The Storno house
The baroque building in front of the Fire Tower took its current shape in the 18th century, when it was owned by the Festetics family. It was named after the Storno family of restorers and art collectors from Switzerland.
One of the famous people who stayed here was King Matthias at the time of the siege of Vienna, and Ferenc Liszt enjoyed the hospitality of the house as well. In the 16th century, the Black Elephant Pharmacy operated in the building with its ceiling decorated with stars. Those interested can still see it in the Corvinus restaurant on the ground floor of the Storno House.
The namesake of the building, Ferenc Storno, found home on an adventurous journey in Sopron. He was born in nearby Kismarton (Eisenstadt, Austria), but spent his childhood in Bavaria. He returned to his hometown as a young man, but found no relatives there. He wanted to go to Buda through Bratislava and then to Bavaria. On his way, he asked a Croatian woman for directions near Kismarton. However, the woman mistakenly sent her to Sopron instead of Bratislava.
