Sopron is situated in the North-West corner of Hungary. In this area of Low Alpines even during the time of the Roman Empire there was a flourishing settlement, the town of Scarbantia, the citizens of which were trading with wine, vegetable oil and amber.

During the archaeological excavations they discovered the oval-shaped foundation of the town fortification, which was made of big, carved stones and  divided by semicircle towers. About 45O the Roman town was destroyed during the military campaign of Attila, The Hun,  but  later  having found their new home in the Carpathian-Basin the Hungarians settled down on its remains.

King Stephen centralized the governmental power and  divided the country into county bailiwicks. This castle of the bailiff was one of them. It  was built on  the  Roman foundation, made of wooden posts with beam structure and filled in with earth. The excavations show that this fortification burned down due to  a big attack at the beginning of the XI. century, probably related to the campaign in 1044 of the German-Roman Emperor Henrik The III. , who overthrew the rule of The Hungarian King, Sámuel Aba.

During the later restorations strong stone wall was built on top of the "red fortification", which represented a major obstacle to the attacking enemies from the West.  In 1096 as an order of King Kálmán to prevent the Crusader's looting,  the Crusaders  were allowed to enter through the gates of Sopron,  on the condition that they let their noble knights being held hostages.

It remained a significant  border castle  in the next centuries during the rule of the kings of the Árpád Dynasty, but behind it's secure walls the people could live in a developed civilian settlement. Austrian Prince, Fierce Frigyes the II.  captured the border castle of Sopron, using the opportunity that the Hungarian King suffered a defeat from the Mongol Army at the fields of Muhi. It took a year for King Bela The IV. to recruit enough soldiers to recapture the lost territories. For the Austrian and Czech rulers Sopron played an important role  in their invasion of Hungary, they often assaulted the town with their army.

At the beginning of the XIV. century the tyrannical autocracy of the great Kőszeg clan prevented the citizens of Sopron to trade free with their product in their country. Thanks to the Anjou rulers Sopron regained its heydays.  In 1317 its previous privileges had been reinstated, than in 1323 it received an exemption from duty for the whole country.  During the Middle Ages the mainly German speaker citizens built the triple town wall to protect their  possessions. There were only two well -guarded tower gates to enter into the town.

Shortly after the battle with the Turks at Mohács in 1526 this territory first became the possession of the Austrian crown prince, Ferdinand Habsburg, than of the Hungarian king. In 1605 the  rebelling "hajdúk" (peasants) of  István Bocskai failed at the siege of  the town, but in 1619 the town opened its gates  for the Prince of Transylvania, Gábor Bethlen. The last military events took place during the "Kuruts" war of independence, led by Ferenc Rákóczi The II., but at the end of 1705 even the soldiers of the "kuruts" general "Vak" (Blinde) Bottyán couldn't defeat the defending Austrian guards, who made use of the strong  defence system of the town.

Having lost their military significance the walls and towers were demolished  in the XVIII. century, in 1960's the ruins were restored and now it can be seen in the inner yards between the houses during a walk reviving the past.

Visual map link collection | Castle drawing link collection

Picture galery: Sopron aerial photos