Firewatch Tower

About this place

The Firewatch Tower is a 58-metre tower on the main square of Sopron in western Hungary and the symbol of the city. From the 13th century it served as the northern gate tower of the town walls. Its square lower section was built in Gothic style between 1290 and 1340, probably on top of a Roman gate tower; the remains of the town's northern Roman gate were uncovered beside it in the late 1960s. The tower is first mentioned in writing in 1409. Its watchmen signalled where a fire had broken out with lanterns by night and coloured flags by day, and trumpeters on the balcony marked every quarter hour. The tower burned down in 1676 and was rebuilt from 1680 with money raised by the townspeople, then thoroughly restored between 2009 and 2012. The tower rises from a square base to a cylindrical body with Gothic windows, ringed by an arcaded Renaissance balcony, then an octagonal stage carrying four clock faces dated 1735. A green copper onion dome crowns it, topped by an open lantern in which a bell hangs. Visitors climb the tower's stairs to the round balcony for views over the old town's roofs, the main square and the surrounding hills. The tower's gateway leads through to the square, and the visit pairs naturally with a walk through the old town.