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 de ...

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, Croa ...

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 Medite ...

, 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-Roma ...

, 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 Ural ...

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

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) (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 buildings were built to replace the destroyed medieval ones. Sopron became the seat of the comitatus Sopron. The town was the seat of the ''Ödenburg'' comitat near 1850. After the compromise of 1867 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 Stephe ...

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#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. It was formed with t ...

, ethnic Austrians inhabited parts of four western Hungarian counties: Pozsony (Pressburg in German;

Bratislava 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% o ...

in Czech/Slovak), Vas (Eisenburg), Sopron (Ödenburg) and Moson (Wieselburg). The Austrian-inhabited parts of those counties were initially awarded to Austria in the Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919). After local unrest and Italian diplomatic mediation in the

Venice Protocol Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The islan ...

, 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 ...

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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

and was bombed several times. The Soviet

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

captured the city on April 1, 1945. On August 19, 1989, Sopron was the site of the Pan-European Picnic, 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 on November 9, 1989. During the Socialist 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 ...

. 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, 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 ...

- 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 ...

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

white wine White wine is a wine that is fermented without skin contact. The colour can be straw-yellow, yellow-green, or yellow-gold. It is produced by the alcoholic fermentation of the non-coloured pulp of grapes, which may have a skin of any colour. Whi ...

s. Grapes include Kékfrankos for red wine and Traminer ( Gewürztraminer) 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, 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 letter ...

, 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 Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...

, 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 period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

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 id ...

, and Baroque structures, often artistically decorated, showing centuries of stability and prosperity. There is an old synagogue and other remains from the town's former Jewish 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 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 File:Sopron.Grabenrunde.zweisprachiges.Strassenschild.jpg, Bilingual ( Hungarian/ German) road signs in Sopron. File:Ortstafel Ödenburg.jpg, Bilingual sign

Sports

The women's basketball team Sopron Basket is one of the most successful Hungarian basketball team in the history with 15 National titles and they success in Europe, in 2022 they won EuroLeague. MFC Sopron was a football team based in Sopron. The successor of the club is Soproni VSE.

Notable residents

* Rogerius of Apulia (1205-1266), medieval chronicler * Anna Maria von Eggenberg, née Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1609-1680), Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth and Princess of Eggenberg * Dániel Berzsenyi (1776-1836), poet * Ludwig von Benedek (1804-1881), Austrian general * Franz Liszt (1811-1886), composer * Franz von Suppé (1819-1895), composer * Julius Lenck (1845 - 1901), Hungarian-German brewer, wholesaler and the founder of the Sopron Brewery (Soproni Sörgyár). * Gyula Fényi (1845-1927), astronomer * László Rátz (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. ...

(1869-1945), politician, diplomat, Foreign Minister * Franz Lehár (1870-1948), composer * Béla Bartók (1881-1945), composer * Charles I of Austria (1887-1922), last king of Hungary * Georg Trakl (1887-1914), poet * Mátyás Rákosi (1892-1971), politician, communist leader * David-Zvi Pinkas (1895-1952), signatory of the Israeli declaration of independence * Margaret Mahler (1897-1985), psychoanalyst *

Sandor Gallus Sandor (Alexander) Gallus (15 November 1907 – 29 December 1996) was a Melbourne archaeologist, most famous for his investigations of Pleistocene Aboriginal occupation at Koonalda Cave in South Australia and the Dry Creek archaeological site i ...

(1907-1996), archaeologist * (born 1933), Professor of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), sociologist *

Alexander Gallus Alexander (Sandor) Stephen Gallus (born 5 June 1940 in Sopron, Hungary) is a medical researcher in haemostasis and thrombosis, the son of archaeologist Sandor Gallus, and the husband of former Australian politician Chris Gallus. He is Emeritus ...

(born 1940), medical researcher * József Szájer (born 1961), politician * István Hiller (born 1964), politician, Minister of Culture * Mihály Tóth (born 1974), football player *

Vilmos Radasics Vilmos 'Willy' Radasics (born October 25, 1983 in Sopron) is a Hungarian Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer. He took part in the UCI BMX World Championships 2008 in Taiyuan, China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is ...

(born 1983), BMX rider * Tímea Babos (born 1993), tennis player *

Botond Balogh Botond Balogh (born 6 Jun 2002) is a Hungarian professional footballer who plays as a defender for Serie B club Parma and the Hungary U21 national team. Club career Parma Balogh made his professional debut in the 2020–21 Coppa Italia on 2 ...

(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, freedom fighter * Terezia Mora, writer

Twin towns – sister cities

Sopron is

twinned Twinning (making a twin of) may refer to: * In biology and agriculture, producing two offspring (i.e., twins) at a time, or having a tendency to do so; * Twin towns and sister cities, towns and cities involved in town twinning * Twinning inst ...

with: * Bad Wimpfen, Germany * Banská Štiavnica, Slovakia * Bolzano, Italy * Eilat, Israel *

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; hu, Kismarton; hr, Željezni grad; ; sl, Železno, 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 Empire's Kingdom ...

, Austria * Kazuno, Japan * Kempten, Germany * Mediaș, 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, 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 referred ...

, 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