Ödenburg/Sopron
Ödenburg/Sopron
Etymology
In his *Historia naturalis* (III. 14), the Roman historian Pliny the Elder (23/24 AD–79 AD) refers to the settlement as *Scarbantia oppidum*. The name Scarabantia or Scarbantia is probably of Illyrian or Celtic origin. The settlement’s name ‘Sopron’ can be traced back to the Old Hungarian personal name Suprun. It was first documented between 1000 and 1038 as the comitatus castri Supruniensis . The German name ‘Ödenburg’ arose in reference to the desolate remains of the Roman settlement.
Topography
Ödenburg is situated between Lake Neusiedl (Fertő-tó), which lies on the western edge of the Little Plain (Kisalföld), and a part of the Alpine foothills (Alpokalja), the Sopron Mountains (Soproni-hegység). The town centre lies at the eastern foot of the Sopron Mountains in the valley of the Ikwa or Spitalbach (Ikva-patak).
Region
North-Western Hungary (Hungarian:Észak-Nyugat-Magyarország), Western Transdanubia (Nyugat-Dunántúl), Alpine Foothills (Alpokalja).
Political and administrative affiliation
Hungary; Raab-Wieselburg-Ödenburg County (Győr-Moson-Sopron Megye); centre of the Ödenburg district (Soproni járás); town with county status.
Common symbolism
The town’s coat of arms consists of a vertical triangular shield, the red field of which features a silver seal impression. The silver double circles contain a Maltese cross in the upper part of the shield, from which the inscription ‘SOPRON CIVITAS FIDELISSIMA’ (“Sopron, the most faithful city”) extends. The seal depicts a castle built of silver ashlars, on whose fortified walls five black Gothic windows and, on the battlements, five battlements can be seen. Rising from the fortress walls are two lower defensive towers, each with a single window, and in the centre a taller tower with two windows. All three towers have three battlements each. On the right-hand side of the shield’s chief appears a frontal female head wearing a four-pointed crown, and on the left-hand side a male head with a luxuriant beard, both framed by a golden halo. At the base of the shield is a golden olive branch, sloping to the right, shorter on the right and longer on the left. The coat of arms is dominated by the seal design, the inscription of which was codified in 1922 by the Hungarian Parliament following the referendum that decided the town’s annexation to Hungary.
The flag of Ödenburg consists of two horizontal bars of equal width in the colours red and white, with the town’s coat of arms in the centre.
Nickname
After the majority of the population of Ödenburg and the surrounding area had voted in favour of remaining part of Hungary in the referendum held from 14 to 16 December 1921, the Hungarian Parliament awarded the town the title ‘Civitas fidelissima’ in 1922 (meaning ‘The Most Loyal City’).
Prehistory and Early History
Finds dating from the Copper and Bronze Ages (2000–800 BC) and the Iron Age (pit dwellings, burial sites, urns, ritual objects) have been discovered in the Ödenburg area. Later, the Illyrians settled in the area, but were displaced by the Celts around the middle of the 4th century BC.
The area around Ödenburg was conquered by the Romans either during the reign of Augustus (63 BC–14 AD) or Tiberius (42 BC–37 AD). The Romans settled roughly in the area of today’s town centre and can be regarded as the founders of the town. The name ‘Scarabantia’, as recorded by Pliny, later appeared in inscriptions and records as ‘Scarbantia’ and thus became established. The settlement’s importance stemmed from its location at the crossroads of major military and trade routes (connecting Northern Europe with the Mediterranean and Byzantium), which is why the Romans declared it a municipium in the 1st century.
During the Migration Period, the Quadi, Huns, Ostrogoths, Lombards, Avars and Slavs successively occupied the area. The once-thriving Roman trading town fell increasingly into decline during the 8th–9th centuries. The Hungarians, who were expanding their territory, probably did not conquer Ödenburg and its surroundings until the 10th century.
Middle Ages
The county governor’s castle, which had already existed in the 12th century, was built on the Roman fortification walls. In the 13th century, the town’s market began to flourish. Of particular importance was the salt market, where salt from Transylvania was sold. In 1277, Ödenburg was granted the status of a royal free town by King Ladislaus IV the Cumans (IV. Kun László, 1262–1290). The office of mayor has been documented since 1321. The town’s records were initially kept in Latin and, from 1352, in German. During the reign of King Sigismund of Luxembourg (1368–1437), Ödenburg became one of the most important towns in the Kingdom of Hungary. When the town was pledged to the German-Roman King (and, from 1452, Emperor) Frederick III (1415–1493) between 1441 and 1463, large sections of the population fell into poverty.
Modern times
Following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, Ödenburg was repeatedly forced to assert itself amidst Ottoman rule and the new Habsburg dynasty. The town and the surrounding villages were ravaged and plundered on several occasions.
During the succession disputes following the Battle of Mohács in 1526, the county initially swore allegiance to King János Szapolyai (1487–1540) and subsequently to King Ferdinand I of Habsburg (1503–1564). Following the partition of Hungary into three parts in 1541, Ödenburg remained within the Habsburg-ruled Kingdom of Hungary.
Hungarian Diet sessions were held on several occasions in Ödenburg at the Ziegenkirche (formerly the Franciscan Church) (1553, 1622, 1625, 1634–1635, 1681). Royal coronations also took place in the same church on several occasions (1622, 1625, 1681), although Stuhlweißenburg/Székesfehérvár was the traditional coronation city of the Kingdom of Hungary.
The 1848 Revolution was welcomed by the people of Ödenburg. In December 1848, the town was occupied by Habsburg troops under the command of Prince zu Windischgrätz (1787–1862). The imperial Diplom of 1849 designated Ödenburg as the administrative centre of Transdanubia until the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867.
Contemporary History
Following the First World War, Ödenburg was initially assigned to Austria under the Treaty of Saint-Germain (10 September 1919) and the Treaty of Trianon (4 June 1920). However, in accordance with the Protocol of Venice (13 October 1921), a referendum was then held for Ödenburg and its neighbouring settlements from 14 to 16 December 1921, in which the population of Ödenburg voted by just under 73 per cent to remain part of Hungary. The local authorities, however, remained bilingual until 1946.
During the Second World War, the town was hit by air raids on several occasions. The German occupation took place in March 1944. On 1 June 1944, ghettos were established for the Jewish population, for example on Neue Straße (Új utca), at Priesterwiese (Paprét) and in the Jakobi factory (Jakobi-gyár). 1,886 people were deported to Auschwitz. Between December 1944 and March 1945, the Hungarian government, formed by the fascist Arrow Cross Party, established its seat in Ödenburg. Red Army troops occupied the town on 1 April 1945. In 1946, the vast majority of the German population (more than 7,000 people) were forcibly expelled from Ödenburg.[1]
During the socialist era, Ödenburg’s development as a border town, as well as the freedom of movement of its inhabitants and visitors, was severely restricted. The former Ödenburg County, with the town of Ödenburg as the seat of the county administration, was abolished.
On 19 August 1989, the ‘Pan-European Picnic’ was organised as a peace demonstration on the Austrian-Hungarian border near Ödenburg by the opposition Democratic Forum (Demokrata Fórum) and the Pan-European Union. More than 600 citizens of the GDR were able to flee to the West during this event following the opening of the Iron Curtain.
Following the political transition, an economic upswing took place. Today, viticulture and the wine trade, as well as tourism, are of particular importance.
Population
Since the Middle Ages, the town had been inhabited almost exclusively by German-speaking citizens. In the 17th century, the population declined at times as a result of plague epidemics. During the second half of the 19th century, the population doubled in the wake of industrialisation. At the same time, following the Compromise of 1867, the proportion of the German-speaking population declined steadily due to Budapest’s policy of Magyarisation and the influx of people from Hungarian-speaking regions, falling from around 90 per cent to 48 per cent in 1920.
| Year | Total | Hungary (absolute) | Hungary (percentage) | German (absolute) | German (percentage) | Croats (absolute) | Croats (per cent) | Others (absolute) | Others (percentage) |
| 15th century[2] | approx. 5,000 | ||||||||
| 1679 | 8,500 | ||||||||
| 1720 | 5,500 | ||||||||
| 1850[3] | 14,304 | 314 | 2.2 | 13,883 | 97.1 | 9 | 0.1 | 98 | 0.7 |
| 1857 | 18,211 | 1,350 | 7.4 | 16,861 | 92.6 | - | |||
| 1,889 | 23,222 | 4,877 | 21.0 | 17,115 | 73.7 | 570 | 2.5 | 660 | 2.8 |
| 1,890 | 27,213 | 8,104 | 29.8 | 17,390 | 63.9 | 804 | 3.0 | 915 | 3.4 |
| 1900 | 33,478 | 13,540 | 40.4 | 17,924 | 53.5 | 946 | 2.8 | 1,068 | 3.2 |
| 1,910 | 33,932 | 15,022 | 44.3 | 17,318 | 51.0 | 781 | 2.3 | 811 | 2.4 |
| 1920 | 35,248 | 17,166 | 48.7 | 16,911 | 48.0 | 733 | 2.1 | 438 | 1.2 |
| 1930 | 35,887 | 20,456 | 57.0 | 14,779 | 41.2 | 343 | 1.0 | 309 | 0.9 |
| 1941 | 42,255 | 29,103 | 68.9 | 12,633 | 29.9 | 205 | 0.5 | 315 | 0.7 |
| 1949 | 32,726 | 31,334 | 95.7 | 1,179 | 3.6 | 95 | 0.3 | 118 | 0.4 |
| 2011[4] | 59,459 | 85 | 5.7 | 0.6 | 1 |
Economy
It was not until Ödenburg was granted the status of a royal free town in 1277 that genuine urban development began there. Surplus grain and livestock from Transdanubia (Dunántúl) and, to some extent, from the Balkans were transported westwards via Ödenburg. The town was granted the right of staple in 1402. In 1440, the League of the Seven Free Royal Hungarian Towns (Ödenburg, Pressburg/Bratislava/Poszony, Tyrnau/Trnava, Bartfeld/Bardejov, Ofen/Buda, Kaschau/Košice/Kassa and Eperies/Prešov/Eperjes) was formed, which subsequently secured civil jurisdiction for itself. The town’s development led to several disputes between the patricians and the craftsmen. This was accompanied by the emergence of the guilds as organisations representing the interests of their members. In the 15th century, viticulture and the wine trade became particularly significant. Equally important were the trades in cattle, sheep, game, fish, honey and wax.
The guilds experienced their heyday in the 16th and 17th centuries. The costs of the Habsburg wars against the Ottomans, the Kuruc uprising under Franz II Rákóczi and the War of the Austrian Succession left the town heavily in debt and led to an economic crisis at the beginning of the 18th century. As the Habsburgs were forced to cede Silesia to Prussia in 1742, Ödenburg lost one of its most important wine markets. In 1753, coal deposits were discovered near Ödenburg, in Brennberg, which also provided a new source of income for the town. As Austrian customs policy prevented the establishment of manufacturing industries, the craft trades remained a defining feature of the town throughout the 18th century. In 1784, 79 different craft trades were represented in the town. Although the town lost its leading role in trade and commerce by the end of the 18th century, it continued to develop.
In the 19th century, several significant enterprises were established, such as the spice and colonial goods wholesale business run by Lenck and Flandorfer, János Rupprecht’s sugar factory, the Seltenhofer bell-foundry, József Zettl’s spirits distillery and Vince Hillebrand’s liqueur factory. In 1842, the Ödenburg Savings Bank (Soproni Takarékpénztár) was established, and in 1845 the silk mill was founded. In 1847, the railway line to Wiener Neustadt was built, followed in 1865 by the line to Groß-Kanizsa (Nagykanizsa). In the 1870s, the Raab-Oedenburg-Ebenfurt Railway Plc/Raaberbahn Plc (Győr-Sopron-Ebenfurti Vasút) was founded as an Austro-Hungarian railway company, which still exists today. The financial crisis of 1873 brought the town’s first economic boom during the age of industrialisation to an end. Industrialisation, however, continued and brought the town further economic growth, which was only slowed down again by the financial crisis of 1901.
After the Second World War, the town developed under the influence of an aggressive socialist industrial policy. In 2010, the local currency ‘Soproner Blaufrank’ (Soproni Kékfrank) was introduced to revitalise economic life in Ödenburg and the surrounding area.
Military history
The castle and town were besieged and destroyed on several occasions during the military conflicts between the Austrian dukes and the Hungarian kings in the late 15th century. The Transylvanian princes Stephen Bocskai (1604–1606) and Francis II Rákóczi (1703–1711) failed to capture the town during their campaigns against the Emperor. In 1809, Napoleon’s troops occupied the town for half a year.
History of Religion and the Church
Over the centuries, Ödenburg became the seat of various religious orders. The earliest records of the Franciscans date back to 1278. Their monastery and the church, built in 1280 in the early Gothic style and featuring paintings by Stephan Dorfmeister (1729–1797), were taken over by the Benedictines in 1802. The Jesuits, who had settled there in 1636, moved into the town centre in 1675 and were given St George’s Church. The Knights of St John, who had been present since 1650, built St John’s Chapel in the Gothic style, which was converted into a Baroque church at the end of the 18th century. In 1674, the Dominicans were granted buildings and fields by the town. In 1747, the Ursulines were able to establish themselves with financial support from Empress Maria Theresa (1717–1780). In 1863, the Sisters of the Divine Saviour (Congregatio Sororum a Divino Redemptore) came to Ödenburg from their convent in Vienna, where they cared for orphans, the poor and the sick.
The Reformation took hold in the Kingdom of Hungary from Ödenburg onwards from 1524. After 1550, the town council embraced the Reformation, and the majority of the population remained Protestant for the next 100 years. Catholics and Lutherans lived together in relative harmony for most of this period; for a time, the churches were even used jointly.
Jews had been settling in the town since around 1300 and built the Old Synagogue at the beginning of the 14th century; this was restored in the late 1960s. The Orthodox Synagogue was built in 1891 to a design by János Schiller (1859–1907) and has been a listed building since 2002.
Education and Science
Alongside the former parish school, there was a Latin school, a German school from 1569, and a Hungarian school from the 1570s. In 1604, the humanist mayor Christoph Lackner (1571–1631) founded the Society of Noble Scholars (Nemes Tudós Társaság), which was also open to women. It existed until the turmoil of the Counter-Reformation, which began with the arrival of the Jesuits and the establishment of their school in 1636. In the 19th century, various associations and societies were established. In 1867, the town museum was founded and the private collections of the Storno and Zettl families were set up; these are now state property. After the First World War, the Schemnitz College of Mining and Forestry (Selmecbányai Bányászati és Erdészeti Főiskola) was relocated to Ödenburg, where it continues to operate today as part of the University of Western Hungary (Nyugat-Magyarországi Egyetem). Today’s educational institutions include nine primary schools, amongst which is the German Minority Primary School in Ödenburg (Soproni Német Nemzetiségi Általános Iskola), as well as twelve secondary schools and the University of Western Hungary with five schools.
Art History
The Gothic town houses, built in the 15th century by wealthy citizens and members of the nobility, were largely destroyed by a great fire in 1676. They were replaced by Baroque buildings, which still characterise the city centre today. The town’s Baroque landmark, the Fire Tower, was originally built between 1290 and 1340 on the remains of Roman walls. Also worthy of note are the Storno House and the Fabricius House (both now museums), the Gambrinus House, which served as the town hall in the late Middle Ages, and the town hall, built in 1896 in an eclectic style. During the socialist era, significant conservation work was carried out, for which the city received the European Gold Medal for Monument Conservation from the Alfred Toepfer Foundation (F. V. S.) in 1975. In 2016, the city was awarded the ICOMOS Prize for the renovation of the castle quarter and the castle wall promenade.
Music
There was already a theatre in the town by the mid-18th century. Among others, Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) and Franz Liszt (1811–1886) gave concerts in Ödenburg. The Music Society (Zeneegyesület) was founded in 1858 and re-established in 1991. As well as Franz Liszt, Franz Lehár (1870–1948), Béla Bartók (1881–1945) and the composer Sándor Szokolay (1931–2013) also lived in the town for periods of time.
Bibliography
From 1868 onwards, literary life was organised by Adolf Frankenburg. Under his leadership, the Literary and Artistic Circle (Irodalmi és Művészeti Kör) was established. In 1992, the Petőfi Theatre acquired its own company.
Culture of memory and remembrance
Following the 1921 referendum, the ‘Treutor’ was erected on the southern side of the town’s fire tower to commemorate the event.
In 2016, Ödenburg was awarded the honorary title of ‘Reformation City of Europe’ by the Community of Protestant Churches in Europe for its significant role in spreading the Reformation.
Bibliography
- Dezső Becht, István Csapody, Károly Diebold et al.: Sopron [Ödenburg]. 4th revised and expanded edition. Budapest 1975.
- Szabolcs Boronkai (ed.): German-language Literature and Culture in the Ödenburg/Sopron Region (1790–1900). Budapest 2002 (German-language Texts from Hungary 4).
- László Fogarassy: The Referendum in Ödenburg (Sopron) and the Demarcation of the Austro-Hungarian Border in the Light of Hungarian Sources and Literature. In: Südostforschungen 35 (1976), pp. 150–182.
- István Hiller, Alajos Németh: A háború és a felszabadulás krónikája (Sopron, 1944–1945). Part II [The Chronicle of the War andLiberation (Ödenburg, 1944–1945). Part II]. In: *Soproni Szemle* [*Ödenburg Review*] 32 (1978), No. 3, pp. 1–33 (digitised: PDF).
- József László Kovács: The Parnassus of Sopron. The Bilingual Literature of Sopron-Ödenburg from its Beginnings to the Present Day [The Ödenburg Parnassus. The Bilingual Literature of Sopron-Ödenburg from its Beginnings to the Present Day]. Budapest 2003.
- András Krisch: The Expulsion of the Germans from Ödenburg. 1946, Sopron 2007.
- András Krisch: The History of the Germans of Sopron from the 13th Century until their Expulsion [On the history of the Germans of ÖdenburgGermans from the 13th century until their expulsion]. In: rubiconline (2012), No. 11: http://www.rubicon.hu/magyar/oldalak/a_soproni_nemetek_tortenete_a_13_szazadtol_a_kitelepitesukig/.
- Géza Pálffy: The Holy Crown of Hungary in Ödenburg. Memorial sites in Ödenburg associated with the Holy Crown of St Stephen [The Holy Crown of Hungary in Ödenburg. Memorial sites in Ödenburg associated with the Holy Crown of St Stephen]. Sopron/Budapest 2014. [With a German-language summary].
- Andreas Schindler, Matthias Wetzler, Helmut Rappold, Michael Töltl: Fifty Years of Loyalty to Sopron. Edited by the Cultural Association for Sopron and the Surrounding Area. Bad Wimpfen 1996.
- *Soproni Füzetek* [*Ödenburg Booklets*] have reported annually on literary life since 1978 (every two years until 2000).
- *Soproni Szemle* [*Ödenburg Review*] has been published quarterly since 1937 (except 1945–1954), covering topics in local history (digitised up to 2014: epa.oszk.hu/01900/01977).
- Katalin Szende, József Kücsán: Settlement structure and topography of
- Ödenburg before industrialisation, in: Geographisches Jahrbuch Burgenland 33 (2009), pp. 112–142: http://fachportal.ph-noe.ac.at/fileadmin/gwk/Regional/Sopron_JB2009_Burgenlaendische_Geographen.pdf.
- Attila Zsoldos: Sopron város és megye a 13. század utolsó harmadában [The Town and County of Ödenburg in the Last Third of the 13th Century]. In: Attila Zsoldos, András Kubinyi, Katalin Szende et al.: Sopron in Space and Time (Changes in Sopron’s Network of Relationships). Sopron 2002. pp. 9–28.
Web links
- portal.sopron.hu/Sopron/portal/german (Official website of the town of Ödenburg [German]).
- http://www.sopron.hu/Sopron/portal/autonomy_show?contentId=1098 (Official website of the Ödenburg local authority [Hungarian]).
- http://w3.sopron.hu/scarbantia/ (Archaeological Park, Scarbantia [Hungarian/German/English]).
- fenyoter.sopron.hu/?cat=65 (Official website of the German Nationality School in Ödenburg [Hungarian]).
- www.oedenburgerland.de/index.php (Private website about the history of the Germans in Ödenburg and its surrounding villages).
- www.memorialmuseums.org/denkmaeler/view/953/Denkmal-f%C3%BCr-die-%C3%96denburger-Opfer-des-Holocaust (“Ödenburg/Sopron” on the memorial portal of the foundation for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe)
Notes
[1] Krisch: The History of the Germans of Sopron.
[2] The following data is taken from the Magyar Katolikus Lexikon [Hungarian Catholic Encyclopaedia]: lexikon.katolikus.hu/S/Sopron.html (accessed 19 September 2018).
[3] The following information is taken from Krisch: The History of the Germans in Sopron.
[4] Central Statistical Office [Hungarian Statistical Office]: www.ksh.hu/apps/hntr.telepules?p_lang=HU&p_id=08518 (accessed 19 September 2018).
Citation
Tünde Radek: Ödenburg/Sopron. In: Online Encyclopaedia on the Culture and History of Germans in Eastern Europe, 2019. URL: ome-lexikon.uni-oldenburg.de/p32497 (as at 21 July 2020).
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