# Siege of Kőszeg (5–30 August 1532)

URL: https://allhistories.com/hungary/timeline/1532-siege-of-k-szeg
Themes: Wars & Battles

In August 1532 Sultan Suleiman's army, on its way towards Vienna, was held up for nearly four weeks by the small border fortress of Kőszeg in western Hungary. Its Croatian captain Nikola Jurišić defended it with a handful of soldiers and several hundred local villagers, almost without artillery. The Ottomans made repeated assaults and dug mines under the walls. Accounts of the ending differ: Jurišić either rejected terms outright, or a face-saving nominal surrender was agreed and the Ottoman flag was raised briefly over the town. In either case the garrison survived. By the time Suleiman was free to march on, the season was late and a large imperial army had gathered at Vienna. The sultan turned south and plundered Styria instead, and never reached Vienna in that campaign.

## Why it matters
The defence of Kőszeg became a celebrated example of heroic resistance and helped save Vienna from a second Ottoman siege in 1532.

Ruler at the Time: [John Zápolya](https://allhistories.com/hungary/rulers/john-zapolya)

## Sources
- [Wikipedia — Siege of Kőszeg](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siege_of_Kőszeg)
- [Wikipedia — Nikola Jurišić](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nikola_Jurišić)
- [Wikipedia — Suleiman the Magnificent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suleiman_the_Magnificent)
- [Encyclopaedia Britannica topic lookup — Siege of Kőszeg](https://www.britannica.com/search?query=Siege+of+K%C5%91szeg)
- [Wikipedia — Kingdom of Hungary (1526–1867)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdom_of_Hungary_(1526–1867))
- [Wikipedia — Timeline of Hungarian history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_Hungarian_history)