Forestry Museum
The Forestry Museum is located a few steps away from Sopron's Main Square in Templom Street, next to the Central Mining Museum.
Just like the neighbouring Esterházy Palace, it is a significant building in the music history of Sopron, as Joseph Haydn often stayed here as a guest of Miklós Esterházy I (The extravagant). The permanent exhibitions are the Béla Hidvégi Hunting Collection, the “Our National Treasure: the Forest Interactive Exhibition”, and the Alma Mater Memorial Room presenting the student traditions of Selmecbánya. The museum building, the former Esterházy Palace, is located in the medieval centre of Sopron, in the immediate vicinity of the Main Square. Its legal predecessor was the Mining Institute founded in Selmecbánya in 1735, and later the Academy of Mining and Forestry, which was the cradle of many student traditions that still flourish today. The ALMA MATER exhibition presents the most interesting and determining elements, uniforms and memorabilia of the Selmec student traditions to the visitors.
Béla Hidvégi Hunting Collection
How big is a Thomson’s gazelle? What on Earth an Argali is? The exhibition, consisting of Béla Hidvégi's private collection, presents the life of the global hunter with the help of his award-winning trophies and unique folk art items from five continents. Antelopes, cape buffalo, zebras and lions evoke the wildlife of the savannas for the visitors. Walking in front of the animals, the special wild species of the high mountains come into touch, but in addition to the distant lands, those interested can also meet Hungary's former top predators, the wolf and the bear.
Our national treasure: the Forest
Is there a difference between a forest and a forest? What is life like under the fallen leaves? Do we know the inhabitants of an oak forest? The exhibition brings a forest into the heart of the town. The most common tree species can be found on the terrain table evoking the Sopron mountains, and you can follow the way of a tree from the forest to the sawmill. The interactive educational desks provide a realistic presentation of the processes of forest management that are unknown to many. The lower level of the exhibition hall offers an insight into the exciting underground world of forest life. It shows the inhabitants what a fox den and a badger set look like, as well as the magnified wildlife of the soil organisms, which is invisible to the naked eye.
The museum will be open from October, 2023:
Monday-Sunday: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
