THE BIRTH OF THE CROISSANT

                In 1683, the Ottoman Turks laid siege to Vienna.  During the siege, the Turks attempted to tunnel under the walls.  Viennese bakers, working nonstop to feed the citizens, heard the digging and alerted the city.  Later, an army led by King John III of Poland, lifted the siege.  In honor of the victory and to taunt the Turks, the bakers designed a pastry that was shaped like the crescent on the Turkish flag.  They called it the kipfel.  In 1770, fifteen-year-old Marie Antoinette arrived in Paris for her wedding to King Louis XVI.  Parisian bakers copied the kipfel and called it the croissant.  It was a big hit.  Interestingly, the bagel might also be traced back to the siege of Vienna.  The bakers wanted to honor King John III with a pastry shaped like his stirrup.  They called it the bugel.

–  The Greatest War Stories Never Told  pp. 38-39