Can you imagine a world without Mozart?

What does the crescent-shaped croissant shown in the picture and the title, a world without Mozart, have to do to each other, you may ask. Well, everything. Let me explain.

Without this shaped croissant there would have been no Mozart!

After conquering Constantinople, in 1453, the Ottoman Turks moved their war machine towards Europe. After failing to conquer Rome, in 1480, they stretched their power to the heart of Europe. Vienna itself was sieged twice. In 1529, led by Suleiman, the Magnificent, 120,000 soldiers were repelled by a defensive force of 23,000 composed of Austrians, Czechs, Germans and Spanish. The second siege, also known as the Battle of Vienna, took place in 1683. Things were going from bad to worse for the besieged Habsburgs and Vienna was about to be stormed by the Ottoman forces led by the Grand Vizier Merzifonlu Kara Mustafa Pasha (that is a mouth full) representing the Caliph Mohamed IV himself. Vienna was saved in the last minute by the cavalry. No, not the US cavalry. The Polish cavalry, the Hussars, under King Sobieski, stormed the Ottomans in what is considered the largest cavalry charge in history, saving Vienna and Europe.

To celebrate the victory, the Viennese designed a crescent-shaped croissant, after the Crescent symbolizing the invading Ottomans.

Had the Ottomans conquered Vienna, then the capital of the Holy Roman Empire, it would have been more than a symbolic victory. It would have given additional incentive for the continuation of the Ottoman invasions into Europe. What would have happened? Well, nobody knows.

What I know is that had Vienna fallen, the artistic and musical environment that flourished there a few decades later would have never developed.

Can you imagine a world without Mozart? Or without Beethoven? Without a waltz of Strauss. Without the symphonies and Hungarian Dances by Brahms? No Haydn? No Shubbert? No Mahler? No Bruckner? Well, that almost happened? Thanks to some brave European who knew how to defend their house.

And let us eat croissants! And listen to Mozart! (for example, Ave Verum)