The Coffee Entrepreneur who helped save the Christendom
In the 17th century, the two dominant European powers, the Ottoman Empire and the Austrian Habsburg Dynasty engaged in a significant confrontation. The rivalry between these two powers had been ongoing for 150 years, with the Ottomans generally having the upper hand. The climax of their competition was the well-known siege of Vienna. For the Ottomans, capturing Vienna, the capital of the Austrian Empire, represented a gateway to central Europe and would extend their power to the French border. For Christian Europe, the potential loss of Vienna to the Muslim Ottomans would signify the relinquishing of the final barrier between their archenemies and Holy Rome, along with other significant cities. This, eventually, could lead to the utter collapse of Christianity in Europe.
Sultan Mehmet IV’s ambitious plan was to conquer Vienna and expand his rule over the Christian world. To achieve this, he amassed a massive army of 300,000 soldiers, which included Hungarians. He appointed his Grand Vizier Kara Mustafa Pasha as commander and sent the army to the Habsburg lands. After conquering several smaller fortresses, the Ottoman army reached the outskirts of Vienna on July 14, 1683, and quickly besieged the city, effectively isolating it from the outside world. The Austrian Emperor, Leopold, had left the city a few days earlier, leaving Count Rüdiger von Starhemberg to defend the city and command the Austrian forces.
Although a small army of 33,000 under the leadership of Prince Lorraine stood behind the Ottoman army, they were not strong enough to intervene alone. The Austrians relied on the support of Polish King John Sobieski, who had promised to come to their aid with his army. True to his word, Polish and German troops formed a Crusader army led by Sobieski and moved towards the besieged city.
This help came largely because not only Vienna’s but entire Christian Europe’s fate was hanging by a thread. If Vienna fell, it was highly likely that Rome, the heart of Christianity, and other major European nations would fall into the hands of the Ottomans. Thus, during this crucial time in history, the Austrians inside the city walls urgently needed to communicate with the Polish army. However, the Ottoman military was a major obstacle in between.?
Fortunately, there was a Polish immigrant called Jerzy Franciszek Kulczycki who was able to help. Kulczycki was born in Lviv, in western Ukraine, but spent most of his life in the Balkans and Anatolia. He had previously lived in the Ottoman Empire and was fluent in many languages, including Turkish. During the siege of Vienna, he was there on a trading mission. He volunteered when he heard the army was looking for someone to pass through the enemy lines and reach the supporting forces. Kulczycki was the perfect candidate as he knew not only the language but also the culture of the Ottomans. He dressed in Ottoman attire and passed through the enemy lines, carrying messages to the Austrian units on the other side of the Danube River.?
The final message he brought informed the Austrians that the Polish army was about to arrive and provided details of the time and location of the attack on the Ottoman army. The soldiers of Austrian Prince Lorraine and Polish King Sobieski would signal their impending attack from the nearby Kahlenberg Hill, prompting units inside the city to charge simultaneously. So the Ottoman army would be under attack from both sides. Kulczycki’s efforts were crucial in making this plan possible, as he could travel to and from between the units on both sides.?
The battle, indeed, took place on September 12, 1683. The Ottoman army suffered a significant defeat. The Vizier wanted to defend the siege camp with his remaining units until the end. Still, he eventually retreated after others around him suggested that doing so would put the entire army at risk. The Ottomans ended the siege and left everything they had brought, including the vizier’s pavilion. The main Ottoman units fought the Crusaders during the day at Kahlenberg, while other units continued their siege in front of the city walls. When the main army was defeated and retreated, the remaining units were trapped between the city walls and the Crusaders, leading to their complete destruction.?
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The failed siege of Vienna is often regarded as a turning point in the Ottoman Empire’s history, marking the end of its expansion in Europe. Following their defeat, the Ottomans had to defend their existing territories instead of pursuing further conquests. Kara Mustafa Pasha was executed by the Sultan’s executioner in Belgrade a few days after the retreat.
In addition to abandoning ammunition and supplies, the retreating Ottoman army left behind a significant amount of livestock, including camels, oxen, sheep, goats, food, and even gold coins. Among the spoils were also bags of coffee beans. According to legend, it took the Allies more than a week to collect all the supplies left behind by the Ottomans. While the victorious Australians and Polish shared the spoils, they paid little attention to the unfamiliar coffee beans.
However, one person recognised the value of the coffee beans - Kulczycki. He was familiar with coffee from his days in the Ottoman Empire. He claimed the bags that no one else wanted. The city’s leaders saw no reason not to give Kulczycki all of the coffee, as they were indebted to him for his role in the victory.
The Blue Bottle
Kulczycki played a significant role in introducing coffee to the people of Vienna and laying the foundation for the city’s now world-famous coffeehouse culture. He began selling coffee from a mobile cart for a few years before opening the city’s first coffeehouse in a building gifted to him by the Viennese. The establishment was named the Blue Bottle, after the medication in a blue bottle that Kulczycki’s wife used to treat his injuries sustained during the Ottoman siege.
The Blue Bottle quickly gained popularity among the city residents. To attract more customers, Kulczycki dressed in Ottoman garb and served coffee in Turkish style. Even today, depictions of him in paintings and sculptures often show him wearing Ottoman clothing. Kulczycki also introduced the practice of adding sugar and milk to coffee, as Austrians found Turkish coffee’s bitter taste difficult to adapt to when drunk plain. This innovation further popularised coffee in Vienna and contributed to the rise of coffeehouses as social gathering places. Kulczycki’s recipe would later evolve into the famous Wiener Melange.
For more interesting stories about how coffee helped shape today's world, download my book: "Damn Coffee! History Made in the Coffeehouse" at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CCDR5PW5 (free on Kindle Unlimited)