Statue of the beer master
The work of József Kampfl has been adorning the Old Grain Square in Sopron since 1995.
1895 is an important year in the history of the Sopron beer brewing. The Sopron Brewery was established due to the phylloxera epidemic in the wine region. In memory of the centenary, in 1995, at the junction of Ógabona Square and Színház Street, the most imaginative statue and fountain in the town, the beer master statue was erected.
The Sopron wine region was traditionally a white wine-producing region, where the typical grapes were Furmint, Muscat blanc and Hárslevelű (Feuille de Tilleul). Due to the devastating phylloxera epidemic in Europe at the end of the 19th century, traditional grapes disappeared and Kékfrankos (Blaufränkisch) took their place. As the price of wine skyrocketed during the epidemic, the demand for beer became significant.
