Vakacio Rest Hostel Sopron

The Rest of Sopron

by Ekaterinburg

Obviously, Sopron exists outside the Old Town and I found my walk round its other areas extremely interesting as well. I know that on the outer edges there are some large malls which I saw ads for at the train station and that these are frequented by viitors from Austria and other countries as well as by the local people. Visitors stream into Sopron for dental and beauty treatments also and in certain parts of town every second premises holds a dental surgery.

But on the streets of the centre outside of the old town, everything had a nice 'small-town' feel about it. Corner shops, people chatting to each other as they did their shopping and a very laid back ambience. Nearer the station there was a much more eastern-European look to the town with some pretty bleak housing developments and the occasional patch of waste ground. The train staion in Sopron is a pleasant place with some comfortable armchairs right inside the front entrance and only two platforms to potentially get confused on.

Sopron is definitely well worth a visit. Don't miss it if you're in the area.

The Statue of the HolyTrinity

by Ekaterinburg

The statue of the HolyTrinity is yet another plague monument, so common from this time in history.
It dates from the baroque period and was constructed between 1695 -1700.The artist is not known but records tell us that it was sponsored by Lowenburg Jakob and his wife in gratitude for escaping the plague. It's quite an impressive piece of work, with a large solid base adorned with many statues and an unusual plaited central column, interwoven with strings of flowers and angels. At the very top are the statues of the HolyTrinity who give the monument its name. Benches are placed on all sides of the base giving a perfect option for resting tired bones and observing life on the square.

Just a hop, skip and a jump over the border...

by morgenhund

"Sopron - torn between two countries"

Sopron initially became popular with Austrians flooding over to take advantage of low cost dental treatment, cheaper shopping and duty free cigarettes, and to a certain extent there still are a lot of Austrians who pour over the border for these reasons. The city dates back to the times of the Roman Empire, when there was a settlement called Scarbantia. After the town was deserted, it lay in ruins until the Hungarians arrived, with the old city walls being strengthened and a castle built in the 9th to 11th centuries and the name Suprun was adopted - named after a knight's steward called Suprun. During the middle ages there were various power struggles centred around Sopron and a lot of people deserted and left the city. It was the fire of 1676 which destroyed Sopron, and the city that now stands dates from the decades after this great fire - with Baroque architecture dominating.

When the Austro-Hungarian Empire (and Double Monarchy) broke up as a result of World War I, Sopron was awarded to Austria in the Treaties of St.Germain (1919) and Trianon (1920) as part of four counties that were handed over. It reverted to Hungarian rule after a plebiscite in December 1921, along with 8 surrounding villages. This reverting to being Hungarian (as opposed to being the Austrian Ödenburg) led to the town being called "Civitas Fidelissima" (The Most Loyal Town), as all the other counties which had been handovered over to the Austrians remained Austrian.