Raising a statue to honour one of the most significant victories in the history of Christendom would fuel “hatred” and “anti-Islamic” sentiment, a leftist Vienna councillor has argued.
Following a gruelling two month siege over the summer, the Ottoman forces of Kara Mustafa Pasha had nearly breached the walls of Vienna. Remarkably, in the nick of time, a relief force of around 80,000 soldiers riding under the banner of Polish King John III Sobieski swept down from Kahlenberg Mountain on September 12, 1683, in one of the largest cavalry charges ever, with Sobieski’s Winged Hussars leading the charge, vanquishing and routing the Islamic army, which was ultimately forced into retreat.
The Battle of Vienna marked a major turning point in the three centuries of conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the Ottomans, whose expansion into Europe declined following the crushing defeat. Sobieski was hailed as a hero and branded as the “saviour” of Christendom by Pope Innocent XI.
This feat was apparently not enough to sway the Social Democrat Party of Austria (SPÖ), which has consistently shut down demands from the conservative Austrian People’s Party (ÖVP) and the populist Freedom Party of Austria (FPÖ) to erect a statue honouring the “Lion of Lechistan” and his efforts to save the city.
Viennese councillor Aslıhan Bozatemur said that her fellow SPÖ provincial and municipal council members would vote to block a statue honouring the Polish king.
“There is no monument in Vienna that encourages xenophobia, anti-Islamic or anti-Turkish speeches,” she wrote on Instagram, adding: “A monument that leads to discrimination or fuels hatred has no place in Vienna.”
“The main purpose of memorials should be to present the historical context in a multifaceted and balanced manner, to emphasise peace and understanding between nations; and they should not be made a tool that prepares the ground for discrimination and exclusion,” Bozatemur said.
However, there has been some suggestion that other factors may be at play behind Bozatemur’s opposition, with the Exxpress reporting that the Turkish heritage politician has close contacts with the Justice and Development Party (AKP) of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Regardless, the move has sparked condemnation, including from ÖVP state parliamentarian Caroline Hungerländer, who told the outlet: “Integration also means integrating into the history and culture of a country. We are in Vienna, and the defence of the Turkish siege is part of the history of Vienna. That has to be accepted.”
FPÖ Vienna parliamentary group leader Maximilian Krauss added: “John III Sobieski was the liberator of Vienna – without his efforts, Vienna as we know it today would not exist in this form. To dedicate a monument to him is a matter of course and not an act of ‘discrimination’.
“The fact that the SPÖ is seriously trying to brand the memory of the liberation of Vienna as ‘xenophobic’ or ‘Islamophobic’ shows how far it has moved away from its own history.”
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