Count Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg (12 January 1638 – 4 January 1701) was military governor of

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

from 1680, the city's defender during the

Battle of Vienna The Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Li ...

in 1683, Imperial general during the

Great Turkish War The Great Turkish War () or The Last Crusade, also called in Ottoman sources The Disaster Years (), was a series of conflicts between the Ottoman Empire and the Holy League (1684), Holy League consisting of the Holy Roman Empire, Polish–Lith ...

, and President of the

Hofkriegsrat The ''Hofkriegsrat'' (or Aulic War Council, sometimes Imperial War Council) established in 1556 was the central military administrative authority of the Habsburg monarchy until 1848 and the predecessor of the Austro-Hungarian Ministry of War. Th ...

. By birth, he was a member of the House of Starhemberg.

Life

He was born in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Styria Styria ( ; ; ; ) is an Austrian Federal states of Austria, state in the southeast of the country. With an area of approximately , Styria is Austria's second largest state, after Lower Austria. It is bordered to the south by Slovenia, and cloc ...

, as son of Count Conrad Balthasar von Starhemberg (1612–1687) and his first wife Countess Anna Elisabeth von Zinzendorf und Pottendorf (died in 1659). His cousin Count Guido von Starhemberg also became a famous soldier and fought as an adjutant at his side. Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg fought in the 1660s under Imperial Lieutenant general

Raimondo Montecuccoli Raimondo Montecuccoli (; 21 February 1609 – 16 October 1680) was an Italian-born professional soldier, military theorist, and diplomat, who served the Habsburg monarchy. Experiencing the Thirty Years' War from scratch as a simple footsoldier, ...

against

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

and Ottoman forces. In 1683 he was military commander of the city of Vienna, with fewer than 20,000 men to oppose about 120,000 besieging Ottomans. On 15 July 1683 Starhemberg refused an offer by the Turkish commander

Kara Mustafa Pasha Kara Mustafa Pasha (; ; "Mustafa Pasha the Courageous"; 1634/1635 – 25 December 1683) was an Ottoman nobleman, military figure and Grand Vizier, who was a central character in the Ottoman Empire's last attempts at expansion into both Centr ...

to capitulate, counting on the speedy arrival of an Imperial army, sent by the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

emperor Leopold I who had fled his residence, and the strength of city walls which had been fortified after the first Ottoman

Siege of Vienna Sieges of Vienna may refer to: * Siege of Vienna (1485), Hungarian victory during the Austro–Hungarian War. *Siege of Vienna (1529), first Ottoman attempt to conquer Vienna. *Battle of Vienna, 1683, second Ottoman attempt to conquer Vienna. * Cap ...

in 1529. When after two months the relief army under the command of

Polish Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

king

Jan Sobieski John III Sobieski ( (); (); () 17 August 1629 – 17 June 1696) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1674 until his death in 1696. Born into Polish nobility, Sobieski was educated at the Jagiellonian University and toured Eur ...

arrived in the first half of September, Vienna was on the brink of collapse. Its walls were breached by Turkish

sappers A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, ...

who had tunnelled under the walls, packed the tunnels with gunpowder, and detonated the explosive charges. Finally, on 12 September, 80,000 Polish, Venetian, Bavarian, and

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

troops attacked the Turks and were able to defeat them in the Battle on the

Kahlenberg The Kahlenberg () is a hill () located in the 19th District of Vienna, Austria ( Döbling). General The Kahlenberg lies in the Vienna Woods and is one of the most popular destinations for day-trips from Vienna, offering a view over the entir ...

Ernst Rüdiger von Starhemberg was promoted to the rank of a

field marshal Field marshal (or field-marshal, abbreviated as FM) is the most senior military rank, senior to the general officer ranks. Usually, it is the highest rank in an army (in countries without the rank of Generalissimo), and as such, few persons a ...

by the Emperor, recognizing Starhemberg's action in saving the imperial capital. He was also made a minister of the state. Going after the retiring Ottoman troops, Starhemberg was severely wounded in 1686 during the Siege of Buda by a shot in his left hand and had to abandon his command. In 1691 he was made President of the Hofkriegsrat and was responsible for the organisation of the

army.

Personal life

He married firstly his third cousin, Countess Helena Dorothea von

Starhemberg The House of Starhemberg () is the name of an old and distinguished Austrian nobility, Austrian noble family originating from Upper Austria, specifically Steyr and :de:Burgstall Steinbach, Steinbach. Members of the family played important po ...

(1634–1688). After the death of his first wife, he married again in 1689 to Countess Maria Josepha

Jörger von Tollet The Jörger von Tollet (also: Jörger, Jörger zu Tollet) family is an old and influential Austrian noble family from Upper Austria that first appeared in the 13th century. Members of the family held the title of Imperial Count.https://genealo ...

(1668–1746), his fourth cousin, once removed. He left issue from both marriages. The later Austrian politician Ernst Rüdiger, Fürst zu Starhemberg (1899–1956) was his descendant.

Death

Starhemberg died at Vösendorf on 4 January 1701, aged 62. His tomb (by

Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach Joseph Emanuel Fischer von Erlach, also ''Fischer von Erlach the Younger'' (13 September 1693 in Vienna – 29 June 1742 in Vienna) was an Austrian architect of the Baroque, Rococo, and Baroque- Neoclassical. Biography Joseph Emanuel was the son ...

) is situated in the Vienna Schottenkirche.

Legacy

Later generations have idealized Starhemberg as saviour of the

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and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

. By order of Emperor

Franz Joseph I of Austria Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I ( ; ; 18 August 1830 – 21 November 1916) was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the Grand title of the emperor of Austria, other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 1848 until his death ...

, a statue was erected in his honour in 1872 at the

Heeresgeschichtliches Museum The Museum of Military History – Military History Institute () in Vienna is the leading museum of the Austrian Armed Forces. It documents the history of Austrian military affairs through a wide range of exhibits comprising, above all ...

in Vienna, where the Battle of Vienna is thoroughly documented, with Starhemberg's

épée The (, ; ), also rendered as epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contains a ...

and

armour Armour (Commonwealth English) or armor (American English; see American and British English spelling differences#-our, -or, spelling differences) is a covering used to protect an object, individual, or vehicle from physical injury or damage, e ...

on display.

Sources

Adolf Schinzl: Starhemberg, Ernst Rüdiger Graf von. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 35, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1893, S. 468–470. Die Türkenkriege, Angriff auf das Abendland (= G/Geschichte; Heft Juni 2007)

Life

Personal life

Death

Legacy

Sources

See also