?
Answer: Red
60. What archipelago, the southernmost of Spain's autonomous communities, is named (by way of Latin) after dogs, not birds?
Answer: The Canary Islands
61. What country's 1978 constitution was the culmination of the nation's transition to democracy after decades of dictator rule? The document was formally approved by Cortes Generales, officially sanctioned by Juan Carlos, and was overwhelmingly approved by the public with over 90% of votes cast in favor.
Answer: Spain
62. There is a very small (180 square miles) landlocked sovereign country between France and Spain with a population of approximately 75,000. Believed to have been created by Charlemagne, what is the name of this country?
Answer: Andorra
63. What high-speed sport originating in the Basque region of Spain (and now usually played in Spain and former Spanish colonies) involves bouncing a hard rubber ball around a three-walled court using a wicker scoop called a cesta?
Answer: Jai Alai
64. Constructed in the 9th century, what Moorish fortress in Granada, Spain draws millions of visitors a year and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site?
Answer: The Alhambra
65. For many years, homeowners who installed solar panels on their homes were connected exclusively to the local power grid. Starting in 1994, this concept was expanded and home solar panels were connected to larger regional power grids in what Spanish-speaking country?
Answer: Spain
66. Pikolin is a European mattress manufacturer with hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and thousands of employees. The company is based in Zaragoza in what which European country?
Answer: Spain
67. The English word "chocolate" comes from a Spanish word which comes from a classic word in what language spoken widely in Central Mexico during the 16th century Spanish Conquest?
Answer: Nahuatl
68. UNED (National Distance Learning University) is the second largest university in Europe and the only university run by the central government of what country?
Answer: Spain
69. The autonomous region of Cantabria in northern Spain has what port city as its capital? The city is home to Spain's largest bank.
Answer: Santander
70. Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza, and Formentera are the four largest islands in what Spanish archipelago in the Mediterranean Sea?
Answer: Balearic Islands
71. The Treaty of Angra de Cintra was signed by Morocco and which other country in 1958, helping to end the Ifni War?
Answer: Spain
72. The Spanish autonomous city of Melilla shares a land border with what country?
Answer: Morocco
73. What "autonomous community" in southern Spain has a name derived from Arabic, is home to Seville, and is frequently considered the largest producer of olive oil in the world?
Answer: Andalusia
74. Mount Teide, the highest point in Spain, is a volcano on which one of the Canary Islands, the most visited island in the archipelago?
Answer: Tenerife
75. Featuring elaborate papier-mâché pyrotechnics and traditional dress, what Spanish city hosts the annual Las Fallas festival?
Answer: Valencia
76. From the country of Spain, Pablo Casals was known for playing which stringed instrument?
Answer: Cello
77. Also called the Great War (Guerra Grande), which war from 1868 to 1878 was the first of three that Cuba fought for its independence from Spain?
Answer: Ten Years' War
78. What Hapsburg King of Spain, the son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and Isabella of Portugal, was also joint sovereign of England between 1554 and 1558?
Answer: Philip II
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