Siege of Vienna (1485)

Siege of Vienna
Part of Austro-Hungarian War (1477-1488)

Matthias marching into Vienna
Date 29 January 1485 -1st June 1485
Location Vienna, Lower Austria
Result City surrender, Hungarian Victory
Belligerents
Holy Roman Empire Kingdom of Hungary
Commanders and leaders
Hanns von Wulfestorff[1]
Caspar von Lamberg[c]
Bartholomeus von Starhemberg[c]
Andreas Gall[c]
Ladislaus Prager[c]
Alexander Schiffer[c]
Tiburtius von Linzendorf[c]
Leonhard Fruhmann[c]
Johann Karrer[c][c]		 Matthias Corvinus[d]
Peter Geréb de Vingard [d]
Stefan Zápolya[d]
Stephen V Báthory[2]
Laurence of Ilok[d]
Units involved
Imperial Army Black Army of Hungary
Strength
2000 foot soldiers
1000 cavalry[3]
20.000 civilians[4]
reinforcements:
200 cavalry
300 fusiliers
60 archers[a]		 10.000 foot soldiers
18.000 cavalry[5]
Austro-Hungarian War (1477–88)

The Siege of Vienna was a decisive siege of the Austro-Hungarian War in 1485. It was a consequence of the ongoing conflict between Frederick III and Matthias Corvinus. The fall of Vienna meant its merging to Hungary from 1485 to 1490. Matthias Corvinus also moved his royal court to the newly occupied city.

Contents

The siege

In the year 1483-84 Vienna was being already cut from the Empire since all of his concentric defense ring had fallen namely Korneuburg, Bruck, Hainburg and later Kaiserebersdorf. City was perished by famine though Emperor Frederick III succeeded in providing some vital supplies with a breakthrough of sixteen vessels on the Danube to the city. On the 15th January, Matthias called the city to surrender but captain von Wulfestorff refused to do so in a hope of an Imperial relief. The blockade was fully sealed when Matthias attacked Kaiserebersdorf. There he was an unaware subject of an assassination attempt when a cannonball nearly killed him. He suspected of treachery as the aim was too precise from a long distance that only one who knew the whereabouts of the King could fire it so. He accused Jaroslav von Boskowitz und Černahora of bribery who was the brother of his mercenary captain Tobias von Boskowitz and Černahora. Without any chance to clear himself Jaroslav was decapitated.[6] His brother Tobias was became so frustrated he returned to the service of Frederick and led his campaigns of reconquer after the death of Matthias in 1490. Later Kaiserebersdorf was captured and the fate of Vienna turned inevitable.

Matthias placed his armies on the Hundsmühle flour mills and in Gumpeudorf on the south of the Wien River[b]The King previously imported seventeen siege guns to Austria,[7] and ordered the constant shooting of the city and the construction of two siege towers one of which had been burnt by the resisting militia of Vienna.[1] Matthias intruded into Leopoldstadt in May 15 [6] that made the final assault feasible. The Viennese people realized this and negotiated to deliver the inner city to the Hungarian King. Their only condition was the reassurance of their citizen privileges and a free passage. On 1 June in head of a military parade Matthias entered the downtown fort.[7]

Aftermath

In the Salzburg manifest Frederick ordered the Austrian States to refuse Matthias' demand for the assembly of an Imperial Congress. He also put forward that soon to be Emperor Maximilian I would come to an aid. According to tradition this is the origin of A.E.I.O.U. a said to be secret message to all Austrian provinces. At the end of the Matthias' campaign Hungary controlled all of Upper Austria as well and remained under his control to his death in 1490.[7]

Administrative issues

Matthias deprived Vienna of its staple right, the right which irritated the nearby countries so that they formed the Visegrád Group to avoid the city. The city in counterpart enjoyed a tax free status under Matthias rule. He also delegated a member, Stefan Zápolya to the Council of Vienna but left the rest of city fathers intact. He rewarded him the city of Ebenfurth[8] and appointed him as the captain of Vienna and governor of the Austrian provinces incorporated into Hungary.[9] The bishop of Pécs Sigismund Ernust was promoted the vice-governor while Nikolaus Kropatsch took care of the military affairs. The prominent captains received houses in Vienna.[10]

Footnotes

References

  1. ^ a b István Diós; János Viczián (1993). "Magyar Katolikus Lexikon [Hungarian Catholic Lexicon]" (in Hungarian). lexikon.katolikus.hu. Budapest, Hungary: Szent István Társulat. http://lexikon.katolikus.hu/B/B%C3%A9cs%20ostroma.html. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  2. ^ István Draskóczy (2009). "Középkori magyar történeti kronológia a kombinált vizsga írásbeli részéhez [Mediaval Hungarian chronology for the combined written exam]" (in Hungarian). http://tortenelemszak.elte.hu - ELTE BTK Történelem Szakos Portál. Budapest, Hungary: ELTE BTK - ponte.hu Kft. http://tortenelemszak.elte.hu/data/21327/tor_211_segedlet.doc. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  3. ^ Ignatius Aurelius Fessler (1822) (in German). Die geschichten der Ungern und ihrer landsassen [History of Hungary and its territorial changes]. Leipzig, Germany: Johann Friedrich Gleditsch. p. 384. http://books.google.com/books?id=wogCAAAAMAAJ&hl=hu&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  4. ^ Johannes Sachslehner (2008-06-30). "STEP 05 – a jövőbe vezető út [STEP 05 – road to future]" (in Hungarian). wieninternational.at/ Vienna's weekly European journal. Vienna, Austria: Compress VerlagsgesmbH & Co KG. http://www.wieninternational.at/en/content/step-05-%E2%80%93-joevobe-vezeto-ut-en. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  5. ^ Andrew Ayton; Leslie Price (1998). "The Military Revolution from a Medieval Perspective". The Medieval Military Revolution: State, Society and Military Change in Medieval and Early Modern Society. London, England: I.B. Tauris. ISBN 1860643531. http://www.deremilitari.org/resources/articles/ayton1.htm. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  6. ^ a b József Bánlaky (1929). "b) Az 1483–1489. évi hadjárat Frigyes császár és egyes birodalmi rendek ellen. Mátyás erőlködései Corvin János trónigényeinek biztosítása érdekében. A király halála. [B. The campaign of 1483–1489 against Frederick and some imperial estates. Struggle of Matthias to secure the throne for John Corvin. The death of the King.]" (in Hungarian). A magyar nemzet hadtörténelme [Military history of the Hungarian nation]. Budapest, Hungary: Grill Károly Könyvkiadó vállalata. ISBN 963 86118 7 1. http://www.mek.sk/09400/09477/html/0011/878.html. Retrieved 27 June, 2011. 
  7. ^ a b c Charlotte Mary Yonge; Christabel Rose Coleridge, Arthur Innes (1874). "Sketches from Hungarian History". The Monthly packet. London, United Kingdom: J. and C. Mozley. http://www.archive.org/details/monthlypacket38unkngoog. 
  8. ^ Lajos Gerő (1893). "Szapolyai" (in Hungarian). Pallas Nagylexikon. Budapest, Hungary: Pallas Irodalmi és Nyomdai Rt.. ISBN 963 85923 2 X. http://www.kislexikon.hu/szapolyai.html. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  9. ^ Tamás Tarján. "Mátyás király elfoglalja Bécs városát [King Matthias occupies Vienna]". Rubicon Journal. Budapest, Hungary: Rubicon-Ház Bt.. http://www.rubicon.hu/magyar/oldalak/1485_junius_1_matyas_kiraly_elfoglalja_becs_varosat/. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  10. ^ Tamás Fedeles; József Török, Éva Pohánka (2009). "Mátyás szolgálatában [In service of Matthias]" (in Hungarian). Ernuszt Zsigmond pécsi püspök (1473-1505) [bishop of Pécs Sigismund Ernust (1473-1505)]. Szekszárd, Hungary: Schöck Kft. p. 7. ISBN 978-963-06-7663-2. http://www.scribd.com/doc/44710940/Fedeles-Tamas-Ernuszt-Zsigmond-pecsi-puspok-1473-1505-Palyavazlat. 
  11. ^ Anton Ferdinand von Geissau (1805) (in German). Geschichte der Belagerung Wiens durch den König Mathias von Hungarn, in den Jahren 1484 bis 1485 [History of the siege of Vienna by King Matthias of Hungary from 1484 to 1485]. Wien, Austria: Anton Strauss. http://books.google.com/books?id=SZ0AAAAAcAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s. Retrieved 1 July 2011. 
  12. ^ "Gries, Kies, Ufersand". Aeiou Encyclopedia. http://www.aeiou.at/aeiou.encyclop.g/g736503.htm;internal&action=_setlanguage.action?LANGUAGE=en. Retrieved 1 July 2011.