Available by public transport on the railway lines Győr – Sopron and Szombathely– Sopron. The tour starts from the inner city of Sopron, which is easily and safely accessible from the railway station at Sopron.
Tour description:
A part of the trip from the inner city of Sopron follows along the former Iron Curtain. During our tour, we can see several pieces of the Iron Curtain that once existed, and the memorials and explanations placed beside them.
We start out in the main square of Sopron. If we have had our fill of the sights (Storno House, Fabricius House, Patika Museum, Goat Church, etc.), we leave the square towards the Fire Tower in the direction of Tómalom. We head to the edge of the city. Fertőrákos is 5 kilometers away, but the road turns into a gritty path. We continue on via the mostly flat surface or roll downwards until the Small and Large Pond Mills (here we find a bar and a little beach). We head to the right, climbing up a gritty forest road in the direction indicated. Fertőrákos is reached by biking over Rákos bridge after about 3 km. To the right, we encounter Alsószikla, then get to the main street of the village along Patak Lane. From here on the lane separated from the road, we have to cycle upwards (to the left) for 2 kilometers until the information point after the quarry. On the way, we can visit the Crystal Museum (http://kalcitkristalyok.hu/), check out the medieval pillory or have a refreshing drink and meal in one of the many restaurants. Turning right at the information point immediately after the quarry, we head towards the Austrian border via a paved road specifically for cyclists and pedestrians (2-3 km) and enjoy a most beautiful view of the lake. It is advised to stop at the Mithras Shrine (www.mithras.hu) before the border. We arrive at Mörbisch after approximately 1 kilometer, where we roll along B10 to the junction after the second church.
The tour gets slightly tougher from here. We go down to the left on the road marked B311 (Iron Curtain 13) on Rosengasse After a few well-signposted bends, along a paved road that crosses vineyards, we reach a resting site on top of the hill, laying a couple hundred meters away from the municipality. Here, we have a beautiful view of the lake and there are built facilities for drinking.
We can bike on via the paved path, right until the border crossing near the Pan-European Picnic and then on to Klingenbach. There is a rest site at the memorial for the 1989 picnic, as well as well-illustrated and emotionally graphic presentations of the times of the fall of the Iron Curtain; a border guard watchtower, a stylized East-West gate, and an interesting open-air exhibition documenting the events of that time.
On the paved road, on the lookout for the B31 (Iron Curtain 13) signposts (after a few clear curves), we reach Klingenbach, which is about 7 kms away from the Picnic. Please expect some 80 meters of difference in altitude in this section. We take the overpass above road B16 and find the Trinkwasser, a built drinking fountain as we arrive at the Pusztaweg.
Pusztaweg ends at Odenburgerstrasse, where we turn right, then left on the second Grünberggasse to the fire department building (Feuerwehrhaus), leaving the settlement on its left side. We follow road Iron Curtain 13 until Baumgarten and see many wind turbines. Although we are mostly going in a downwards direction on concrete, sometimes on gritty agricultural roads, the frequent headwind makes it difficult to pedal. It is also popular among quad riders and not pleasant to ride behind them. To reach Baumgarten, we turn to the left at a little chapel, and pass through a railway passage. (Ödenburgerstrasse – Ignaz Till -Gasse). Then, turning left on Friedhofgasse, we reach Krafttenweg, part of Schattendorf.
This leads us to the local main street (Hauptstrasse), from which we turn left in the direction indicated, toward the church (Kirchengasse). We find ourselves by the border after a few meters. Of course, we may find a piece of the Iron Curtain here and information about its dismantling. There is opportunity to drink water, to rest, and a warning sign that the road to Ágfalva may only be used under our own responsibility. (The cycle path leads us into Hungary, into Ágfalva on a paved road.)
We enter Ágfalva via a railway passage, then go left in the village at Lépésfalvi street. Passing by the church, the signs lead us to Temető street (Iron Curtain 13). From here, we follow clear signs, and follow along a, fortunately, mainly sloping bicycle track to Sopron.
Reaching the city on Ágfalvi road, we stay in this direction on the road now called Bánfalvi and end up at the corner of Erzsébet-Liget. Looking out for bicycle signs, we have to get cross to the left, then to the right. Biking along Frankenburg road, we reach the wide Deák square with fountains. From here, we go left on Mátyás király street and reach our final destination, Széchenyi square.
Sights:
Main square of Sopron
The present look of the main square of Sopron came about after the great fire in Sopron in 1676, and has hardly changed since. Antique houses with balconies, gates and yards with arcades beneath that often connect streets. Stone-framed windows and doors that tell the story of different epochs – history is within the visitor’s reach. The inner city, surrounded by walls and moat, had two entrances around the 16th century: the Front Gate at the Fire Tower and the Back Gate at Templom Street. Naturally, today the city may be accessed via several routes, but these two access points remain significant. Among historic buildings we may visit museums, churches, the Town Hall, and the Fire Tower at the main square, which offers a magnificent view of the neighborhood.
Tómalom:
The artificial lakes of Pond Hill received water from the once water-rich sandy-gravel pan marine sediment, located north of the city of Sopron. The mill, which gave its name to the lake, was built in the 16th century.
Konrád Mühl was the first miller of Nagytómalom to set up a public bath in 1842. The beach was expanded in 1930 based on architect György Hárs’s plans. The cabin area built on piles, parallel to the entrance passage, and the U-shaped plank pier of 50 meters were built as per these designs, with a 4-meter-high springboard above the lowest part of the lake. In the 1930’, a few villas were built on the hillside opposite the beach. In World War II, Tómalom was hit by bombs. After the war, the bath was rebuilt, but the mill was completely destroyed. The current state of the bath was reached in that period and it continues to operate with minor changes to this day. Services: Sunbathing jetties and terraces, showers, drinking fountains, children’s pool with slide, playground, giant chess board, pergolas, hire of pedal boots, kayaks and boats.
Mithras Shrine:
Next to the cycle path connecting Fertőrákos and Fertőmeggyes, you can find an ancient temple dedicated to the cult of the Persian God of Sun, Mithras. The Mithras Shrines were most popular in the 2nd to 4th centuries in the realm of the Roman Empire, especially in the western provinces. These subterranean churches or caves, as the devotees called them, were dedicated to Mithras, honored as the God of the Sun. Few of them remained. Hungary's unique Mithraeum at Fertőrákos is one of the most interesting remains in the former Scarbantia, now Sopron region of the Roman Period. As a rule in the religious cult of the mystery religion that formed in the Roman Empire, not everyone was allowed to know the secrets of the God, the mysteries. Members of the cult community had to first make an oath to keep the secrets. Then, step by step, after the completion of the trials at seven consecutive stages, they reached full initiation and were revealed all knowledge. The mysterious and symbolic names of the grades in Hungarian are as follows: Raven, Bridegroom, Soldier, Lion, Persian, Courier of the Sun, and Father. The initiated of the Mithras mysteries were familiar with the science of astrology and astronomy. From the end of the 2nd century, devotees were present in the governance of the Roman Empire.
In the Age of Christianity, the religion was forgotten, and the ancient guardians of the caves abandoned them. The dome of the sanctuary on the shore of Lake Fertő collapsed. The surface of the iconic image was covered by the rain, the wind, and the vegetation of the forest. 1500 years passed before the remains of the Mithras cave were rediscovered in July 1866 by two young men: at about the same time it was found by Ferenc Storno Jr. and György Malleschitz, a stone carver from Fertőmeggyes.
Fertőrákos Cave Theater and Quarry Thematic Park:
The rock block of the Quarry in Fertőrákos, with its cave-like halls formed over the past nearly two thousand years is an exhibition site and event venue with a special atmosphere. The paleontological presentation is about the conditions of the formation of the Lajta limestone produced in the area, and another unit showing the utilization of the limestone. The area around the Sopron Mountains, including the Fertőrákos quarry was covered by a shallow sea during the Middle Miocene (Baden), from the sediment of which the Lajta Limestone rich in fossils was formed. I./2. Time tunnel: We reach the depths of the ancient sea through a 22-meter long ""time tunnel"". I./3. Miocene Sea Hall: the life of the Miocene Sea comes to life; the most spectacular elements here are the life-size ancient whale, shark and dolphin reconstructions hanging above the visitors’ head. II./1. Stone Mining Hall: Excavation in the quarry in Fertőrákos started in Roman times. Stone mining ended in 1948. In this exhibition unit, visitors can get acquainted with the tools of mining, the method of quarrying, its history and related professions. The 4-ton stone blocks were towed by 8-12 pairs of buffaloes from Fertőrákos to Vienna in a month, where the limestone was used for the decorated facades of several buildings in the imperial city. II./2. Stone Carving Hall: The Lajta limestone is easy to carve and it is frost-resistant, so it became a popular building stone and was used at many construction sites in the area including Sopron and Vienna.
Pan-European Picnic Memorial Site:
When leaving Fertőrákos on the road to the border, it is worth taking a small detour to the Pan-European Picnic Memorial Site. In the outdoor area of the Memorial, taking a pleasant stroll, we may bear witness to the 1989 border break in the East Germans with updated content and photographs on the information boards. The stones placed on the ground in the path showcase the main historical events. On the 30th anniversary of the event, a Visitor Center was built, which is open from April to October each year. The main functions of the facility are: community spaces, museum exhibitions, coffees, social premises. There is also an interactive exhibition of the events of the Pan-European Picnic in 1989.
‘The Breakthrough’, a sculpture composition by Miklós Melocco, a contemporary border guard tower, the Bell of Freedom, a piece of the Iron Curtain, the Academic Memorial Forest, a children's playground and a rest area await guests who wish to remember.
Miniature County Model Park:
In the vicinity of the Erzsébet Garden, opposite the old Southern railway station of Sopron, the miniatures of the most well-known sights of 19th century Hungary’s Sopron County await visitors. A Sopron entrepreneur, Csaba Bognár dreamt up the concept of the Miniature Park. Set designers, sculptors and artists from Zalaegerszeg and Debrecen worked hard to make the dream true, and he himself had built nearly a third of the miniatures, for example the two Mór House of Sopron. There are more than thirty pieces on display, including Forchtenstein Castle, the castle of Kabold, the water mill of Gyóró, the Esterházy Castle of Fertőd, the St. Anna Church of Kapuvár, the St. Michael Sopron, the main square of Sopron, and many more. Among the realistic miniatures, a 97-meter long contemporary steam railway is puffing away.