The Europeanization of identities and frames of reference still seems like a far-off dream. But the long-term prospects for a more meaningful European community turn on the emergence of those very trends. Divergent historical narratives are one of the most difficult challenges facing anyone who wants to contribute to the emergence of a European public sphere.

In 2005, several events in European politics as well as in the art world triggered reactions that show that the second siege of Vienna (1683) is still a potent reference in the public spheres of both Turkey and Austria, and how contested interpretations of history are made active in the present, both uniting and dividing European societies.

Carl Henrik Fredriksson is editor-in-chief at the European network of cultural journals Eurozine in Vienna and Visiting Fellow at the IWM.