OEDENBURG (Hung. Sopron or Soprony; anc. Sempronium or Sopronium), a town of Hungary, capital of a county of the same name, stands on the Ilkva, not far from the Neusiedlersee, 36 miles S.E. of Vienna. It is well built, and has the appearance of a quiet Austrian country town, with little of the Hungarian character about it. The watch-tower, which is all that remains of the old fortifications, is said to be the loftiest in Hungary. Some of the Roman Catholic churches are fine Gothic edifices; and there are also a Protestant church, a Dominican convent, a Ursuline nunnery, Roman Catholic and Protestant schools, orphan hospital, and theatre. Manufactures of woollen, linen, and cotton fabrics, potash, hardware, &c., are carried on; and the town has also sugar refineries and potteries. Some trade is carried on in these articles, as well as in the produce of the country; and large markets for cattle are held here, at which about 40,000 oxen and 160,000 pigs are sold annually. Many Roman antiquities have been found in the town. The inhabitants are mostly Germans, and about half of them are Protestants. Pop. (1851) 16,274.
The county of Oedenburg, which is bounded N.E. by Wiesselburg, E. by Raab, S. by Eisenburg, W. and N. by the archduchy of Austria, has an area of 1272 square miles. It is occupied on the W. by low branches of the Styrian Alps, while towards the E. it is quite flat. Nearly the whole of Neusiedlersee is in this county, and it receives the most of the rivers. The soil is generally fertile, though swampy in some parts, and yields large crops of corn, flax, wine, and fruits. Live stock are reared to a considerable extent, and abundance of fish is obtained from the lake. Pop. 207,800.