Sopron, historically also known by the German name Ödenburg, is the name of a town in Hungary. It is also the name of a historical county or comitatus in Hungary, see Sopron county.
The area has been inhabited since ancient times. When the area that is today Western Hungary was a province of the Roman Empire, a city called Scarbantia stood here. Its forum was where now the main square of Sopron can be found.
During the Great Migration Scarbantia was deserted and by the time Hungarians arrived in the area, it was in ruins. In the 9th–11th centuries Hungarians strengthened the old Roman city walls and built a castle. The town got its Hungarian name at this time, from a castle steward named Suprun. In 1153 it was mentioned as an important town.
In 1273 Otakar II, the king of Bohemia occupied the castle and even though he took the children of Sopron's noblemen with him as hostages, the city opened its gates when the armies of Ladislaus IV arrived. The king awarded Sopron by elevating her to the rank of free royal town.
The architecture of the old section of town reflects its long history; walls and foundations from the Roman Empire are still common, together with a wealth of Medieval, Renaissance, and Baroque structures, often artistically decorated, showing centuries of stability and prosperity.
There is an old synagogue and other remains from the town's former Jewish community which was expelled in the 1500s.