Siege of Vienna 1683: Kahlenberg to the Türkenschanze

The main Ottoman army laid siege to Vienna on 14 July 1683. Count Starhemberg, leader of the remaining 15,000 troops and 8,700 volunteers with 370 cannons, refused to capitulate. For the next two months the cathedral's tower, affectionately called the "Steffl" by the city's inhabitants, served as the main observation and command post for the defence of the walled city. The cathedral still stands at the heart of Vienna, on Stephansplatz.

Para el visitante: The cathedral stands on Stephansplatz in the city centre.

On the hills above Vienna the relief army gathered. Its troops signalled their arrival on the Kahlenberg with bonfires, and command of the allied forces went to the Polish king, Jan III Sobieski. Sobieski launched his attack on the Turkish forces from this hill. Today the Kahlenberg is one of the most popular day trips from Vienna, with a view over the entire city.

Para el visitante: A popular day-trip destination with terraces looking over the city.

The battle began at 4:00 am on 12 September, when the Ottoman army attacked. After heavy fighting the imperial army took several key positions, in particular the fortified villages of Nussdorf and Heiligenstadt. The siege had already hit Heiligenstadt hard. Many inhabitants were massacred, and the name of the Blutgasse (Blood Street) still recalls the event.

Precisión del lugar: The sources name the villages, not a single spot; the pin marks Heiligenstadt's district centre, with Nussdorf next to it.

By 4:00 pm the Poles had captured the village of Gersthof, and it became the base for their cavalry charge. Charles of Lorraine and Sobieski both decided independently to press the offensive and decisively defeat the Ottoman forces. The village had paid for the siege: Gersthof was probably the place hit hardest by the Second Siege of Vienna.

Precisión del lugar: Gersthof was a village then and is a district now; the pin marks its centre, not the exact camp.

In 1683 a Turkish redoubt, the Türkenschanze, stood here. On 12 September imperial forces closed in on the central Ottoman position, and then the Polish cavalry struck: 18,000 horsemen charged down the hills, the largest cavalry charge in history. Sobieski summed it up as "Venimus, vidimus, Deus vicit" (We came, we saw, God conquered). The Türkenschanzpark opened on the site of the redoubt in 1888 and keeps its name.

Precisión del lugar: A Turkish redoubt stood in this area in 1683, but the sources do not give its exact outline; the pin marks the park.

Para el visitante: The park is a public green space in Währing, open to walk through.