Research Stay in Vienna, Austria

As one of the planned activities within the project, the business trip to Vienna, Austria, for scientific research is an essential element of the collection of primary source material for the scientific research of Dr. Anelia Stoyanova. The research stay was carried out between 13 and 31 July 2025.

The main research was conducted in the State Archives of Austria (Österreichisches Staatsarchiv) in Vienna. Two of its divisions were visited: the Dynastic, Court and State Archives (Haus-, Hof- und Staatsarchiv) and the Archives of the Court Finance Chamber (Finanz- und Hofkammerarchiv). Manuscript documents were selected and copied from the period 1619–1644. The sources consist mainly of the diplomatic correspondence of the Austrian Habsburg representatives in the Ottoman capital during the indicated years.

During the mission, three meetings were also held with colleagues from the Institute for the Study of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Balkans at the Austrian Academy of Sciences (Institut für die Erforschung der Habsburgermonarchie und des Balkanraumes der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften). In separate meetings with colleagues Prof. Arno Stromayer, Dr. Yazir Yilmaz and Dr. Doris Gruber, both the work on the project “Diplomacy and Intelligence in the Balkans, 17th–19th Century: The Human Factor and Networks of Influence” and the participation of the colleagues in the organized scientific event within the project, which will be held in March 2026 in Sofia, were discussed. Ideas for future joint ventures between representatives of the Institute for Historical Studies at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Institute for the Study of the Habsburg Monarchy and the Balkans at the Austrian Academy of Sciences were also discussed. During the research stay, the invitation for the upcoming scientific conference under the project was actively distributed among Austrian, Hungarian, and other colleagues working on similar topics.

Thanks to funding from the National Science Foundation for this mission, a significant number of documents from the Austrian State Archives have been successfully collected, forming a substantial source base for serious scientific research. Through meetings with colleagues from the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the existing contact has been strengthened; the project and the planned scientific event have been presented, and the aforementioned colleagues have expressed their desire to participate.