After leaving Slovakia, we drove through a corner of Austria on our way to Sopron in Hungary. SOPRON, and the area around it, is surrounded almost completely by Austria. In fact a referendum was held there after WW1 - the break-up of the Austria-Hungarian Empire,…Read More

After leaving Slovakia, we drove through a corner of Austria on our way to Sopron in Hungary. SOPRON, and the area around it, is surrounded almost completely by Austria. In fact a referendum was held there after WW1 - the break-up of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, to decide which country it would belong to with the residents deciding to stay in Hungary.

These days, since the fall of the iron curtain there is a huge influx of tourists to this town. Most of these tourists, it has to be said, are Austrians on a shopping mission. The town is only 3 miles from the border and on approaching the suburbs you are greeted with the vista of shopping malls, McD's, motels and all the other tasteful reminders of why you are visiting here...NOT. But don't despair. On a hill in the middle distance, just behind the giant industrial complexes with their belching smokestacks, there are row upon row of massive, grey concrete blocks. That's more like it.

So, what have we got in Sopron? Vast areas of souless, mass housing, in-effecient factories and tacky consumerism geared towards the week-end shoppers from Austria.
Well that's not quite the whole story.

SOPRON is situated between Lake Ferto and the Sopron Hills, very close to the Austrian-Hungarian border at the foot of the Alps, 130 miles West of Budapest, 35 miles east of Vienna.
of the Alps.

The Old Town itself was well preserved and very attractive. Most of the shopping, bars and restaurants are located on the inner ring road and although the old town is not closed to traffic it is virtually car-less. This meant that walking around was very peaceful with not many touristy shops and just a few pavement cafes. It gave the impression of being an outdoor museum. There are far too many sites to list here but the website displays them all on a very good interactive map.

One attraction we visited which I have to mention is the Fire Tower, the city's most famous landmark. This building incorporates some Roman remains in the basement and exhibitions on each floor depicting the history of Sopron. As we waited at the ticket booth to pay our admission an elderly man came out of the ticket kiosk. We paid the lady, got our tickets and turned round to find the old man standing at the foot of the stairs. He then took our tickets and threw them in the bin. Overstaffed? Perhaps. On every floor (5) there was an official guide (some old guy) usually sitting reading a newspaper. Overstaffed? I think so.

The panoramic views of the town from the top were pretty amazing and well worth the trudge up all those spiral staircases, but the exhibition was a little disappointing as everything was written in Hungarian.

Because of it's proximity to Austria, you would expect the shopping in Sopron to be good. And you'd be right. Apart from the malls selling the usual luxury goods and also souvenir markets along the outer ring road, every conceivable lane and alleyway around the Old Town was lined with shops and stalls. The inner ring was more upmarket and well provided with quality shopping, designer clothing, art galleries etc.
Prices were embarrassingly low and some of the glassware was particularly good quality and value.

The Inner ring road was also where the majority of cafes, restaurants and bars were situated. There are a lot of cafes in the 'Viennese style' and we partook of some delicious coffee and cake on a couple of occasions in some absolutely magnificent cafes. The choice of food on offer was good too.

Overall, once you get past outskirts with the blatant consumerism of recent years and on through the obsolete remnants of the communist era, you are left with a jewel of an Old Town. Beautifully preserved, tasteful and peaceful, it is a pleasure to spend a day wandering this historic city.

Sopron should be visited between Wednesday to Saturday because on Mondays, museums are closed, on Tuesday Synagogues are closed and on Sunday information offices and many shops are closed.
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Outside the inner city and around the walls fortified it, there is some pleasant squares and a circular road, named Ogabona ter, Petofi ter, Szechenyi ter and Varkerulet. Ogabona (old Corn-Market) and Petofi ter have some medieval houses at their sides and a lot of parking…Read More

Outside the inner city and around the walls fortified it, there is some pleasant squares and a circular road, named Ogabona ter, Petofi ter, Szechenyi ter and Varkerulet.

Ogabona (old Corn-Market) and Petofi ter have some medieval houses at their sides and a lot of parking places, useful for visiting them and the inner city, as the distance is near.

Szechenyi ter is very pleasant with a lot of green for rest of walking through the beautiful streets and hosts the bronze statue of Count Istvan Szechenyi. At the southeast end is the Domonkos templom (Dominican church), a handsome example of late baroque.

Varkerulet is the main commercial street of Sopron. Its buildings are from different eras. While some of those in the outer row are from Middle Ages that of the inner row were constructed only after the fortifications lost their importance and the moat had been filled in. Varkerulet can be divided into several different sections; each of them takes its name of the main commercial activity carried there. At the northern part of Varkerulet we can see the Maria column that dates from 1745 at the site of Boldogasszony templom (Church of the Blessed Virgin), demolished in 1592.

Farther outside Varkerulet, the districts acquire their name by the direction of the main road leading through them, e.g. to the north Becs (after Vienna). The most significant places here is Szent Mihaly utca at the north, with Szent Mihaly templom (St Michaels Church) at the highest point of Sopron, Deak ter with memorials of the World War II at the south and the Lovers Hills, a recreational area with luxury villas and hotels.

The Inner City until the end of 18th century was fortified. Remains of the fortifications you can see at several points of the city. You could enter only from the two gates, Elokapu (front gate) and Hatsokapu (rear). We enter from Elokapu and through a…Read More

The Inner City until the end of 18th century was fortified. Remains of the fortifications you can see at several points of the city. You could enter only from the two gates, Elokapu (front gate) and Hatsokapu (rear). We enter from Elokapu and through a fortified narrow passage, which passes under the symbol of Sopron, the Fire Tower, and brings us to the main square (Fo ter).

The Fire Tower was built at the end of 13th century (at least the lowest third). A splendid view oh the city, the surroundings hills and lake Fertod nearby, may be enjoyed from the roofed gallery at the top of it. It accommodated the fire watchman and his crew, who played music in the gallery and looked after the clock installed there in the 17th century. They also have general guard duties (firewatchers, warning for enemies, etc).

The Fo ter’s layout has hardly altered since the 13th century. Directly adjoining the Fire Tower is the Town Hall erected for the millennium in 1896 in eclectic style. Opposite is one of the most beautiful buildings of Sopron, the Storno house, King Mathias residence in 1482-3, originally renaissance but now baroque character with rococo ornamentation. Other medieval houses as, General house, Fabricius House, the Country Hall, the Gambrinus and Patika-haz (Apothecary house) circles the square, all of different age and styles. Some of them have pleasant cafes and restaurants.

The centre of Fo ter is dominated by the Trinity Column, erected in baroque style for the survival of the great plague of 1695-1701.

We leave Fo ter via Templom utca (Church street), and at the corner we see the gothic Franciscan church (now Benedictine), which gave place to Coronations and Diets (parliamentary sessions) in the 15th century.

Other interesting streets with old medieval houses and churches in the inner town, is Colostor utca, Uz (new) utca, Szent Gyorgy (St. George) utca and Orsolya ter with its Mary’s fountain.

In many of the medieval houses are hosted small museums with great interest.

We can leave the Inner city from the Hatsokapu at Szent Gyorgy utca or from the end of Templom utca that leads to Szechenyi ter and Varkerulet.

A one-day trip by car, from Sopron that will show us another medieval fortified city at the borders with Austria, which also voted to stay faith to Hungary after World War I (in 1921). We leave Sopron, from east towards Sarvar and at the small village…Read More

A one-day trip by car, from Sopron that will show us another medieval fortified city at the borders with Austria, which also voted to stay faith to Hungary after World War I (in 1921).

We leave Sopron, from east towards Sarvar and at the small village Lovo we turn right (southwest), to Koszeg. The distance is about 50 Km.

The castle of Koszeg, constructed in Middle Ages, used at first to prevent the Germans from north and then, at 16th century, it help to stop the Turks. There are a lot remains of the past in the town, but the interesting is the medieval atmosphere that comes from the streets, the houses and the squares.

In the centre there is Jurisich ter with Szent Imre Templom and neogothic St Jack church. Nearby is the castle. Another beautiful square is Koztarsasar ter (Democracy square) with nice neoclassical houses around it.