Hieronymus Löschenkohl: The Moroccan envoy entering Vienna on 28 February 1783, coloured copperplate engraving

The Turkish fashion in Vienna: the entry of the Moroccan envoy

1783

At the height of the eighteenth-century Turkish vogue, Ottoman envoys visited the capitals of Europe. Magnificent receptions fuelled notions of a faery realm of untold riches. The visit of the Moroccan ambassador to Vienna sealed a pact of friendship and trading agreements. The sight of these visitors in their exotic costumes thrilled the capital’s citizens, and the Wiener Zeitung carried daily reports. Today the Marokkanergasse, a street in Vienna’s third district, recalls this state visit.

Hieronymus Löschenkohl: The Moroccan envoy entering Vienna on 28 February 1783, coloured copperplate engraving