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A tour of Bucks County
Last Updated on January 9, 2020 by Christopher G Mendla
There is a fantastic statue of a Winged Hussar (Husaria) in the cemetery at Our Lady of Czestochowa as well as a memorial to the Poles murdered by the Soviets in the Katyn Forest.
The Statue is in the cemetery section of Our Lady of Czestochowa Shrine. The Husaria were the elite Polish Cavalry. During the Battle of Vienna in 1683, the Turkish army was poised to capture the walled city of Vienna. If Vienna fell, the Muslim Turks would most likely have conquered all of Europe. There were an estimated 200,000 to 300,000 Turks besieging Vienna and it’s 15,000 defenders. The aging Polish King, Jan III Sobieski had signed a treaty with Austria. With the permission of the Polish Parliament he headed to Vienna with 30,000 Polish troops, 3000 of which were Husaria. Sobieski stopped to pray briefly at every shrine on the way. When he arrived near Vienna, he met with another 30,000 troops of the Holy League. The allies made Sobieski the overall commander.
He took his men and cannons on what was thought to be an impossible trek to the Kahlenberg hills which overlooked Vienna. He held an open air mass on the morning of September 12th, 1683. He began a cannon bombardment of the Turkish troops and camp below. The Turkish Grand Vizer, Kara Mustapha, moved about 90,000 of his men to face the Poles, Austrians and Germans on the Kahlenberg. Sobieski sent out one Banner (100 men) of Husaria to probe the Turks. These men basically sacrificed themselves as they were no match for the 30,000 men they attacked.
The statue of the Winged Hussar with the plaque is located at the spot marked Pomnik Msciciela
The postal city for the shrine is Doylestown but the shrine is in New Britain township.
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