Stephan Illes and his 3d model-map of Jerusalem (1873)

Stephan Illes built a large-scale relief model of Jerusalem that was exhibited at the Vienna World Fair in 1873. He later presented it in major cities in Europe and sold it in Geneva in 1878. There it was lost until being rediscovered and brought back to Jerusalem in 1985. Illes' model was part of a strong fashion of relief maps and models that became common all over Europe and America and enjoyed great success in public exhibitions at the time. It is not only an impressive and interesting model, but also an accurate and detailed cartographic document and therefore an important and unique source for the study of the history and geography of Jerusalem in the nineteenth century.