A scale model of Jerusalem was a featured attraction at the Ottoman Pavilion of the 1873 world’s fair. Held in Vienna, the fair showcased Austro-Hungarian industry and culture and commemorated Franz Joseph I’s 25th year as emperor. The model, which was 4.5 by 5 meters, was created by Stephan Illes, a Hungarian Catholic who arrived in Jerusalem in 1864. Models like this enabled European audiences to see distant and exotic places.
Illes toured the model across Europe for five years before selling it in Geneva in 1878, where it was exhibited for 40 years. After the First World War, it was dismantled into eight parts, stored and forgotten. In 1985, an Israeli researcher came across a reference to it and tracked it down. It was found in the attic of a Geneva library, which permanently loaned it to the Tower of David Museum in Jerusalem where it is on display in exhibit room 8.
This drawing of fair-goers looking at the model was published in The Illustrated London News in August 1873. The model shows that 150 years ago, only a small portion of Jerusalem could be found outside the walls of the Old City. Visitors to Jerusalem in 2023 will no doubt recognize a remarkable difference.
