Türkenkugel Vienna: The Gilded Cannonball at Am Hof

The Türkenkugel in Vienna is a gilded Ottoman cannonball embedded in the stone façade above a doorway at Am Hof 11 in the city's Inner City. Associated with the Siege of Vienna in 1683, it is easy to miss unless you know exactly where to look. The object is described as possibly the largest Turkish cannonball in Vienna's Inner City and one of the few originals.

What is the Türkenkugel in Vienna?

The Türkenkugel is an iron cannonball that was fired during the Ottoman siege and later preserved as part of the building. Its gilded surface makes it stand out against the stone, but its position above the doorway means it can disappear into the façade if you are not looking upward.

The cannonball is associated with the 1683 siege of Vienna, when Ottoman forces attacked the city. Unlike a monument designed to dominate a square, the Türkenkugel remains a small, embedded object: a piece of siege history retained in the fabric of a house.

What happened to the Turkish cannonball?

According to the story recorded in the Siege of Vienna 1683 route, Ottoman forces fired the cannonball during the siege. The legend says it lodged in the building's masonry and narrowly missed a passerby who may have been returning from a nearby tavern.

That account is presented as a legend, while the physical details are visible at the site: the cannonball was preserved by the house owners instead of being removed, then gilded and set into the wall in 1686. Its survival turned a projectile from the siege into a permanent feature of the building.

What does the plaque beneath the Türkenkugel say?

A small plaque directly beneath the cannonball identifies it as a Turkish cannonball from 1683, later built into the wall and gilded. The inscription also explains that it gave the formerly existing inn and the house its name.

The house was known as Zur goldenen Kugel, meaning “At the Golden Ball.” The marker therefore connects the cannonball not only with the siege, but also with the building's former inn and its later association with Generali. The inscription reads: “TÜRKENKUGEL AUS DEM JAHR 1683 - SPÄTER EINGEMAUERT UND VERGOLDET - GAB DER EINST HIER BEFINDLICHEN GASTWIRTSCHAFT UND DEM HAUS DEN NAMEN EA • GENERALI.”

Where can you find the Türkenkugel in Vienna?

You can find the Türkenkugel at Am Hof 11, in Vienna's Inner City in the 1st district. Look above a doorway in the stone façade for the gilded iron sphere, then check directly beneath it for the small plaque.

The object is one stop on the Siege of Vienna 1683 tour, which gives you a way to locate this otherwise easy-to-overlook detail while exploring the historic centre. At the building, the cannonball and plaque are the details to inspect: one preserves the reported siege relic, and the other records how it became part of the house's identity.