It is a question whether to learn history backwards or forwards. There is no good answer to this question. The Turkish assault on Vienna was not a one-time affair, as seen from these videos. One is straight documentary, the second dramatic, to give you the feeling that you were there:
Circular map of Vienna drawn by Nikolaus Meldemann, an eyewitness of the events, from the tower of St. Stephen’s Cathedral. St. Stephen’s Cathedral is at the center of the drawing.
By Nikolaus Meldemann, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3643408
The Siege of Vienna in 1529 was the first attempt by the Ottoman Empire, led by Suleiman the Magnificent, to capture the city of Vienna, Austria. The siege signalled the pinnacle of the Ottoman Empire’s power and the maximum extent of Ottoman expansion in central Europe. Thereafter, 150 years of bitter military tension and reciprocal attacks ensued, culminating in the Battle of Vienna of 1683, which marked the start of the 15-year-long Great Turkish War.
The inability of the Ottomans to capture Vienna in 1529 turned the tide against almost a century of conquest throughout eastern and central Europe. The Ottoman Empire had previously annexed Central Hungary and established a vassal state in Transylvania in the wake of the Battle of Mohács. According to Toynbee, “The failure of the first [siege of Vienna] brought to a standstill the tide of Ottoman conquest which had been flooding up the Danube Valley for a century past.”[6]
There is speculation by some historians[7] that Suleiman’s main objective in 1529 was actually to assert Ottoman control over the whole of Hungary, the western part of which (known as Royal Hungary) was under Habsburg control. The decision to attack Vienna after such a long interval in Suleiman’s European campaign is viewed as an opportunistic manoeuvre after his decisive victory in Hungary. Other scholars[7] theorise that the suppression of Hungary simply marked the prologue to a later, premeditated invasion of Europe. Read More
Gordon Robertson, CEO of CBN, The Christian Broadcasting Network, gives a nine minute history of The Siege of Vienna, 1529. (video may delay in appearing)
About Vienna by Gordon Robertson:
During the siege, the defense of Vienna was led by a 70-year-old German mercenary name Nicolas von Salm. During the siege, he was wounded by a falling rock and died a few months later. Von Salm’s brilliant defense of Vienna was considered his greatest achievement.
• The spring and summer of 1529 were unusually wet, creating a nearly impossible journey for the Ottomans, used to a warm, dry climate. Thousands of Ottoman camels were lost when they broke their legs and had to be slaughtered. Suleiman’s Grand Vizier, Ibrahim Pasha urged the sultan to turn back; however, Suleiman pressed on, saying, “It is beneath my dignity to allow the weather to interfere with my plans.”
• The elite Ottoman Janissary corps were formed from prisoners of war and slaves, many of them kidnapped Christian young men.
• Dozens of Austrians wearing black cloaks and armed with homemade bombs, sneaked into the Ottoman camps, tossing their bombs into tents and making their escape. As a result, nearly 2,000 Turks died in their sleep. Some war historians believe this may have been the first use of the Molotov cocktail.
• When the Viennese raided the abandoned Turkish camps outside the city, they found bags filled with coffee beans – their first appearance in Europe – which were used by the Turks as a stimulant, since alcohol was forbidden. The drink caught on, and coffee soon became a European sensation.
• The failed Siege of Vienna is considered the beginning of the decline of the Ottoman Empire.
• To commemorate the defeat of the Turks, Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor built a leisure palace, Neugebäude Palace, outside Vienna, on the site where Sultan Suleiman pitched his tent in1529. However, Maximilian died in 1576 before the palace was completed.
About Suleiman the Magnificent…
• Suleiman was named after King Solomon of Israel and considered himself the “second Solomon.”
• Europeans called him “The Magnificent,” but to the Ottomans, he was known as “The Lawgiver” for his codification of Islamic law.
• Suleiman often referred to himself as the “Caesar of Rome.” His ultimate goal was to invade Rome, a dream that died when he was defeated at Vienna in 1529.
• The current Old City walls in Jerusalem were built by Suleiman on the foundations of the first-century walls.
• Suleiman had several Christians in his inner circle. His favorite concubine, Hürrem Sultan, who later became his wife, was the daughter of a Greek Orthodox priest. Suleiman’s boyhood friend, advisor and ultimately Grand Vizier, Pargalı Ibrahim Pasha, was a Christian Greek.
• The reign of Suleiman is regarded as the height of Ottoman culture and history.
About St. Stephen’s Cathedral…
• St. Stephen’s Cathedral (German: Stephansdom) was dedicated in 1147, but has been undergoing renovations and additions almost continually since then.
• It was at St. Stephen’s that the composer Ludwig van Beethoven discovered the totality of his deafness when he saw birds flying out of the bell tower as a result of the bells’ tolling… but could not hear the bells.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had a lifelong relationship with the cathedral, including the fact that he had been appointed an adjunct music director there shortly before his death. This was his parish church when he lived at the “Figaro House,” he was married there, two of his children were baptized there, and his funeral was held in the Chapel of the Cross inside.
• During World War II, St. Stephen’s Cathedral was saved from intentional destruction at the hands of retreating German forces when Captain Gerhard Klinkicht disregarded orders from the city commandant to “fire a hundred shells and leave it in just debris and ashes.”
• A statue of an agonized Jesus outside the cathedral has become known as “Christ With a Toothache.” Click here to learn about the legend behind the name: http://vienneselegends.blogspot.com/2011/07/christ-with-toothache.html
• St. Valentine’s Chapel, in the Stephansdom, is the current depository of hundreds of relics, including a piece of the tablecloth supposedly from the Last Supper. A large chest holds the bones of St. Valentine.