Countryside Guides: Sopron

A charming medieval city straddling borders and architectural styles, Sopron effortlessly brings a smile to any visitor’s face. A smile most likely enhanced by the town’s famous dental surgeries.

A casual visitor to the medieval city could be forgiven for thinking that its 54,000 inhabitants must have very bad teeth indeed - there seems to be a dentist for every tooth in town. Indeed, the prevalence of dental surgeries is only matched by Sopron’s ubiquitous monuments and listed buildings, numbering 115 and 240 respectively.

The dentist anomaly is explained by Sopron’s proximity to Austria. A regular flow of westerners still pile over the border to patch up their teeth at half the cost of dental work back home. At the same time, a large number of locals go the opposite way and work during the week in the wealthier Austrian economy - affording Sopron an air of greater affluence than can be expected in comparatively sized towns elsewhere in Hungary. The Austrian presence is reflected in the abundance of good coffee shops and the German seen and heard everywhere you go. Booming tourism also makes this is the only city that rivals the capital for prices. Nevertheless, the tourists still come in droves to stock up on the Hungarian sausage, paprika and local kékfrankos wine found in shops and tourist stalls.

The preponderance of monuments and listed buildings owes more to Sopron's status as the last bastion of Gothic and early Baroque architecture. The town stood firm against raids by Mongols and Turks, so its medieval quarter has also been preserved. As a result, Sopron has more in common architecturally with Prague than it does with Budapest. It just goes to show that Sopron has always straddled borders.

Known as Ödenburg in German, the city was once part of the Bürgenland, a sliver of Western Hungary awarded to Austria following the Treaty of Trianon. In 1921, the good citizens of Sopron were allowed to vote on whether the city should join Austria or return to Hungary. They overwhelmingly decided on the latter, and the town was henceforth known as the "loyal city."

In its earliest days, Celts and Romans were the first to set up camp at the foot of the Lövér Hills. The horseshoe-shaped Gothic heart of the city follows the original plan as set out by the Romans who named the settlement "Scarbantia" and remained there until the 4th century. Following the fall of the Roman Empire, the Germans, Avars, Slavs and eventually, Magyars came, saw and conquered. By Medieval times, Sopron’s location as a halfway house on the trade route from the Baltics to Byzantium was a boon and the town flourished, grewing into a center of learning and science, which continued up until the early 20th century.

The Mongols and Turks may have faced sterling resistance in Sopron, but WWII took its toll on the city. Restoration projects were still underway in the 1970s, and the magnificent medieval town center you see today is the fruit of decades of dedicated restoration work.

In Sopron all roads lead to Fő Tér (Main Square), which in turn is centered on the Baroque Holy Trinity Statue. To the north is the Fire Tower, the symbol of Sopron also found on logo of the Soproni Ászok beer brand. In former times, the tower served as a fire alarm with trumpeters alerting the locals to a blaze. Today, a climb up its spiral staircase is rewarded by an excellent view over the city, the Lővér Hills and, on clear days, the Austrian Alps. On the south side of the square is the peculiarly named Goat Church, a largely Baroque building sprinkled with a variety of other architectural flourishes. Nearby, the Angel Pharmacy Museum is an example of one of the most appealing Hungarian phenomena, the beautiful antique apothecary. This one is carved from walnut wood in the Beidermeier style. Facing it is a row of museums, the Fabricius House at number 6, the Lackner House at number 7 and most notably, the Storno House at number 8.

Leading out of Fő tér is Templom utca (Church Street), which brings you past the 14th century Chapterhouse with its 17th century facade and medieval interiors. Facing this building is the Mining Museum. The Lutheran Church at number 12 is adjacent to a museum chronicling the suppression of the Protestant faith in the city during the 17th century. Templom utca ends in romantic, neo-Gothic Orsolya tér, once a marketplace. From here you could head up Új utca, or "New Street," which does everything but live up to its name. This is the city’s oldest shopping street, and was the center of Jewish life in Sopron until the Jews were expelled in 1526, having played an important role in city life for over 600 years. The Old Synagogue at number 22 commemorates their presence.

While most of what Sopron has to offer is nestled within the horseshoe of the inner city, there are a few places of interest dotted around the city’s fringes. The Ikva Bridge takes you to the impressive Zettl-Langer Collection on Balfi út 11. A short stroll from here is Szent Mihály utca and the House of Two Moors named after the turbaned statues standing guard at the entrance; note the facade’s carvings, etched by a stonemason and previous owner of the house. This street also contains the St. Mihály Church and behind it, the Romanesque-Gothic St. Jakab Chapel, the oldest building in Sopron.

Lovers of oddities, will appreciate the Taródi Castle, a monument to eccentricity by local outsider artist extraordinaire, István Taród situated to the south of the inner city. Further affield, Sopron remains an excellent base for excursions to the flamboyant Esterházy Castle, or the more sober seat of the Szechényi clan, Nagycenk.

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