The story goes, a baker in Vienna, Austria, accidentally invented the bagel in the late 17th century. He made it as a tribute to the King of Poland, Jan Sobieski III, who led forces to save Austria from Turkish invaders.

When were bagels introduced to America?

Bagels arrived in the United States in the late 19th Century courtesy of Jewish immigrants from Poland. They were sold on the streets of New York's Lower East Side, stacked up on poles or hung up from strings (which explains the holes,) making it easy for customers to buy and enjoy them on the street.

When did they start making bagels?

Today, bagels are widely associated with Ashkenazi Jews from the 17th century; it was first mentioned in 1610 in Jewish community ordinances in Kraków, Poland.