Tribute to the Turkish massacre victims

The Ottoman Army was wiped out in Perchtoldsdorf, district of Mödling (Lower Austria) 330 years ago. Residents have now started an initiative for a new beginning.

16 July 1683 is known as the day of the “Turkish storm” in Perchtoldsdorf. The castle was then razed to the ground by soldiers of the Ottoman army, who occupied Vienna.

A massacre took place at the main square, which resulted in hundreds of deaths. A memorial stone reminds of this massacre.

The cannonball in the town wall was transferred into a marketing trick – the bakery of Perchtoldsdorf sells sweet balls of marzipan and Turkish honey.

There is also a museum in the town, which deals with the topic of the Turkish occupation.

“The anniversary of Turkish occupation has always been used for maintaining prejudices and mistrust. The current political discussion is also influenced by that”, said Karl Broder, organiser of the discussion “The Turkish in front of the doors”.

Roland Adrowitzer from Perchtoldsdorf stated that this event is no “event for revenge”. “On the contrary, we want to highlight what happened and what is going on today (…)”

Birol Kilic, an Austro-Turkish media entrepreneur summarises the facts: “There was a war which was not good but we should not draw any bad conclusions for the future.”