Sopron, Hungary Tourism

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because of its unusual townscape. Hardly any other Hungarian town has such well preserved medieval and Baroque buildings - there are 115 officially listed monuments and 240 protected buildings, in 1972 it was awarded the European prize for protection of historical monuments.

History

Owing to its location on the Bernstein route, connecting the Baltic and Italy, Sopron was an important center of trade before the Romans conquered Pannonia. In the 2nd C BC the Roman settlement Scarbantia was an important town with a capitol, forum and town walls; it became the see of a bishop in the 4th C. The German name "Ödenburg" stems from the period of mass migration, when the Avars built fortifications on the ruins of the Roman town. A chronicle from the 12th C bears the place name Suprun. The first German settlers arrived at this time and their descendants are well represented in Sopron today. In 1277 the town received the royal charter; between 1297-1339 the walls were built which survived the Turkish period and can still be seen in part today. Following the destruction caused by the fire in 1676 the town was rebuilt in Baroque style. After the Trianon peace treaty in 1921 the citizens of Sopron voted to remain in Hungary (as opposed to the Burgenland region which was part of Hungary). The Budapest Horthy government rewarded Sopron with the title "urbs fidelissima" ("most loyal town"). Sopron's industry dates back to the end of the 18th/beginning of the 19th C with a coal mine and sugar refinery; nowadays the main industries are light (carpet and clothing factories, wood processing).

All the buildings in the Old Town within the confines of the medieval town wall, built on the Roman ruins, are listed historical monuments. The majority are from the early Middle Ages but display features from other periods, such as Romanesque windows, Gothic niches, Renaissance loggias and Baroque or Classical decoration.