Vienna refuses to install monument to Christian king due to Islamophobia
Monument to Polish King Jan III Sobieski in Gdansk, Poland. Photo: Heute
On January 26, 2026, it became known that Vienna authorities refused to install a monument to Polish King Jan III Sobieski, citing concerns about inciting Islamophobic and anti-Turkish sentiments, reports Heute.
The matter concerns a statue of the Christian monarch that was planned to be installed on Kahlenberg Hill – the site of Sobieski's decisive victory over the Ottoman army in 1683. The project was first proposed in 2013 and officially approved by city authorities in 2018, however at the end of 2024 the municipality reconsidered its decision and abandoned the implementation, leaving an empty pedestal at the site of the future monument.
Vienna City Council stated that it does not intend to create a space that could be used for xenophobic agitation, as well as for Islamophobic or anti-Turkish sentiments. These arguments provoked a sharp reaction in Poland, where the Austrian capital's decision was viewed as a refusal of previously given commitments.
Polish Ambassador to Austria Zenon Kosiniak-Kamysz emphasized that Vienna had previously promised to install the monument, while the statue itself has already been made and is located in Poland. He also pointed to existing memorials to controversial historical figures in the Austrian capital, questioning why a different approach is being applied to the Christian king who is credited with saving Vienna.
Opposition parties in Austria also subjected the decision to sharp criticism. Representatives of the Austrian People's Party called the situation a farce, while the right-nationalist FPÖ characterized the refusal to install the monument as a scandalous and ideologically motivated step.
As earlier reported, Britain will build a "Christian monument" in the form of a Möbius strip.
Read also
Epifaniy discusses OCU development with head of Zaporizhzhia RMA
Dumenko and Ivan Fedorov agreed on consolidating the efforts of the authorities and the religious organization.
His Beatitude officiates at all-night vigil at Chernivtsi cathedral
More than a thousand believers of the UOC prayed together with the Primate at the Holy Spirit Cathedral of Chernivtsi.
Unknown assailants attempt to set fire to synagogue in London
The attackers hurled bottles filled with gasoline at the building, police treating the incident as antisemitic hate crime.
Korchynskyi calls on Culture Ministry to “decolonize” UOC church near Lavra
The radical mockingly and blasphemously derided Orthodox saints.
President of Baptist seminary calls for women to be barred from pastorate
Albert Mohler said the largest Protestant denomination in the United States has reached a “breaking point” over disputes surrounding women’s ordination to pastoral ministry.
Synodal department brings Paschal gifts to neuropsychiatric care home
In Kyiv, staff of the UOC Synodal Department visited the Novobilychi neuropsychiatric care home, greeted the residents on Pascha, and delivered kulichi, fruit, and other gifts.