Heeresgeschichtliche

The Heeresgeschichtliches (Harris-guess-zshikt-lick-es) Museum is housed in the Arsenal, which Franz Josef I had built after the 1848 Rebellion. He bolstered his defenses with the Arsenal and opened to the public the Military History Museum of Vienna.[1] The building itself is impressive and visible from afar however, the exhibits inside are just as enlightening.

The Habsburgs reign lasted in Austria for 600 years. The Ottoman Turks are another world power whose empire continued for six centuries from 1299-1923. Not only did the Turks compete with the Habsburgs longevity, they also competed for landholdings. During the Ottoman Empire they possessed lands throughout Europe including what is now: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Crete Croatia, Cypress, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Romania, and Serbia.[2] The Turkish forces also came knocking on Vienna doorstep in 1629 and 1683. However, Vienna withstood the attacks.

The Arsenal has a number of artifacts from these battles depicting the wars of the Christians against the Turkish Heathens. The Habsburgs Christian forces were clad in armor with crosses and their Christ etched on the breastplates. The Turks combated the muskets and firearms of the Habsburgs with their less modern but more accurate bows and arrows.[3] These forces are portrayed in a painting of the 1683 Viennese defeat of the Turks. The Turkish army, many wearing their horsetails, is wide-eyed with their faces portraying their thirst for blood. The victors, none other than the true Christians, seem to be marching through the battle effortlessly, obviously ordained by God to defend the cross triumphantly. Prince Eugene of Savoy led this battle with the aid of Poland’s Sobiesky.[4]

The Turkish Wars were not the only battles that characterized the 17^th Century. This was also the era of the Thirty Years War, 1618-1648. The Turks were involved in this as well, allied with the French, but this war was a war of absolute power. The Christian kingdoms warred: Catholics versus Protestants. Vienna is situated “geographically and culturally” between the two churches, “a glittering lode separating and joining two cultural monoliths.”[5] This era bolstered the Baroque centuries, where the Catholics displayed their power, wealth and prestige in their gaudy gold altars, churches and frescoes. The churches warred for a balance of power under this motif, “ cuius regio, cuius religio” (his reign, his religion), in order to confirm the Augsburg treaty of 1555. Finally in 1648, this treaty won out and finally either religion could reign.

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[1] Neal Bedford and Janine Eberly, Lonely Planet: Vienna City Guide, 84.

[2] Kathy Stuart, Lecture Notes, 17 August 2010.

[3] HGM, English Audio Tour, 7 August 2010.

[4] Steven Beller, A Concise History of Austria, 71.

[5] Nicholas Parsons, Vienna A Cultural History, 137.