Sopron

The symbol of the town, the Firewatch Tower is of medieval origin. The foundations, dating from the Arpadian era, support a gallery; its tower is covered by a Baroque copper spire, while its roof dates from the past century.

The Firewatch Tower is just one of the sights of Sopron- a town situated on the Austrian-Hungarian border, between Lake Fertõ and the Sopron Mountains, on the banks of the Ikva Stream, where the streets run up the slopes of the Lövérs-the eastern foothills of the Sopron Mountains, named after the archers ("lövér") who were settled here by Béla IV in 1261.

The hotels, sanatoria, swimming-pools and tennis courts built here, the green of the evergreen pine-forests, the panorama opening up before us from the lookout towers and high places and the clear, fresh, invigorating air draw more and more visitors to Sopron year in, year out. Yet, the real magnet for lovers of the town, making them return over and over again, is the atmosphere, the aura of history radiated by Sopron's characteristic horseshoe-shaped inner city, protected by a town wall.

On the heavy oaken gates there are ornamental knockers, and, glancing behind the gates, we see arcades and vaulting recalling the Middle Ages. On entering, we find loggias running round the upper storey, proclaiming the Renaissance zest for living. The outer walls of some of the houses display a Baroque splendour, with embossed coats-of-arms adorning their gables.

In the uncovered and reconstructed Gothic basement of the Baroque Fabricius House, the Roman Stonework Museum of the Liszt Ferenc Museum is on view.

One of Sopron's finest residential houses is the Storno House, of Gothic origin which was rebuilt in Baroque style.

A famous historic building of Fõ Square is the Angel Pharmacy House (Angyalpatika-ház), of medieval origin. A pharmacy has been operating on its ground floor since 1600.

Perhaps the best known of the town's noteworthy churches of historic interest which number exactly a dozen is the Goat Church (Kecske-templom), with its Dorfmeister altarpieces. Despite having been rebuilt several times, the three- aisled hall church still preserves the Gothic features it acquired at the time of its construction in 1280-1300.

Attached to the church is the one-time Benedictine monastery; its former ambulatory leads to one of Sopron's most famous art monuments, the Chapter Hall (Káptalan-terem), which is like- wise Gothic and provides the setting for visual art exhibitions with a peculiar atmosphere.

The early Baroque Esterházy Mansion houses the Mining Museum.