People often think of France when they think of eating a croissant (a baked puff pastry made from a yeast-leavened dough in a manner similar to bread with added ingredients to give it a richer, sweeter character). Austria is however the true country where this famous pastry (kipferl) had its birth. It is in fact Viennese, not French.

According to one popular legend, the kipferl (the true croissant) was created in 1683 by Viennese bakers. They were up all night baking. They heard invading Ottoman soldiers tunneling under the city; they gave an alarm. There was harsh fighting, and the Ottomans won a victory. The bakers then decided to create a roll shaped into a crescent invoking the Ottoman flag to note that the battle was a very important event.

However, this is not the only story. Another tale is that an Austrian baker, August Zang, introduced the kipferl to France in 1839. He opened a Viennese bakery in Paris. Thus, both of these stories explain and make it clear that Austria is the true country where the croissant / kiperl originated.

Now public surveys tell us that when people eat croissants they almost always find them to be delicious and surprisingly incredulous as a form of baked pastry.

More Info: en.wikipedia.org