King Jan III Sobieski’s victory over the invading Turks at Vienna in 1683 was a major event that resounded throughout Europe. A lot of the Wielkopolska aristocracy took part in the Vienna expedition and broadcast what happened there when they got back home.
This being a very pious age, lots of votive offerings were placed in the churches as thanksgiving for the success of the expedition. The baroque church in (a Marian sanctuary) in Skrzatusz, Piła County, is the greatest of these votive offerings. The 17th-century silver field altar before which the king is said to have prayed at Vienna is now in the Moorish Hall in Kórnik Castle. The Wielkopolska Uprising oaths were sworn before this same altar in January 1919.
The victory at Vienna is one of the most noble chapters in Polish history. Little wonder then that it was invoked to uphold the patriotic traditions of the entire nation during the partitions.
