From the Taj Mahal to Machu Picchu, the facts behind the world's most famous monuments, including the Seven Wonders and India's best-known landmarks.
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A photograph of a famous building is one of the most common questions in any quiz. Naming the landmark is only the first step. The better questions ask where it is, who built it and why. This guide covers the monuments that appear most often, along with the facts that turn a good guess into a certain answer.
The Seven Wonders, Old and New
The original list of Seven Wonders was drawn up by writers in the ancient Greek world. It named the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria. Only one of them, the Great Pyramid, still stands.
In 2007 a worldwide public vote produced a list of New Seven Wonders:
- The Great Wall of China
- Petra, in Jordan
- Christ the Redeemer, in Brazil
- Machu Picchu, in Peru
- Chichen Itza, in Mexico
- The Colosseum, in Italy
- The Taj Mahal, in India
Landmarks of Europe
- Eiffel Tower, Paris: built for the World's Fair of 1889 and named after the engineer Gustave Eiffel. It was the tallest structure in the world for about forty years.
- Colosseum, Rome: a vast Roman amphitheatre opened in AD 80, where gladiators fought before tens of thousands of spectators.
- Big Ben, London: strictly speaking, Big Ben is the great bell, not the clock or the tower. The tower itself has been called the Elizabeth Tower since 2012.
- Leaning Tower of Pisa, Italy: the bell tower of a cathedral. It began to tilt during construction because of soft ground.
- Stonehenge, England: a prehistoric circle of huge standing stones whose exact purpose is still debated.
- Sagrada Familia, Barcelona: the church designed by Antoni Gaudi, under construction since 1882.
Landmarks of the Americas
- Statue of Liberty, New York: a gift from the people of France, dedicated in 1886. It is made of copper, which turned green as it aged. Gustave Eiffel designed its internal frame.
- Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco: opened in 1937 and painted in a shade known as International Orange.
- Mount Rushmore, United States: a mountain carved with the faces of four presidents: Washington, Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Lincoln.
- Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro: a statue with outstretched arms on the summit of Corcovado mountain, completed in 1931.
- Machu Picchu, Peru: a city of the Inca built high in the Andes in the fifteenth century.
- Easter Island, Chile: famous for its giant stone heads, called moai.
Landmarks of Asia, Africa and Australia
- Great Wall of China: not one wall but many, built by different dynasties over many centuries.
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia: one of the largest religious monuments in the world. It appears on the Cambodian flag.
- Petra, Jordan: a city carved directly into pink sandstone cliffs, often called the Rose City.
- Burj Khalifa, Dubai: the tallest building in the world, at 828 metres, opened in 2010.
- Pyramids of Giza, Egypt: royal tombs built about 4,500 years ago, guarded by the Great Sphinx.
- Sydney Opera House, Australia: designed by the Danish architect Jorn Utzon and opened in 1973. Its roof resembles a set of sails.
India's Famous Monuments
- Taj Mahal, Agra: built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his wife Mumtaz Mahal. It stands on the bank of the Yamuna and is made of white marble.
- Red Fort, Delhi: also built by Shah Jahan. The Prime Minister raises the national flag here every Independence Day.
- Qutub Minar, Delhi: a brick minaret about 73 metres tall, begun by Qutb-ud-din Aibak.
- India Gate, Delhi: a war memorial designed by Edwin Lutyens.
- Gateway of India, Mumbai: built to mark the visit of King George V in 1911 and completed in 1924.
- Hawa Mahal, Jaipur: the Palace of Winds, built in 1799, with hundreds of small windows.
- Charminar, Hyderabad: a monument with four minarets, built in 1591.
- Konark Sun Temple, Odisha: a temple shaped like a giant chariot with stone wheels.
- Ajanta and Ellora Caves, Maharashtra: rock-cut caves famous for their paintings and sculptures.
- Statue of Unity, Gujarat: the tallest statue in the world, at 182 metres.
What a World Heritage Site Is
Many of these places are World Heritage Sites. The list is kept by UNESCO under an international agreement made in 1972. Sites can be cultural, such as temples and old cities, natural, such as forests and reefs, or a mixture of the two. India has more than forty sites on the list.
Tips for Landmark Questions
- Learn each landmark with its city and country, not just its name.
- Remember who built it and for what purpose.
- Look at photographs taken from different angles. Quiz pictures are rarely the standard postcard view.
- Note one unusual detail, such as the colour of the Golden Gate Bridge or the real meaning of Big Ben.
Test Your Knowledge
How many monuments can you identify? Try Quizlino's World Landmarks Quiz and see.