Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia a ...

on the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.

History

Ancient times-13th century

When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...

, a city called ''Scarbantia'' stood here. Its

forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses * Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

was located where the main square of Sopron can be found today. During the

Migration Period The Migration Period was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories by various tribes, and the establishment of the post-Roman ...

, Scarbantia was believed to be deserted. When

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars ( ; hu, magyarok ), are a nation and ethnic group native to Hungary () and historical Hungarian lands who share a common culture, history, ancestry, and language. The Hungarian language belongs to the Urali ...

arrived in the area, the city was in ruins. From the 9th to the 11th centuries, Hungarians strengthened the old Roman city walls and built a castle. The city was named in Hungarian after a castle steward named ''Suprun''. In 1153, it was mentioned as an important city. In 1273, King

Otakar II of Bohemia Ottokar II ( cs, Přemysl Otakar II.; , in Městec Králové, Bohemia – 26 August 1278, in Dürnkrut, Lower Austria), the Iron and Golden King, was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty who reigned as King of Bohemia from 1253 until his deat ...

occupied the castle. Even though he took the children of Sopron's nobility with him as hostages, the city opened its gates when the armies of King

Ladislaus IV of Hungary Ladislaus IV ( hu, IV. (Kun) László, hr, Ladislav IV. Kumanac, sk, Ladislav IV. Kumánsky; 5 August 1262 – 10 July 1290), also known as Ladislaus the Cuman, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1272 to 1290. His mother, Elizabeth, was ...

arrived. Ladislaus rewarded Sopron by elevating it to the rank of

free royal town Royal free city or free royal city (Latin: libera regia civitas) was the official term for the most important cities in the Kingdom of Hungary from the late 12th centuryBácskai Vera – Nagy Lajos: Piackörzetek, piacközpontok és városok Magy ...

16th-19th centuries

During the Ottoman occupation of

, the

Ottoman Turks The Ottoman Turks ( tr, Osmanlı Türkleri), were the Turkic founding and sociopolitically the most dominant ethnic group of the Ottoman Empire ( 1299/1302–1922). Reliable information about the early history of Ottoman Turks remains scarce, ...

ravaged the city in 1529 but did not occupy it. Many Hungarians fled from the occupied areas to Sopron, and the city's importance grew. While the Ottomans occupied most of Central Europe, the region north of Lake Balaton remained in the

Kingdom of Hungary (1538–1867) The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

(captaincy between Balaton and Drava). In 1676, Sopron was destroyed by a fire. The modern city was born over the next few decades, when

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

buildings were built to replace the destroyed medieval ones. Sopron became the seat of the

comitatus ''Comitatus'' was in ancient times the Latin term for an armed escort or retinue. The term is used especially in the context of Germanic warrior culture for a warband tied to a leader by an oath of fealty and describes the relations between a lor ...

Sopron Sopron (; german: Ödenburg, ; sl, Šopron) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a ...

. The town was the seat of the ''Ödenburg'' comitat near 1850. After the

compromise of 1867 The Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867 (german: Ausgleich, hu, Kiegyezés) established the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. The Compromise only partially re-established the former pre-1848 sovereignty and status of the Kingdom of Hungary ...

and until 1918, the city (known with the dual bilingual name of ''Sopron - Ödenburg'') was part of the Habsburg-ruled

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from the Middle Ages into the 20th century. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the coronation of the first king Stephen ...

20th century to present

Following the breakup of the

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, often referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire,, the Dual Monarchy, or Austria, was a constitutional monarchy and great power in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of ...

, ethnic Austrians inhabited parts of four western Hungarian counties:

Pozsony Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approximately 140% of ...

(Pressburg in German;

Bratislava Bratislava (, also ; ; german: Preßburg/Pressburg ; hu, Pozsony) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Slovakia. Officially, the population of the city is about 475,000; however, it is estimated to be more than 660,000 — approxim ...

in Czech/Slovak), Vas (Eisenburg),

(Ödenburg) and

Moson Moson (German language, German: Wieselburg, Slovak language, Slovak: Mošon) was an administrative county (Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary), comitatus) of the Kingdom of Hungary, situated mostly on the right (south) side of the Danube river. Its t ...

(Wieselburg). The Austrian-inhabited parts of those counties were initially awarded to Austria in the

Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919) The Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (french: Traité de Saint-Germain-en-Laye) was signed on 10 September 1919 by the victorious Allies of World War I on the one hand and by the Republic of German-Austria on the other. Like the Treaty of Tria ...

. After local unrest and Italian diplomatic mediation in the Venice Protocol, Sopron's status as part of Hungary (along with that of the surrounding eight villages) was decided by a controversial, local

plebiscite A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

held on December 14, 1921, with 65% voting for Hungary. Since then Sopron has been called ''Civitas Fidelissima'' ("The Most Loyal Town", hu, A Leghűségesebb Város), and the anniversary of the plebiscite is a city holiday. However, the western parts of Vas, Sopron and Moson counties joined Austria and now form the Austrian federal state of

Burgenland Burgenland (; hu, Őrvidék; hr, Gradišće; Austro-Bavarian: ''Burgnland;'' Slovene: ''Gradiščanska'') is the easternmost and least populous state of Austria. It consists of two statutory cities and seven rural districts, with a total of ...

, and Pressburg/Pozsony was awarded to

Czechoslovakia , rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי, , common_name = Czechoslovakia , life_span = 1918–19391945–1992 , p1 = Austria-Hungary , image_p1 ...

. Sopron suffered greatly during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was bombed several times. The Soviet

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...

captured the city on April 1, 1945. On August 19, 1989, Sopron was the site of the

Pan-European Picnic The Pan-European Picnic (german: Paneuropäisches Picknick; hu, páneurópai piknik; sk, Paneurópsky piknik) was a peace demonstration held on the Austrian- Hungarian border near Sopron, Hungary on 19 August 1989. The opening of the border ...

, a protest on the border between Austria and Hungary, which was used by over 600 citizens of

East Germany East Germany, officially the German Democratic Republic (GDR; german: Deutsche Demokratische Republik, , DDR, ), was a country that existed from its creation on 7 October 1949 until its dissolution on 3 October 1990. In these years the state ...

to escape to the West. As the first successful crossing of the border, it helped pave the way for the mass flight of East German citizens that led to the fall of the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (german: Berliner Mauer, ) was a guarded concrete barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and East Germany (GDR). Construction of the Berlin Wall was commenced by the government ...

on November 9, 1989. During the

Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...

era, the government tried to turn Sopron into an industrial city, but much of the medieval town center remains, allowing the city to remain an attractive site for tourists. Today, Sopron's economy immensely benefits from the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

. Having been a city close to nowhere, that is, to the

Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. The term symbolizes the efforts by the Soviet Union (USSR) to block itself and its s ...

, Sopron now has re-established full trade relations to nearby Austria. Furthermore, after being suppressed during the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, Sopron's German-speaking culture and heritage are now recognized again. As a consequence, many of the city's street-and traffic-signs are written in both Hungarian and German making it an officially bilingual city due to its proximity to the Austrian frontier. Visitors admire the large number of buildings in this city that reflect

medieval architecture Medieval architecture is architecture common in the Middle Ages, and includes religious, civil, and military buildings. Styles include pre-Romanesque, Romanesque, and Gothic. While most of the surviving medieval architecture is to be seen in c ...

- rare in war-torn Hungary. Situated close to the Austrian border, Sopron receives many visitors from Vienna ( away), and from Bratislava, Slovakia ( away), as well as from the United States, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Japan, and Scandinavia, who visit to take advantage of the excellent low-cost dental services offered: Sopron boasts so many dental clinics—more than 300—that the city is known as the "dental capital of the world."

Wine production

Sopron is a significant

wine Wine is an alcoholic drink typically made from fermented grapes. Yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide, releasing heat in the process. Different varieties of grapes and strains of yeasts are m ...

producing region, one of the few in Hungary to make both

red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–740 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a secondar ...

and

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without skin contact. The wine color, colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured Juice vesicles, ...

s. Grapes include Kékfrankos for red wine and

Traminer Savagnin or Savagnin blanc (not to be confused with Sauvignon blanc) is a variety of white wine grape with green-skinned berries. It is mostly grown in the Jura region of France, where it is made into Savagnin wine or the famous vin jaune and vi ...

(

Gewürztraminer Gewürztraminer () is an aromatic wine grape variety, used in white wines, and performs best in cooler climates. In English, it is sometimes referred to colloquially as Gewürz (; although this is never the case in German, because "Gewürz" me ...

) for white wine. In climate it is similar to the neighbouring Burgenland wine region in Austria, and several winemakers make wine in both countries. Blue Frankish (= Kékfrankos, Blaufränkisch), Traminer, and Green Veltliner (= Zöld Veltelini, Grüner Veltliner) are well-known Sopron wines. Sopron's Blue Frankish and Pinot Noir wines are particularly prized.

Demographics

In 1910, Sopron had 33,931 inhabitants (51%

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

, 44.3% Hungarian, 4.7% other). Religions: 64.1%

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

, 27.8%

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

, 6.6%

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, 1.2%

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

, 0.3% other. In 2001, the city had 56,125 inhabitants (92.8% Hungarian, 3.5% German, 3.7% other). Religions: 69% Roman Catholic, 7% Lutheran, 3% Calvinist, 8.1%

Atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

, 11.9% no answer, 1% other.

Architecture

The architecture of the old section of town reflects its long history; walls and foundations from the

are still common, together with a wealth of

Medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, and Baroque structures, often artistically decorated, showing centuries of stability and prosperity. There is an old

synagogue A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...

and other remains from the town's former

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...

ish community, which was expelled in the 16th century. On Daloshegy, there is a 165-metre tall FM-/TV-broadcasting tower, nicknamed "Rakéta" (Hungarian for rocket).

Places of interest

* City centre * Firewatch Tower * Walls with Roman origin * Széchenyi Square and Flag of Loyalty * Kecske Church * Esterházy Palace (baroque) * Eggenberg House * City Hall (eclectic, 1895) * Storno House (renaissance) * Fabricius House * "Two Moors" House (18th century baroque) * Chemist's Museum (15th–16th century. The house was pronounced the first national monument in Hungary by Louis II of Hungary in 1525.) * Lábasház (16th–17th century) * Gambrinus House (Old city hall) * Taródi Castle (István Taródi built the castle by himself. He started the building operations in 1945, when he was 20.)

Amusement

* Cartoon Forum (From Tuesday 14 to Friday 17 September 2010) * Spring Festival of Sopron (Soproni Tavaszi Fesztivál) * Festal Weeks of Sopron (Soproni Ünnepi Hetek) * VOLT festival * Civitas Pinceszínház (Civitas Basement Theater) * Liszt Ferenc Művelődési Központ (Franz Liszt Conference and Cultural Centre )

Politics

The current mayor of Sopron is Ciprián Farkas (''Fidesz-KDNP''). The local Municipal Assembly, elected at the 2019 local government elections, is made up of 18 members (1 Mayor, 12 Individual constituencies MEPs and 5 Compensation List MEPs) divided into this political parties and alliances:

Gallery

File:Goat Church and Holy Trinity Column, Sopron.jpg, Goat Church and Holy Trinity Column File:Saint Michael's Church, Sopron.jpg, Saint Michael's Church File:Sopron Megyeháza.jpg, County Hall of

Győr-Moson-Sopron County Győr-Moson-Sopron ( hu, Győr-Moson-Sopron megye, ; german: Komitat Raab-Wieselburg-Ödenburg; sk, Rábsko-mošonsko-šopronská župa) is an administrative county (comitatus or '' megye'') in north-western Hungary, on the border with Slovakia ( ...

File:Sopron 86 Stadtturm.JPG, Fire Tower File:Sopron 156 Városháza.jpg, Town Hall File:Sopron Petőfi Színház főhomlokzat.jpg, Petőfi Theater File:Eszterhazypalota.JPG, Esterházy Palace in the Temple Street File:Lábasházsopron.JPG, Orsolya Square and the Mary Fountain File:SopronneugasseNr4.JPG, New Street File:Új utca 16 Sopron.jpg, Gothic house in the New Street File:Előkapu3sopron.JPG, Előkapu Square File:Kolostor u 13 Sopron.JPG, House, Kolostor Street 13. File:Ikvahidsopron.JPG, Ikva Bridge File:Szechenyi z01.jpg, Statue of

István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék ( hu, sárvár-felsővidéki gróf Széchenyi István, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and wri ...

File:Sopron.Grabenrunde.zweisprachiges.Strassenschild.jpg, Bilingual ( Hungarian/

) road signs in Sopron. File:Ortstafel Ödenburg.jpg, Bilingual sign

Sports

The women's basketball team

Sopron Basket Sopron Basket is a Hungarian women's basketball club from Sopron. Founded in 1921 as the women's section of Soproni VSE, it has played in the Hungarian National Championship since 1986. It plays its home games in the Aréna Sopron. Sopron won ...

is one of the most successful Hungarian basketball team in the history with 15 National titles and they success in Europe, in

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

they won EuroLeague.

MFC Sopron FC Sopron was a Hungarian football club from the town of Sopron, near the Austrian border. It was founded in 1921 as ''Soproni Postás''. The club's home stadium is Stadion Városi with a capacity of 5,300. With the beginning of the season 2007 ...

was a

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

team based in Sopron. The successor of the club is

Soproni VSE Soproni VSE is a Hungarian football club in Sopron. The club's colours are purple and white. They won the Nemzeti Bajnokság II two times in 1945 and 1946, but they have never played in the first league. In 2011, the club won the championship in ...

Notable residents

Rogerius of Apulia Roger of Torre Maggiore or Master Roger ( hu, Rogerius mester; 1205 in Torre Maggiore – April 14, 1266 in Split) was an Italian prelate active in the Kingdom of Hungary in the middle of the 13th century. He was archbishop of Split in ...

(1205-1266), medieval chronicler *

Anna Maria von Eggenberg, née Brandenburg-Bayreuth Anna Maria Princess of Eggenberg, née Brandenburg-Bayreuth (born 30 December 1609 in Bayreuth; died 8 May 1680 in Ödenburg) was a Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and, by marriage Johann Anton I von Eggenberg, a ''Fürstin'' (princess) of Hou ...

(1609-1680), Margravine of

Brandenburg-Bayreuth The Principality of Bayreuth (german: Fürstentum Bayreuth) or Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (''Markgraftum Brandenburg-Bayreuth'') was an immediate territory of the Holy Roman Empire, ruled by a Franconian branch of the Hohenzollern dyna ...

and Princess of Eggenberg *

Dániel Berzsenyi Dániel Berzsenyi (; 7 May 1776 in Hetye (now Egyházashetye) – 24 February 1836 in Nikla) was a Hungarian poet.Trencsenyi, Balazs & Michal Kopecek, eds. ''Discourse of Collective Identity in Central and Southeast Europe.'' New York: Central E ...

(1776-1836), poet *

Ludwig von Benedek Ludwig August Ritter von Benedek (14 July 1804 – 27 April 1881), also known as Lajos Benedek, was an Austro-Hungarian general (Feldzeugmeister), best known for commanding the imperial army in 1866 in their defeat at the Battle of Königg ...

(1804-1881), Austrian general *

Franz Liszt Franz Liszt, in modern usage ''Liszt Ferenc'' . Liszt's Hungarian passport spelled his given name as "Ferencz". An orthographic reform of the Hungarian language in 1922 (which was 36 years after Liszt's death) changed the letter "cz" to simpl ...

(1811-1886), composer *

Franz von Suppé Franz von Suppé (né Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo de Suppe) (18 April 181921 May 1895) was an Austrian composer of light operas and other theatre music. He came from the Kingdom of Dalmatia, Austro-Hungarian Empire (now part of Croatia). A c ...

(1819-1895), composer *

Julius Lenck Julius Lenck ( hu, Gyula Lenck, 1845, ? – 14 October 1901, Sopron, Austria-HungarySopron Brewery (Soproni Sörgyár). *

Gyula Fényi Fényi Gyula (8 January 1845 – 21 December 1927) was a Hungary, Hungarian Society of Jesus, Jesuit and astronomer. He is also known by the name ''P. Julius Fenyi SJ''. He is best known for his work on the Sun and leading the Haynald Observatory ...

(1845-1927), astronomer *

László Rátz László Rátz (9 April 1863 in Sopron – 30 September 1930 in Budapest) was a Hungarian mathematics high school teacher best known for educating such people as John von Neumann and Nobel laureate Eugene Wigner. He was a legendary teac ...

(1863-1930), mathematics teacher *

Kálmán Kánya Kálmán de Kánya (7 November 1869 – 28 February 1945), Foreign Minister of Hungary during the Horthy era. He started his diplomatic career in Constantinople. In 1913 he appointed as Austro-Hungarian ambassador to Mexico later to Berlin. Fr ...

(1869-1945), politician, diplomat, Foreign Minister *

Franz Lehár Franz Lehár ( ; hu, Lehár Ferenc ; 30 April 1870 – 24 October 1948) was an Austro-Hungarian composer. He is mainly known for his operettas, of which the most successful and best known is ''The Merry Widow'' (''Die lustige Witwe''). Life ...

(1870-1948), composer *

Béla Bartók Béla Viktor János Bartók (; ; 25 March 1881 – 26 September 1945) was a Hungarian composer, pianist, and ethnomusicologist. He is considered one of the most important composers of the 20th century; he and Franz Liszt are regarded as H ...

(1881-1945), composer *

Charles I of Austria Charles I or Karl I (german: Karl Franz Josef Ludwig Hubert Georg Otto Maria, hu, Károly Ferenc József Lajos Hubert György Ottó Mária; 17 August 18871 April 1922) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary (as Charles IV, ), King of Croatia, ...

(1887-1922), last king of Hungary *

Georg Trakl Georg Trakl (3 February 1887 – 3 November 1914) was an Austrian poet and the brother of the pianist Grete Trakl. He is considered one of the most important Austrian Expressionists. He is perhaps best known for his poem " Grodek", which he wr ...

(1887-1914), poet *

Mátyás Rákosi Mátyás Rákosi (; born Mátyás Rosenfeld; 9 March 1892
– 5 February 1971) was a Hungarian

(1892-1971), politician, communist leader *

David-Zvi Pinkas David-Zvi Pinkas ( he, דָּוִד־צְבִי פִּנְקָס, 5 December 1895 – 14 August 1952) was a Zionist activist and Israeli politician. A signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence, he was the country's third Minister of Tra ...

(1895-1952), signatory of the

Israeli declaration of independence The Israeli Declaration of Independence, formally the Declaration of the Establishment of the State of Israel ( he, הכרזה על הקמת מדינת ישראל), was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 ( 5 Iyar 5708) by David Ben-Gurion, the Executive ...

Margaret Mahler Margaret Schönberger Mahler (May 10, 1897 in Ödenburg, Austria-Hungary; October 2, 1985 in New York) was an Austrian-American psychiatrist, psychoanalyst, and pediatrician. She did pioneering work in the field of infant and young child resea ...

(1897-1985), psychoanalyst * Sandor Gallus (1907-1996), archaeologist * (born 1933), Professor of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), sociologist * Alexander Gallus (born 1940), medical researcher *

József Szájer József Szájer (born 7 September 1961) is a retired Hungarian politician and former Member of the European Parliament (MEP) of the Fidesz party. He resigned as MEP on 29 November 2020 (effective at the end of December) after having been caught ...

(born 1961), politician *

István Hiller István Hiller (born 7 May 1964) is a Hungarian politician and former chairman of the governing Hungarian Socialist Party between 16 October 2004 and 24 February 2007, succeeding László Kovács, succeeded by Ferenc Gyurcsány. A co-founder ...

(born 1964), politician, Minister of Culture * Mihály Tóth (born 1974), football player * Vilmos Radasics (born 1983), BMX rider *

Tímea Babos Tímea Babos (; born 10 May 1993) is a Hungarian professional tennis player who is a former world No. 1 in doubles. She is a four-time Grand Slam champion in women's doubles, having won the 2018 and 2020 Australian Opens, as well as the Fre ...

(born 1993), tennis player * Botond Balogh (born 2002), football player *

Balogh de Mankó Bük Balogh is a Hungarian surname of nobility, a variant of Balog, see article Balog (genus). Notable people with the surname include: *Ádám Balogh, one of the most famous kuruc colonels during Rákóczi's War for Independence *Béla Balogh, a Hunga ...

, Hungarian nobility *

József Rokop József () is a Hungarian masculine given name. It is the Hungarian name equivalent to Joseph. Notable people bearing this name include: * József Braun (also known as József Barna; 1901–1943), Hungarian Olympic footballer * József Cserm ...

, freedom fighter * Terezia Mora, writer

Twin towns – sister cities

Sopron is twinned with: *

Bad Wimpfen Bad Wimpfen () is a historic spa town in the district of Heilbronn in the Baden-Württemberg region of southern Germany. It lies north of the city of Heilbronn, on the river Neckar. Geography Bad Wimpfen is located on the west bank of the River ...

, Germany *

Banská Štiavnica Banská Štiavnica (; german: Schemnitz; hu, Selmecbánya (Selmec), ) is a town in central Slovakia, in the middle of an immense caldera created by the collapse of an ancient volcano. For its size, the caldera is known as the Štiavnica Mountain ...

, Slovakia *

Bolzano Bolzano ( or ; german: Bozen, (formerly ); bar, Bozn; lld, Balsan or ) is the capital city of the province of South Tyrol in northern Italy. With a population of 108,245, Bolzano is also by far the largest city in South Tyrol and the third la ...

, Italy *

Eilat Eilat ( , ; he, אֵילַת ; ar, إِيلَات, Īlāt) is Israel's southernmost city, with a population of , a busy port and popular resort at the northern tip of the Red Sea, on what is known in Israel as the Gulf of Eilat and in Jordan ...

, Israel *

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, Bavarian language, Austro-Bavarian: ''Eisnstod'') is a city in Austria, the state capital of Burgenland. It had a recorded population on 29 April 2021 of 15,074. In the Habsburg ...

, Austria *

Kazuno is a city located in Akita Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 30.715, and a population density of 43 persons per km² in 12.970 households. The total area of the city is . Geography Kazuno is located in a valley in t ...

, Japan *

Kempten Kempten (, (Swabian German: )) is the largest Town#Germany, town of Allgäu, in Swabia (Bavaria), Swabia, Bavaria, Germany. The population was about 68,000 in 2016. The area was possibly settled originally by Celts, but was later taken over by th ...

, Germany *

Mediaș Mediaș (; german: Mediasch, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Medwesch''/''Medveš'', hu, Medgyes) is the second largest town in Sibiu County, Transylvania, Romania. Geographic location Mediaș is located in the middle basin of Târnava Mare River, a ...

, Romania *

Rorschach Rorschach may refer to: * Hermann Rorschach, a Swiss psychiatrist ** Rorschach test, his psychological evaluation method involving inkblots * Rorschach (character), a character from the comics ''Watchmen'' * Rorschach (comic book), a 2020 comic * ...

, Switzerland *

Seinäjoki Seinäjoki (; "Wall River"; la, Wegelia, formerly sv, Östermyra) is a city located in South Ostrobothnia, Finland; east of Vaasa, north of Tampere, west of Jyväskylä and southwest of Oulu. Seinäjoki originated around the Östermyra bru ...

, Finland *

Sparta Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referre ...

, Greece

References

;Notes

External links

* in Hungarian, English and German
University of West Hungary (University of Sopron)

ImageTownsIndex - Virtual Tour of Sopron

Aerial photography: Sopron

Accommodation in Sopron

Sopron at funiq.hu
{{Authority control Populated places in Győr-Moson-Sopron County Cities with county rights of Hungary Siebengemeinden Hungarian German communities Wine regions of Hungary Austria–Hungary border crossings Roman settlements in Hungary Pannonia Superior