Talk:Battle of Vienna

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[edit] Coffee and croissants

I read that coffee was made popular in Europe (it already was in England from Quicksilver (novel) because the Turks left behind a big stock of it.

I also read that croissants were invented to celebrate one of the victories of Christendom in Vienna. Was it this battle?

Indeed, all the coffee from Kara Mustafa's camp was granted to Sobieski, who gave it to one of his officers, Jan Kulczycki. He was given a house in Vienna and opened the first coffee house there. However, there was a cafe in Cracow at least a century earlier ('though the drink wasn't popular at least until late XVIII century). One of the greatest polish poets of the period, Jan Andrzej Morsztyn even wrote a short poem about it with the words "the awful drink should never pollute christian mouth". However, the legend is nice.Halibutt 19:21, 5 Jan 2004 (UTC)

I had always thought that the croissant had indeed come of either this battle or earlier siege. The story as I understood it was that bakers, working early one morning in their bakeries heard the sounds of shovels beneath their floors and sounded the alarm. Because the city was saved (in either this or the earlier battle) the bakers were honored with the croissant, shaped like a crescent. To be sure, it might not have happened like that but you gotta think that there is some truth to the legend.Culmo80 19:01, 14 December 2006 (UTC)culmo80

[edit] More info

The article is fairly short for such an important topic. Some of the additional points I'd like to cover include:

  • The appeals by both the Pope and the Austrian emperor to Sobieski for help
  • The speed at which the Polish army made it to Vienna (off the top of my head, I think it was about 60 or 70 km a day over several days)
  • Some more information about the aftermath and significance of the battle, as it is widely regarded as one of the most important in the history of Europe (and the world?).

I'll do some more research and see what I can contribute.

Is this line an error: "The main Turkish army finally invested Vienna on July 14". Seems like it should say invaded not invested —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.211.133.254 (talk) 18:47, 25 September 2007 (UTC)

Some other points of interest: the Ottoman retreat; the loot in the Ottoman camp; the victorious king's entry into the city; Sobieski's letter to the Pope with the famous quotation "Venimus, vidimus et Deus vicit"; Kara Mustafa's execution by the sultan for his failure in the battle
To start, I've broken up the article into sections. We still need an "Aftermath" section before the "Significance" section. The Prelude section needs work; it seems like there's two trains of thought. I'll come back to it.


[edit] Habsburg

The article sometimes refers the Austrian army, and sometimes to the Habsburg army. I'd like to make this more consistent. If no one objects, I shall change Habsburg to Austrian.

I prefer Habsburg to Austrian. At the time, Austria was just one of the fiefdoms ruled by Habsburgs and in any case the armies they assembled had almost invariably a multi-ethnic nature. The article should reflect that. Jensboot 19:23, 28 August 2005 (UTC)
I strongly agree with Jensboot, we should keep Habsburg, as there was no Austrian army on those times. ish_warsaw 13:08, 1 September 2005 (UTC)


Before the 18th century the Army of the Austrian Habsburgs was usually called "Imperials" ("Kaiserliche") - refering to their position as Emperors of the HRE. There was nothing like an Austrian army at that time. Only in 1740 when the Habsburgs had lost the crown of the HRE for several years and at the same time started to centralize their realm, an "Austrian Army" came into being. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 193.171.168.80 (talk) 12:44, 7 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Expanding the article

I'm currently expanding especially the prelude and the military engagements just preceding the siege. Jensboot 20:43, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

Keep up the good job. Plz add some references if you can. --Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus Talk 22:11, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Images

I put comment marks for the pictures of paintings by Kossak, Matejko and Brandt. If exists, I would second putting pictures of paintings rather contemporary to the siege. Jensboot 21:56, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

[edit] On the strength numbers

I wonder where these strength numbers originate. Someone (83.76.87.200) has came up and changed the Ottoman strength from 140.000 to 200.000 without giving any reference or at least a minor comment on the discussion page. Can anybody confirm this change?roktas 19:17, 30 January 2006 (UTC)

I think we have to insist on a citation for any changes like this. In this case it does not look like vandalism, but we cannot just take the word of anyone who drops in. Later I'll look in the appropriate Cambridge modern history and see if I can find a number. Until then, I'll add a citation request. If anyone has reason to think 140,000 is better, feel free to change it. Tom Harrison Talk 20:05, 30 January 2006 (UTC)
I've changed the numbers to 138,000 turks vs 70,000 combined forces, including 30,000 of Sobieski's. The reference is cited on the page. I welcome other references. It would be good to have a few more so we could put a range on the figures. Tom Harrison Talk 02:35, 31 January 2006 (UTC)
Thanks! Now, we at least have a citation available. BTW, I've made a few search on the web, but couldn't find any consistent data. roktas 13:38, 1 February 2006 (UTC)

I don´t understand, I´ve red in lots of books that they were equal in numbers. The european side were allied with many nations, so they could have afford with at least 180,000 men! Only 10,000 during siege is a complete impossibility!

[edit] the church is on Leopoldsberg

the reference to "Kahlen Berg" in the first para below from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna is correct. The reference to "Kahlenberg" in the second para needs some clarification. The text in the third para below from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldsberg explains why: Since the time the church was built the mountain has been known as Leopoldsberg.

from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vienna: "The Holy League forces arrived on the "Kahlen Berg" (bare hill) above Vienna, signalling their arrival with bonfires. In the early morning hours of 12 September, before the battle, a mass is held for King Sobieski."

"In honor of Sobieski, the Austrians had erected a church atop a hill of Kahlenberg, north of Vienna...."

From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leopoldsberg: "Modern-day Leopoldsberg therefore had the name “Kahlenberg” (it was the “bare” or kahl of the two) until 1693 when the baroque church was built on top, at which time the name was transferred to the neighboring mountain (modern-day Kahlenberg). In 1683, modern-day Leopoldsberg was the meeting point of King Jan III Sobieski’s Polish-Austrian troops, who defeated the Turkish invaders and liberated the city of Vienna during the Second Siege of Vienna (Polish veterans consider Kahlenberg as the setting of the famous battle)."

[edit] Clarification?

Could somebody please clarify the statement, "Also, the behaviour of Louis XIV of France set the stage for centuries to come"? It is unclear as to what stage is being set. European conflicts? Politics? Fighting wars on two fronts? Ruthlessly annexing territory? It is unclear to me. Thank you. — RJH (talk) 20:37, 31 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] 9/11/1683 vs. 9/11/2001

It is hard to believe that the battle of Vienna began on 9/11. I strongly doubt that Osama bin Laden picked this date by sheer coincidence. The date was one of many messages. -- 62.245.160.188 17:34, 3 July 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Additional Reference

I suggest adding a reference to John Stoye's excellent book from 2000 "The Siege of Vienna." Timosh1313 21:07, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Constant removal of encyclopedic content

I am tiring of Nostradamus1 who constantly deletes the content I am trying to provide, along with their citations in several books for which I have provided ISBN numbers and even the page numbers. There is nothing more I have to say than what I already said here on my talk page. If the community here is sufficiently interested in the facts please reinstate them, because I am unwatching this page now. Sorry, there are just too much other things to do that are actually productive. Bye.-Glst2 (talk) 11:20, 8 January 2008 (UTC)

Have you tried discussing this before? WP:DR, or posting a request for input on WP:MILHIST, is advisable.--Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| talk 23:28, 8 January 2008 (UTC)
I asked Glst2 for the reasons of his/her translating and including two quotations -only from one side of the battle- that strikingly ended with sentences alleging threats against women and children. The response in his talk page includes the following paragraph:

What value does this add? Simple: it adds first-hand evidence of Ottoman "conversion or annihilation" attitude towards Vienna and its population at this precise time immediately prior to the Battle of Vienna. It is therefore justified to include it in the respective article, just as it is not only perfectly justified but actually essential for the completeness of the article on Heinrich Himmler to illustrate his organized extermination of the Jews by providing translations of selected sections of his Posen speech.

This demonstrates this user's POV. The above sounds like an original research or thesis that has no place here. The article gains nothing by this user's selective translation and quotation other than pushing for his/her POV. I will remove these quotations that have no encyclopedic value.--Nostradamus1 (talk) 03:55, 9 January 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Combatants

Was there olso Moldova and Wallahia on the Turkish side, or only Crimean Khanate? All were Ottoman vassal so needed to assist Turks in the time of war. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 89.77.100.60 (talk) 18:26, 11 April 2008 (UTC)


[edit] Clarification of date of battle

I have read many sources that list the date of the Battle of Vienna. Some say September 11th, some say September 12th. I have noticed the changes have been made numerous times. Certain scholars say September 11th, others say September 12th. I would like some clarification, but until then, I would suggest not allowing alterations of the page by unregistered or new members. --Farmer88 (talk) 05:48, 9 June 2008 (UTC)

I know nothing about the subject matter of the article. But, if you are interested in reading more about the suggestion you made, I suggest reading about the types of protection and requesting page protection. Hope the links help.--Rockfang (talk) 06:19, 9 June 2008 (UTC)