Where to Stay in Sopron, Győr-Moson-Sopron megye

What is Sopron known for?

In the far west of Hungary between the hills and the great shallow lake, it grew as an old walled burgher town, and it keeps the tall Firewatch Tower over its market square, the winding streets and old houses of the medieval core, the vineyards of one of Hungary's oldest wine lands, and the pine hills and lakeshore around. The old towers rise over the roofs. Vines cover the low hills.

What are the main landmarks in Sopron?

The Firewatch Tower is the pride of Sopron. The tall old tower over the main square, its round body raised on Roman stones and topped with a baroque crown, looks out over the red roofs, the emblem of the town, downtown. A baroque column stands below.

The old plague column of the Holy Trinity rises in the square, while the Gothic churches, the burgher houses, and the Lővér hills mark the country around Sopron.

What is the history of Sopron?

Sopron began as a Roman town. On the amber road between the Baltic and the Adriatic the Romans built a town called Scarbantia here, and its ruins still lie beneath the medieval streets. The middle ages walled the town.

In the medieval years Sopron grew as a rich walled town of German and Hungarian burghers, with a great watchtower at its heart and fine houses around its square. The town chose Hungary by its own vote. When the empire fell after the great war, the people of Sopron voted to stay with Hungary rather than join Austria, and the town won the name of the Most Loyal Town.

The old streets kept their beauty. Through the centuries Sopron kept its medieval square, its towers, and its old houses, unspoiled by war or the wrecking of later years, and it grew as a town of wine and quiet crafts, holding its vineyards, its tower, and its lake. The wine cellars still fill each autumn.

Sopron keeps its old walled town on the Austrian edge of Hungary.

Where is Sopron?

Sopron lies in the far west of Hungary, on the Austrian frontier at the foot of the Alpine foothills. The town sits in a green basin between the wooded Lővér hills and the wide shallow lake of Fertő, in a mild land of vineyards and orchards, with the pine slopes rising to the south and the reedy lake spreading to the north. Vine hills roll away west.

The lake lies flat to the north.

What is the climate of Sopron?

Sopron has a mild, sunny continental climate. Warm dry summers and cold snowy winters cross the hills, with plenty of sun for the vine and cold clear winters by the lake. The summer ripens the grapes.

Winter frosts the vines.

How do you get to Sopron?

Sopron lies on the western edge of Hungary, on the rail and road between Vienna and the Hungarian plain. Trains and the highway run to it from Vienna and from the east, and lanes lead out to the lake and the border. Rail crosses the frontier.

Vienna lies northwest over the hills.