PROFILE OF THE PILOT REGION GYOR-MOSON-SOPRON, HUNGARY

Gyor-Moson-Sopron County is situated in the North West of Hungary and shares long borders with both Austria (177 km) and Slovakia (78 km). Almost the whole county belongs to the Small Hungarian Plain (Kisalföld), a basin drained by rivers and tributaries. The depth of the fluvial deposit can reach 200-250 metres and the soil on this deposit is very fertile. Former rivers, that have been channelled, criss-cross the plain. The county is rich in natural resources including flora and fauna that contain many protected species. Furthermore, the Ferto-Hansag National Park is situated in the North West of the area falling into both Hungary and Austria. Szigetköz, a tributary of the Danube, also forms an attractive area between one branch of the Old Danube and the Moson-Danube.

There are 175 settlements in this county. Seven of them acquired town status in 2001 and have 55,2 percent of the county’s inhabitants. The proportion of urban population is lower than the national average. The economy of the county is diverse, ranging from protected areas to a dynamic city, Gyor, that has more than 100,000 inhabitants.

Both the landscape and the settlements are varied and special, typifying the Carpathian Basin. In ancient times, people settled near the life giving water in the river valleys and one can still find today some of the ancient ways linking up old settlements. Part of the area of natural beauty is protected in a national park and in a landscape-protection area in Sopron, Szigetköz, Pannonhalma making a total of 40,000 hectares. There are, however, large areas waiting for protection.

PHOTOS FROM HUNGARIAN REGION

Gyor-Moson-Sopron County is the second richest area after Budapest in almost everything. Property ownership has changed. There is increasingly private property and some of it is owned by foreigners. In the agricultural sector there is a growing cultivation of plants and fruit such as berries and grapes. The traditional animal husbandry (cattle, pig and poultry) has very good results. Tourism and education relevant to the tourist industry are also developing offering village people scarce employment possibilities.

The architecture of Gyor-Moson-Sopron County is significant, too. The county has been inhabited since the Stone Age and crossed more often by armies than peaceful caravans because of its location on the edge of the Roman Empire. There are Roman monuments such as the Mythras Sanctuary, the amphitheatre Scrabantia Forum in Sopron and several statues. Other buildings of architectural interest include village churches, the Abbey in Pannonhalma (part of world heritage), baroque palaces and churches dating from the Reformation. There are 1,027 protected buildings in Gyor-Moson-Sopron County, but there are many more worth being protected locally.