Battle of Vienna

The Battle of Vienna in 1683 (Turkish: ?kinci Viyana Ku?atmas?) (as distinct from the Siege of Vienna in 1529) was the first large-scale battle of the Habsburg-Ottoman Wars, yet with the most far-reaching consequences. The battle pitted a Habsburg army of about 100,000 troops and their allies, led by Charles IV, Duke of Lorraine, a 30,000-man relief force under Jan III Sobieski, King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, against the Ottoman army, commanded by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, which numbered approximately 140,000 men, although a large number of them played no part in the battle. The siege itself began in July 14, 1683, and the decisive battle took place on September 12, 1683.

Significance

Although no one realized it at the time, the battle shaped the outcome of the entire war as well. The Ottomans fought on for another 16 years, before giving up. The Ottomans lost control of Hungary and Transylvania in the process, which was finalized by the Treaty of Karlowitz.

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In honor of Sobieski, the Austrians had a church erected in his honor, atop a hill of Kahlenberg, north of Vienna. Also, the train route from Vienna to Warsaw is named in Sobieski's honor.

Related Topics:
Kahlenberg - Warsaw

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The Battle of Vienna is seen by many historians as marking the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire. The Battle also marked the historic end of Turkish expansion into southwestern Europe.

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Culinary legends related to the Battle of Vienna

• One legend is that the croissant was invented in Vienna, either in 1683 or in an earlier siege in 1529, to celebrate the defeat of the Turkish siege of the city, as a reference to the crescents on the Turkish flags. However, this is likely to be untrue; as there is no evidence that croissants existed before the 19th century.
• Another legend from Vienna, made the first bagel as being a gift to King Jan Sobieski to commemorate the King's victory over the Turks that year. The baked-good was fashioned in the form of a stirrup, to commemorate the victorious charge by the Polish cavalry. The truth of this legend is more uncertain, as there is a reference in 1610 to a similar-sounding bread, which may or may not have been the bagel.
• After the battle, the Austrians discovered many bags of coffee in the abandoned Turkish encampment. Using this captured stock, Vienna opened the first coffeehouse in Western Europe, shortly afterwards.