Sopron Blue Circle

Itinerary

• The route follows the K marking throughout.

Detailed description of the route

Start from downtown Sopron

The route starts in the park at Deák Square, from the World War I Artillery Memorial, which is also a checkpoint. The choice of location is no coincidence, as the blue trail touches several war-related historical memorials. This is understandable, as the catastrophic consequences of the world war for our nation are paired with Sopron's proud past. Hardly any Hungarian does not know that Sopron is "the city of loyalty," a title it owes not only to the decisive 1921 referendum but also to the armed resistance that secured it. We start on the K marking towards neighboring Ágfalva, whose name is also closely tied to resistance against the Treaty of Trianon.

City walk

More than four kilometers of asphalted road lead out of the city. From the Artillery Memorial, the K marking follows Frankenburg Street and then Ady Endre Street, passing by, among others, the Elizabeth Garden and Sopron University. Its predecessor was the Mining and Forestry Academy of Selmecbánya, which in 1918 had to relocate to the truncated country, first to Budapest, then a year later to Sopron. The students also took part in the two battles of Ágfalva.

Heading to Ágfalva!

In Sopronbánfalva, we walk through an orderly garden suburb towards the forest-covered hills. While ascending between houses, we get a view of the recently renovated impressive Bánfalva Carmelite monastery building, which today operates as a hotel and event center. Among modern villas, we reach the saddle of Kutya Hill, where shortly we enjoy a broad panorama opening over the gardens to the west, then we enter the forest and descend through a fragrant pine forest along a dirt road heading west, reaching Ágfalva at the sixth kilometer of the route.

For our second checkpoint, we must enter the cemetery beside the road: here we find the tombstone of László Baracsi, who died heroically in the village as a member of the Rongyos Guard. In August 1921, the resistance led by Pál Prónay and Iván Héjjas stopped gendarmes marching towards Sopron, designated as the new administrative center of Burgenland. After the victory, a nearly two-month war of freedom broke out, during which Hungarian irregular forces—especially the guard called the "Rongyos"—prevented the Austrians from occupying Western Hungary.

Ágfalva and its view

We walk along the Main Road in Ágfalva for a while, but the K marking does not lead to the Lutheran church visible from afar, beside which there is a war memorial, a shop, and a café. After stair climbing, the road leading out of the settlement goes to the forest edge and then into the Ágfalva Forest, but before finally leaving the urban environment, it is worth taking a short detour on the K▲ marking to the top of Ház Hill, one of the few viewpoints on our tour.

From the 6 m high lookout resembling a high seat, there is a lovely bird's-eye view over Ágfalva, the Sopron Mountains, neighboring Austrian settlements, and the Somfalva Plain. On a clear day, the castle of Fraknó and the Schneeberg can also be seen. On the grassy area in front of the lookout, a plaque fixed to a rock commemorates the events of 1921, and benches and a fire pit invite hikers to pause. Returning to the comfortable K marked forest trail, we walk now on a pleasant forest path near the Austrian-Hungarian border.

The Sopron landscape

The Sopron Mountains, stretching across the border (similar to the Kőszeg Mountains), are the eastern extension of the Alps, Hungary's smallest mid-mountain area, as well as its oldest crystalline block mountains. We immediately experience the atmosphere of its varied mixed forest after Ágfalva on our section: mainly oak, hornbeam, beech, alder along the streams, but we also find poplar, red fir, and spruce here. The mountains, mostly made of gneiss and crystalline slate, have 25 permanent springs, among which the Dr. Dániel Fehér Spring near Görbehalom is our next stop. At our third checkpoint, not only fresh water springs up but benches and a spacious shelter offer comfort to hikers.

There is little to see in Görbehalom, and the K marking does not lead to the former mining site. Recently there was still a museum telling the history of local coal mining, but today only a memorial made of mica stones can be found at the junction of Tárna and Hidegvölgy streets.

Along the old border fence

After leaving the spring named after a famous forest engineer, the K marking follows the former technical border fence's straight path with slightly monotonous walking. Back then, few people could hike this way; entrance to nearby settlements like Görbehalom or Brennbergbánya required special permission. Barbed wire, soldiers, and fire orders protected the border, but today not a trace of the Iron Curtain remains on the forestry road rising on the Poloska Ridge. At the 12th kilometer, the tour reaches the Köves Ridge plateau, which allows comfortable walking on a level path following the marking. Heading southward, we pass the abandoned open pit mine of Jóremény, where mica slate primarily surfaces.

Visitor center with many program options in the middle of the forest

A few meters from the unique building of the Hubertus Chapel, the K marking turns east and soon arrives at the well-maintained terrain of Muck peak at 522 m altitude. The area is named after Endre Muck, the "father of the Sopron forests," who contributed greatly to the region's infrastructure development. This mountain area only recently belonged to the border guard. Today, a modern tourist house and directly along our trail is the House of the Forest Ecotourism Visitor Center and Wildlife Park, welcoming hikers. The latter is not only our fourth checkpoint but also provides an interactive exhibition space, offering families with young children a chance to get close to the animal life of the Sopron forest. If you want to combine your hike with the exhibition visit, it is advisable to inquire about the visitor center's opening hours in advance.

After a short stretch on asphalt, we turn left back into the forest, where the more varied and wild landscape welcomes us. Our winding trail passes above the Thief's Ditch through dense pine and beech forests leading to the early Iron Age burial mounds of New Hill.

Ancient trenches and mounds

We can peek into one of the impressive mounds, next to which is a great resting place named after Lajos Bella, an archaeologist who explored the area. This is the fifth checkpoint. For those planning to hike the Sopron Blue Circle overnight in the forest as nomadic hikers, this mid-way location offers an excellent bivouac opportunity.

Between the Thief's Ditch and Tacsi Ditch ridges lay a 7th century BC settlement surrounded by a 2 km long trench. The earth fort covered an area 900 meters long and 350 meters wide and is one of the most important sites of the Hallstatt culture. Its rich finds include not only 80 excavated burial mounds but also traces, objects, and the foundations of an early Iron Age house.

Atmospheric forest promenade

On this walk, you can enjoy the sometimes wild idyll of the Lower Alps. Increasingly, you encounter benches or information boards showcasing the local forest's rich wildlife. Despite its small area, the Sopron Mountains are very varied: hikers can see many picturesque details, one of which is worth the detour on the K● marking to the Hármas Spring in the upper part of Tacsi Ditch.

The wild point hiding at the foot of the steep slope can be reached by stairs. The spring, flowing from a moss-covered, fern-clad rock, got its name because its water used to flow from three differently leveled pipes. Only one remains today. Between June and August, around the spring, you may also see the protected forest foxglove with white flowers growing up to one and a half meters, resembling falling fireworks.

The K marking, which winds together with the Cyclamen educational trail, passes through a gentler, park-like forest around the Seven Beeches. The Seven Beeches is still a landmark, although the seven-trunked beech matriarch that once stood here has long fallen. From here, we mostly descend through sparser forest into the Twin Ditch. The K markings guide the hiker densely and clearly throughout the route; practically, there is no need for a map or navigation device—though it's always good to have one.

The Mug Spring and the Ojtoz Alley

At the confluence of the Twin Ditch and Kecske Stream is the Mug Spring, designated in 1955 and formerly also served as a resting place. The signpost and the mugs fastened to a tree next to it are great help in finding this submerged spring with a fluctuating water flow. This is the sixth checkpoint, now at the 23rd kilometer. From here on, in the forest named Fox House, one increasingly senses the proximity of Sopron. Cyclists, dog walkers, and strolling couples become more frequent, and at Ojtoz Alley, it becomes quite clear that we are in the city’s popular walking park. The charming avenue and the war memorial standing here—our tour checkpoint—commemorate the memory of Sopron soldiers who fought in World War I.

In the Ojtoz Stream valley in the Eastern Carpathians, in the summer of 1917, the Austro-Hungarian army tried to break through the Romanian army but suffered heavy losses. In memory of these events, a monument was carved into the rocky wall of the gorge of the stream, which later was destroyed by the Romanians; its replica has stood here since 1934. The avenue, named at the time, is illuminated at night, with a sports field and playground nearby.

Back to the city

From the alley, only 2 km of urban walking awaits to our starting and finishing point. In the last green patches of Lövérek, hotels and a sanatorium line our way; then turning right towards the city, we mildly ascend to Villa Row. In this street, besides the panorama over the city, we can admire typical alpine style villas built at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, one or two stories high. Finally, on Városligeti Street, we head towards the center, and soon the K marking winding through the streets returns to the Artillery Memorial standing on Deák Square. The Sopron Blue Circle ends here, but Sopron and its surroundings still offer plenty to discover: for first-time visitors, sightseeing is practically a mandatory program, and don't forget, Lake Fertő is not far away either.