Description of the attraction
Rust is an Austrian city located in the Burgenland region on the west coast of Lake Neusiedler near the border with Hungary. Rust is the smallest administrative district and also the smallest statutory city in Austria. It was endowed with the rights of a free city in 1681. The city is famous for its wines, especially "Ruster Ausbruch".
In pre-Christian times, this area was part of the Celtic kingdom of Noric and belonged to the area around a Celtic castle. Rust was first mentioned in 1317 as Ceel (from the Hungarian word "Szil" - "elm") in the documents of the Hungarian king Charles I Robert. The city's citizens were granted market rights in 1470, along with the legal right to use the letter R (the first letter of the city's name) on wine barrels. The city quickly became rich thanks to winemaking, and in 1681, by order of the Hungarian king Leopold I, it gained independence. In 1921, Rust passed into the possession of Austria.
The old town annually attracts many tourists from all over Europe. Renaissance and Baroque houses from the 16th to 19th centuries have retained their facades with beautiful windows and stucco decorations. Picturesque arched portals, staircases and arcades - the entire Old Town is protected by the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property. In 2001, the Old Town of Rust was included in the UNESCO World Cultural Heritage List. Rust himself was voted the most beautiful city in Burgenland. All houses have retained their original function as residential and commercial spaces.
Since 1999, a music festival has been held in the city, where participants perform their compositions exclusively on the guitar.
