Siege of Vienna (1683)
Ottoman army reaches Vienna and opens the siege
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Original prompt & settings (JSON) ↗Behind the walls: about 11,000 garrison soldiers and 5,000 armed citizens. Outside them, by the Austrian National Library's estimate, roughly 120,000 men.
14 July 1683: the army appears before the walls
On 14 July 1683 the main Ottoman army, commanded by Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha, appeared before Vienna's walls and began investing the Habsburg imperial residence.
Emperor Leopold I had already left the city, and the Habsburg field army had withdrawn ahead of the Ottoman advance.
The demand, and the refusal
Kara Mustafa issued the customary demand for surrender to Vienna's commander, Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg. His letter offered alternatives: conversion and Ottoman protection, or surrender while remaining Christian under Ottoman protection.
The city did not capitulate. Starhemberg held it with roughly 11,000 soldiers and about 5,000 armed citizens.
How big the army really was
The 173,000 figure that circulates in anniversary lists is not scholarly consensus. Modern estimates of the force at Vienna run to roughly 90,000 or 120,000, and larger totals may fold in auxiliaries, camp followers, or the campaign's whole mobilization.
What the day produced was an encircled, defended city and a siege that ran about two months. The relief battle of 12 September is a separate event; a print made in 1683 puts both dates in its title.
Sources
Researched 23 Aug 2026 5 sources 2 audit passes
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What the sources leave uncertain
- The date 14 July is well attested, including on a contemporary 1683 print preserved by the Austrian National Library.
- The army's size is not settled. Modern sources variously estimate roughly 90,000 or 120,000 at Vienna, while larger totals may include auxiliaries, camp followers or the campaign's broader mobilization. The slug's exact 173,000 cannot be treated as a verified combat strength.