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==History== === Ancient times-13th century === [[File:1867 Sopron 5kr Oedenburg.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Bilingual names in the Kingdom of Hungary after 1867]] In the Iron Age a hilltop settlement with a burial ground existed in the neighbourhood of Sopron-Várhely.<ref>Patek, Erzsébet (1982). "Neue Untersuchungen auf dem Burgstall bei Sopron" [New investigations on the "Burgstall" near Sopron]. ''Bericht der Römisch-Germanischen Kommission'' '''63''', 1982, pp. 105–177.</ref> When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the [[Roman Empire]], a city called ''Scarbantia'' stood here. The site of its [[Forum (Roman)|forum]] is now the main square of Sopron. During the [[Migration Period]], Scarbantia was believed to be deserted. When [[Hungarian people|Hungarians]] arrived in the area, the city was in ruins. From the 9th to the 11th centuries, Hungarians strengthened the old Roman city walls and built a castle. The city was named in Hungarian after a castle steward named ''Suprun''. In 1153, it was mentioned as an important city. In 1273, King [[Otakar II of Bohemia]] occupied the castle. Even though he took the children of Sopron's nobility with him as hostages, the city opened its gates when the armies of [[King]] [[Ladislaus IV of Hungary]] arrived. [[Ladislaus]] rewarded Sopron by elevating it to the rank of [[free royal town]]. ===16th-19th centuries=== During the [[Ottoman wars in Europe|Ottoman occupation]] of [[Hungary]], the [[Ottoman Turks]] ravaged the city in [[1529]], but did not occupy it. Many Hungarians fled from the occupied areas to Sopron, and the city's importance grew. While the Ottomans occupied most of Central Europe, the region north of Lake Balaton remained in the [[Kingdom of Hungary (1538–1867)]] (captaincy between Balaton and Drava). In 1676, Sopron was destroyed by a fire. The modern city was born over the next few decades, when [[Baroque architecture|Baroque]] buildings were built to replace the destroyed medieval ones. Sopron became the seat of the [[Comitatus (Kingdom of Hungary)|comitatus]] [[Sopron (county)|Sopron]]. The town was the seat of the ''Ödenburg'' comitat near 1850.<ref>Dictionnaire universel de M.N. BOUILLET, Paris, 1852 (in French).</ref> After the [[compromise of 1867]] and until 1918, the city (known with the dual bilingual name of ''Sopron - Ödenburg'')<ref>Handbook of Austria and Lombardy-Venetia Cancellations on the Postage Stamp Issues 1850-1864, by Edwin MUELLER, 1961.</ref> was part of the Habsburg-ruled [[Kingdom of Hungary]]. ===20th century to present=== [[File:Sopron plebiscite on 14 December 1921.webm|thumb|300px|[[Sopron plebiscite]], French and Italian officers arrive to control the voting districts on 14 December 1921.]] [[File:Sopron Tuztorony.jpg|thumb|right|Firewatch Tower (12th century)]] Following the breakup of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], ethnic Germans inhabited parts of four western Hungarian counties: [[Pozsony County|Pozsony]] (Pressburg in German; [[Bratislava]] in Czech/Slovak), [[Vas County (former)|Vas]] (Eisenburg), [[Sopron County|Sopron]] (Ödenburg) and [[Moson County|Moson]] (Wieselburg). The German-inhabited parts of those counties were initially awarded to Austria in the [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)]]. After local unrest and Italian diplomatic mediation in the [[Venice Protocol]],<ref>{{Citation|last=Beigbeder|first=Yves|title=International Monitoring of Plebiscites, Referenda and National Elections|publisher= Springer Publishing |year=1994|page=81}}</ref> Sopron's status as part of Hungary (along with that of the surrounding eight villages) was decided by a controversial, local [[plebiscite]] held on 14 December 1921, with 65% voting for Hungary. Since then Sopron has been called ''Civitas Fidelissima'' ("The Most Loyal City", {{langx|hu|A Leghűségesebb Város}}), and the anniversary of the plebiscite is a city holiday. However, the western parts of Vas, Sopron and Moson counties joined Austria and now form the Austrian federal state of [[Burgenland]], and Pressburg/Pozsony was awarded to [[Czechoslovakia]]. Sopron suffered greatly during [[World War II]] and was bombed several times. The Soviet [[Red Army]] captured the city on 1 April 1945. The city of Sopron and the village of [[Sopronbánfalva]] began to stretch towards each other at the beginning of the 20th century, they unified in 1950 and since the areas have merged.<ref name="Sagi">{{cite journal |last=Éva |first=Sági |year=2013 |title=Sopron peremkerületeinek változása néhány példán keresztül |trans-title=Changes in the Peripheral Districts of Sopron Through Some Examples |url=http://publicatio.uni-sopron.hu/1527/ |journal=Soproni Szemle – A Soproni Városszépítő Egyesület helytörténeti folyóirata (The local history magazine of the Sopron City Beautification Association) |language=hu |volume=67 |issue=2 |pages=163–175}}</ref><ref name="KSH Sopron" /> Sopron and the village of [[Balf, Hungary|Balf]] unified in 1985.<ref name="KSH Sopron" /> On 19 August 1989 Sopron was the site of the [[Pan-European Picnic]], a protest on the border between Austria and Hungary, which was used by over 600 citizens of [[East Germany]] to escape to the West. As the first successful crossing of the border, it helped pave the way for the mass flight of East German citizens that led to the fall of the [[Berlin Wall]] on 9 November 1989. During the [[Socialism|Socialist]] era, the government tried to turn Sopron into an industrial city, but much of the medieval town center remains, allowing the city to remain an attractive site for tourists. Today, Sopron's economy immensely benefits from the [[European Union]]. Having been a city close to nowhere, that is, to the [[Iron Curtain]], Sopron now has re-established full trade relations to nearby Austria. Furthermore, after being suppressed during the [[Cold War]], Sopron's German-speaking culture and heritage are now recognized again. As a consequence, many of the city's street-and traffic-signs are written in both Hungarian and German making it an officially bilingual city due to its proximity to the Austrian frontier. Visitors admire the large number of buildings in this city that reflect [[medieval architecture]]—rare in war-torn Hungary. Situated close to the Austrian border, Sopron receives many visitors from Vienna ({{convert|70|km|0|abbr=off}} away), and from Bratislava, Slovakia ({{convert|77|km|0|abbr=on}} away), as well as from the United States, Great Britain, The Netherlands, Japan, and Scandinavia, who visit to take advantage of the excellent low-cost dental services offered: Sopron boasts so many dental clinics—more than 300—that the city is known as the "dental capital of the world."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.tripso.com/columns/sopron-hungarian-cap-city/|title=Sopron Hungarian cap city|last=Surmacz|first=Jon|website=www.ripso.com|access-date=2009-06-19|archive-date=2016-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160126163830/http://www.tripso.com/columns/sopron-hungarian-cap-city/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Mary |last=Beth |title=The inciDENTAL tourist|work=[[USA Today]]|url=https://www.usatoday.com/travel/news/2005-07-28-dental-tourism_x.htm}}</ref>
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