Noon Bell

Noon Bell

The Siege of Belgrade or Siege of Nándorfehérvár occurred from July 4 to July 22, 1456. After the fall of Constantinople in 1453, the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II was rallying his resources in order to subjugate the Kingdom of Hungary. His immediate objective was the border fort (Hungarian végvár) of the town of Belgrade (in old Hungarian Nándorfehérvár). John Hunyadi, a Hungarian nobleman and warlord, who had fought many battles against the Ottomans in the previous two decades, prepared the defense of the fortress.

The siege eventually escalated into a major battle, during which Hunyadi led a sudden counterattack that overran the Ottoman camp, ultimately compelling the wounded Sultan Mehmed II to lift the siege and retreat.

As of July 22, 2011 the day when Christian forces led by John Hunyadi defeated the Ottoman Turks besieging Nándorfehérvár in 1456, is marked as a national memorial day in Hungary. The meaning of this battle was huge, as it proved that the Hungarian and Serbian Christians could interfere in the expansion of the Ottoman empire by defending Hungary and prolonging it's inevitable conquest for 70 years, saving Europe and the Christian world in that time. The Pope celebrated the victory as well and previously ordered all Catholic kingdoms to pray for the victory of the defenders of Belgrade. Leading to the noon bell ritual that is still undertaken in Catholic and old Protestant churches to this day.