Summer retreats with character
Back in the 19th century, when people wanted to escape the heat, they didn’t book a spa weekend. They built a little house in the woods. Wealthy locals bought plots, or “lővers,” near Sopron’s forests and built summer homes surrounded by fruit trees and chestnuts. The richer the owner, the fancier the house.
These weren’t just sheds with ideas above their station. They started as small wooden huts with a cellar and one room, maybe a sleeping nook if you were lucky. Then came the verandas. Delightfully decorative wooden structures that connected the indoors to the outdoors with style and occasional squeaky floorboards.
The rise of the Lőver villa
As the century rolled on, Sopron’s summer crowd got pickier. They wanted bigger, better and more beautiful. So they built larger villas with proper architectural plans. By the 1890s, plots were carefully carved out on the slopes of Alsó-Lővérek, not far from oak and chestnut groves. It even got a posh nickname: the city’s own little park zone.
Plots weren’t massive, but they were generous enough. About 21 to 24 metres wide and up to 102 metres deep. Plenty of space for a villa, a garden and some good old-fashioned floral bragging.
Master builders and some rules
Building here wasn’t a free-for-all. You couldn’t just throw up a tower and call it avant-garde. The Lőver Committee kept a watchful eye and insisted on rules. No messy hedges, no misbehaving garden gnomes.
Renowned architects brought vision to the veranda-loving community. Typical features included over-the-top wooden carvings, dramatic roof shapes, towers, balconies and of course, the signature wooden veranda.
The legendary veranda
The veranda was more than a porch. It was your connection to nature, your viewing platform and sometimes your front door. Originally open and always placed to show off the best view, it often featured delicate woodwork and occasionally a smug sense of superiority.
Some homes added upstairs verandas to improve the angle. Others put them in odd corners or made them semi-private. Over time, as people began living in the villas full-time, the open verandas turned into enclosed glass ones. Some even had colourful stained glass.
Verandas had flair. They were the architectural equivalent of wearing a scarf in summer. Completely unnecessary but absolutely fabulous.
The Romwalter Villa
Among all these wooden masterpieces, the Romwalter Villa (on the picture) stands out. It was built by Károly Romwalter, a well-known printer and editor.
The Villa Row we see today mostly dates back to 1893, with construction wrapping up two years later. There were 14 villas originally, all facing the city, because no one builds a view-facing balcony and aims it at someone else’s shed.
The Villas Today
Even after war damage, overzealous renovations and a general drift towards modern conveniences, many of these villas still survive. They are pieces of history that don’t shout but politely invite you for tea.
If you ever visit Sopron in Hungary, don’t just wander the city centre. Venture into the Lővérek hills, find the Villa Row and admire the craftsmanship.
