The stage of the Iron Curtain Trail includes Sopron, a place that played a major role in the Cold War. On the border close to this town, the Austrian and Hungarian Foreign Ministers jointly cut through the border fence on 27 June 1989. In August that year a border gate between Austria and Hungary was symbolically opened at the ‘Pan-European Picnic’. There are many other interesting sites located along this stage, including the Palace of Esterházy, once described as the Hungarian Versailles and the Őrségi National Park.
The development of EuroVelo 13 – Iron Curtain Trail is supported by the Interreg Central Europe project ICTr-CE. In the context of the project, ECF together with project partners developed an innovative cycling product - known as Good Impact Cycling - sold by official EuroVelo 13 Booking Centres to allow cyclists to experience the Iron Curtain Trail while leaving a positive influence. Using tools such as the CARMACAL carbon footprint calculator and the Impact Measurement System, the offers estimate the environmental and social impact of the tours. The Good Impact Programme reduces these impacts by allocating funds to projects focusing on environmental, social, and economic impacts, strengthening the positive contributions of cycling tourism to the regions. Check out the Good Impact Cycling tours on our tour packages page!
