Sopron was a Roman town gone medieval, with Baroque architecture added later. Roman columns and stonework can be seen today in the town’s museum. The Roman town was abandoned in 596, then rebuilt several hundred years later as a medieval fort, using parts of the old Roman wall. These Roman ruins may have given the town its German name, Ödenburg, which means “desolated castle.”

Sopron had an important role in defending the western border of Hungary. The fortifications withstood the Mongolian raids in 1241-1242 and fights with Prince Frederick II of Austria between 1235 and 1246. Though occupied by King Otakar II of Bohemia three times between 1253 and 1278, its inhabitants remained loyal to the king of Hungary. In 1277 King Ladislaus IV granted a charter which gave the town urban privileges. Between 1297 and 1340 the city was surrounded by a three-fold wall system, the middle of which was based on Late Roman walls. Sopron had its golden age during the reign of King Sigismund (1387-1437) and enjoyed the authority of a special court of appeal from the 1420s onwards as one of the seven Free Royal Towns.

Levan next to a Baroque fountain that graces the center square, with a view of the high tower in the background. Photo: Levan Natadze	Sopron city square. Els and Levan read literature on the city from Janos Bak, who tells us to “Act more like scholars and less like Japanese tourists clicking away with their cameras!”	The group convenes for history of the town from Katalin Szende in the Sopron city square
A closer view of our group as we listen to Katalin. Photo: Levan Natadze	On to the city’s museum, where we saw architectural features from Roman times	Katalin Szende shows the group a remnant of the old Roman city wall with additions from the Middle Ages
Sasha smiles and Nancy listens as Janos comments on the Judaic district of Sopron. Photo: Irina Abramova

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