Sopron (; , ) is a

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, 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 and ...

on the

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

n border, near Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő.

History

Ancient times-13th century

In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely. When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

, a city called ''Scarbantia'' stood here. The site of its forum is now the main square of Sopron. During the Migration Period, Scarbantia was believed to be deserted. When

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

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 King is a royal title given to a male monarch. A king is an Absolute monarchy, absolute monarch if he holds unrestricted Government, governmental power or exercises full sovereignty over a nation. Conversely, he is a Constitutional monarchy, ...

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 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 The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

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

Sopron Sopron (; , ) is a city in Hungary on the Austrian border, near Lake Neusiedl, Lake Neusiedl/Lake Fertő. History Ancient times-13th century In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-V� ...

. 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 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

20th century to present

Following the breakup of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, ethnic Germans inhabited parts of four western Hungarian counties: Pozsony (Pressburg in German;

Bratislava Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

in Czech/Slovak), Vas (Eisenburg),

(Ödenburg) and Moson (Wieselburg). The German-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, Sopron's status as part of Hungary (along with that of the surrounding eight villages) was decided by a controversial, local plebiscite held on 14 December 1921, with 65% voting for Hungary. Since then Sopron has been called ''Civitas Fidelissima'' ("The Most Loyal City", ), 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, and Pressburg/Pozsony was awarded to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Sopron suffered greatly during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was bombed several times. The Soviet Red Army captured the city on 1 April 1945. The city of Sopron and the village of Sopronbánfalva began to stretch towards each other at the beginning of the 20th century, they unified in 1950 and since the areas have merged. Sopron and the village of Balf unified in 1985. On 19 August 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 known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...

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 9 November 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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

. Having been a city close to nowhere, that is, to the Iron Curtain, Sopron now has re-established full trade relations to nearby Austria. Furthermore, after being suppressed during the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

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

white wine White wine is a wine that is Fermentation in winemaking, fermented without undergoing the process of Maceration (wine), maceration, which involves prolonged contact between the juice with the grape skins, seeds, and pulp. The wine color, colou ...

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. The group of ethnic German wine growers in the Sopron area in the Habsburg Monarchy were the so-called Ponzichter.

Demographics

In 1910, Sopron had 33,931 inhabitants (51% German, 44.3% Hungarian, 4.7% other). Religions: 64.1%

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, 27.8%

Lutheran Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

, 6.6%

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

, 1.2%

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

, 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, 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 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

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

synagogue A synagogue, also called a shul or a temple, is a place of worship for Jews and Samaritans. It is a place for prayer (the main sanctuary and sometimes smaller chapels) where Jews attend religious services or special ceremonies such as wed ...

and other remains from the town's former

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

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) * 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:István Széchenyi statue in Sopron z01.jpg, Statue of

István Széchenyi Count István Széchenyi de Sárvár-Felsővidék (, ; archaically English: Stephen Széchenyi; 21 September 1791 – 8 April 1860) was a Hungarian politician, political theorist, and writer. Widely considered one of the greatest statesme ...

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 history, with 15 National titles and 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 Franz Liszt (22 October 1811 – 31 July 1886) was a Hungarian composer, virtuoso pianist, conductor and teacher of the Romantic music, Romantic period. With a diverse List of compositions by Franz Liszt, body of work spanning more than six ...

(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 (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 (1907-1996), archaeologist * (born 1933), Professor of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), sociologist * Alexander Gallus (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 (born 1983), BMX rider * Tímea Babos (born 1993), tennis player * Botond Balogh (born 2002), football player * Balogh de Mankó Bük, Hungarian nobility * József Rokop, freedom fighter * Terezia Mora, writer

Twin towns – sister cities

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

Eisenstadt Eisenstadt (; ; ; or ; ) is the capital city of the Provinces of Austria, Austrian state of Burgenland. With a population of 15,074 (as of 2023), it is the smallest state capital and the 38th-largest city in Austria overall. It lies at the foot o ...

, Austria * Kazuno, Japan * Kempten, Germany * Mediaș, Romania * Rorschach, Switzerland * Seinäjoki, Finland *

Sparta Sparta was a prominent city-state in Laconia in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (), while the name Sparta referred to its main settlement in the Evrotas Valley, valley of Evrotas (river), Evrotas rive ...

, 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