Kolschitzky monument – michaelsrootsinvienna.at (en)

The Kolschitzky monument from 1885 in the 4th district by the Austrian painter and sculptor Emanuel Pendl shows Georg Franz Kolschitzky, born in (today’s) Ukraine, who played an important role as a scout during the 2nd Vienna Turkish siege of 1683.

Kolschitzky, who could speak Turkish among other languages, ventured through the enemy lines with his servant disguised as a Turk and informed the city commander Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg about the approaching rescue by the relief army under the command of the Polish King Jan III Sobieski.

This courageous act, which decisively boosted the morale of the defenders to hold out, earned him, besides the rank of imperial ambassador, among other things, some sacks of green coffee left behind by the Turks and the privilege to establish a coffee house. Whether he actually made use of this privilege is not proven, but he is still considered one of the founding fathers of Viennese coffeehouse culture and the inventor of the Viennese Melange (= espresso with milk and foamed milk topping).