Place guessing

Malte279 · **Reply #60 on:** December 07, 2004, 11:18:04 AM

Gee, this one held hardly a minute. Your turn Nick.

St. Peterburg was its original name (named after Zar Peter the Great). During WW1 the name was considered too German, so it was renamed in Petrograd. After the Revolution Moskau became the capital and the town was named Leningrad. Leningrads people suffered terribly when the town was besieged in WW2, but the town withstood the siege. After the collapse of the Soviet Union it was renamed into St. Petersburg.

Nick22 · **Reply #61 on:** December 07, 2004, 11:22:11 AM

Let's see- This place was originally built on a lake. It rose to be a great power, then was crushed by a greater power. Over the ages, it has become a symbol to different people, but with different meanings.
Nick

Malte279 · **Reply #62 on:** December 07, 2004, 11:26:38 AM

Technochtitlan? The capital of the Aztec empire, built on an island of lake Texcoco. Destroyed by Cortez conquistadores. Today it is the location of Mexico City.

Nick22 · **Reply #63 on:** December 07, 2004, 11:28:11 AM

You got it Malte

That one took less than a minute also.
Your turn Malte.
Nick

Malte279 · **Reply #64 on:** December 07, 2004, 05:24:33 PM

Hi!
Hi Nick! We solved each others' last two riddles very quickly which is sort of sad, as neither of us gave anyone else a chance to think about it. I suppose that you may guess the next riddle easier than many others, because you are more interested in the topic than others. However, I suggest that you give others at least 24 hours of time, to guess on this. If you would like to know if your guess about this place is right, please send me a mail

This place according to the legends was the forge of the gods. So associated was the smith god to this place, that places of the same nature all over the world were generally named after him. This place destroyed other places nearby which today is a case of luck to the archeologists.

Nick22 · **Reply #65 on:** December 08, 2004, 09:54:39 AM

So far no one has answered your question Malte. I'll wait a little longer before answering.
Nick

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #66 on:** December 08, 2004, 03:55:53 PM

This place sounds more like a volcano. Right now I'm thinking Mount. Vesuveus (bad spelling), but there is more than one volcano in that part of the world, so I can't be sure.

Nick22 · **Reply #67 on:** December 08, 2004, 03:58:01 PM

I believe that is the answer Kenji. Vulcan was the smith of the gods, and his name is given to volcanoes everywhere.
Nick

Malte279 · **Reply #68 on:** December 08, 2004, 04:12:52 PM

The answer is perfectly right!
I was talking of the volcano (volcanos in general are named after the Roman smith god Vulcan) Vesuvius where Vulcan was said to have his forge. The Vesuvius destroyed the Roman towns Pompeii and Herculaneum in 79 A.D. which (cynical as it sounds) was a case of luck for archeologists as the remnants of these towns were not so much destroyed but rather conservated by the ashes and the lava of the volcano.

Good going Nick and Kenji. Your turn Kenji.

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #69 on:** December 10, 2004, 04:13:33 PM

ack! :blink: I thought I was close, but not on the mark! Ok, I'll try a more simple place...

The battle taken at this place was rumored to be won by this object. It was proven true along with other important factors.

Malte279 · **Reply #70 on:** December 13, 2004, 04:08:32 AM

Legnano? - Members of an alliance of northern Italian towns who fought and won a battle against king Barbarossa there in 1176 got an important boost of morale from the defence of their "flag carriage", sort of a symbol for their alliance.
I should be most surprised though if this is the correct answer. There are quite a few battles in which objects such as flags, music instruments, or special weapons had a tremendous impact. Could you give some hint on the nature of the object? Was it a weapon or rather something symbolic?

Nick22 · **Reply #71 on:** December 13, 2004, 11:18:46 AM

Perhaps it was a cross? The cross has won many battles in history.
Nick

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #72 on:** December 13, 2004, 03:46:11 PM

It was no cross, or anything described below. No one actually thought this object would do much of anything, but it managed to not only win the battle, it also turned the tide of the war.

Nick22 · **Reply #73 on:** December 13, 2004, 03:48:41 PM

How about blowing a horn?
Nick

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #74 on:** December 14, 2004, 03:31:08 PM

Nope. The object is something you can't carry, except in pieces when you are ready to build it. And this object was built so strong, it decided the fate of the battle, and the war.

Malte279 · **Reply #75 on:** December 14, 2004, 04:15:05 PM

I recall that Cortez conquistadores built ships at the coast and carried them in pieces into the Aztec empire. There they put the ships together to use them on lake Texcoco during the siege of Tenochtitlan. Even though it is not certain whether the whole siege would have taken another turn without the ships, their effect was tremendous. Not only did they cut the only supply line to the city, but also the leader of the Aztec's resistance, Quotemoc was captured by such a ship when he tried to escape in a smaller boat.

But I don't really think that this is what you are talking about, is it?

Nick22 · **Reply #76 on:** December 14, 2004, 04:17:25 PM

A church or an abbey, perhaps?
Nick

Malte279 · **Reply #77 on:** December 15, 2004, 12:50:17 PM

I have another idea, but again I suppose it's wrong. During the D-Day invasion in 1944, the allieds brought the so called Mulberry harbours along. They brought the components along which were necessary to create save anchor places for ships that brought supplies. It sure had a very important effect on the proceedings of the invasion, but still I do not think this is what you are talking about Kenji. Could you give us some hint?

Mirumoto_Kenjiro · **Reply #78 on:** December 15, 2004, 04:01:35 PM

Neither one is correct. This object is smaller than a church or an abbey. But the battle took place somewhere between the fall of the Aztec Empire and WW2. As a matter of fact, this object that won the battle still exists today, and still in the very spot where this critical battle took place.

Petrie · **Reply #79 on:** December 16, 2004, 08:16:50 AM

Could it be a nuclear weapon? It doesn't work until all the chemicals are brought together, and the radiation fallout is very much still over Hiroshima or Nagasaki today....