Elizabeth Garden
One of the oldest public parks in Hungary was named Elizabeth in 1899 in honour of the queen who died a tragic death. The area, which has been protected since 1942, is home to several special plants, an outstanding specimen of sierra redwood, which is the tallest one in Hungary.
In 1763 the town bought the Neuhof from General Preysing for the benefit of the Sopron citizens. The brewery was immediately relocated to the site of today's GYIK Event House. From the 1800s onwards, it became the centre of the town’s social and cultural life. The water of the Deák well was channelled here, so the public park was expanded with two small ponds. The owner of the brewery built a carousel, and the park became a venue for theatre and circus performances. According to legend, Sándor Petőfi, who was a soldier in the town in 1839-40, also enjoyed visiting the Neuhof. In 1847, the mostly French-style garden was partly converted into an English garden, you can still see some of its details to this day. The music pavilion built in 1889 hosted musical performances on a weekly basis for years, and in around 1900 a restaurant opened in the park as well.
Since the station building of the Southern Railway (Sopron-Nagykanizsa line), founded in 1867, was located near the park, the American bombing wreaked havoc on the garden. The restaurant and music pavilion were also destroyed.
When the garden was renovated in 2015, the site of the former restaurant was marked with a wooden fence and the music pavilion was rebuilt. This is a place of botanical diversity: tulip trees, California black walnut trees, East Asian cherry trees, copper beech, sweet gum trees, sweet chestnut, maidenhair tree, red horse-chestnut, oleaster-leafed pear are accompanied by giant chestnuts, maple trees, Japanese pagoda trees. Groups of young swamp cypress, fir and black pine form the evergreen vegetation, the shrubs are also diverse. Plants can be identified by their nameplates. Nine information boards evoke the history of the park. In 2019, the Sopron Town Beautification Association planted a memorial tree in honour of Squire Ignác Kőmáli Flandorffer, one of the founders of the Sopron Savings Bank and the former gas factory. He took credit for the construction of the first railway line of Sopron County in 1846 between Sopron and Katzelsdorf, and his name is also associated with the revitalisation of winegrowing in Sopron.
The park is a popular area among locals for taking walks, cycling, jogging or simply for conversing. Next to the brook there is a playground for children and a street workout training area for the older kids. In summer, outdoor concerts of various genres are held in the Music Pavilion.
