Cities of the World

Cities of the World

Civitates Orbis Terrarvm; Beschreibung und Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt

Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg’s 16th-century Cities of the World is a six-volume city atlas. Each volume features detailed engravings of cities from around the world, the early volumes focusing primarily on European cities. In the second volume facsimile, every map is outlined in a gold border and has dark, rich colors. These maps are realistic representations, rather than schematic ones, in that the maps’ buildings and their surrounding landmarks are drawn in detail. Prior to the page, or spread, that a map fills, a page of Latin text edited by Braun provides historical and cultural context.

The maps in this volume have two types of perspectives: aerial, showing the city from a great height, and bird’s-eye, looking directly down on the city. The aerial views show the cities from a distance, while the surrounding areas are shown in greater detail. Topographical lines mark the hills encompassing the cities, an artistic development that appeared during the Renaissance and was quickly adopted by cartographers. The maps from a bird’s-eye view are from a top-down show the city streets in detail, sectioning off the city from the countryside with thick, bold lines. This bird’s-eye view was developed during the Renaissance, and Hogenberg uses this engraving technique to defy perceptual limitations and portray the cities as God would see them.

The borders between the city and the agricultural land are a visual means of separation, highlighting the cities’ understandings of urban identity. These borders are a physical form of separation, while the humans depicted in the foreground of the maps show cultural separation. The people drawn in the foreground range from representations of farmers to soldiers, and their scale is larger than that of the city buildings in the background, placing an emphasis on their presence. Along with these larger figures, there are smaller scenes depicting battles and trade. Braun’s inclusion of these scenes communicates the towns’ histories and economies in an informational, yet enjoyable, form for travelers and readers.

The readability of the volume sets it apart from traditional wall maps. By reading through this volume, readers from the 16th century would have had a greater understanding of their world than if they were looking at a single map. The time and resources necessary for this single atlas are also far greater than a sheet map. By owning all six volumes, one would not only be highly educated, but they would be displaying a high degree of wealth.

Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg

Georg Braun. Beschreibung und Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt. Cologne: J. Hornung, 1572-1618.

Atlas

Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg. Beschreibung und Contrafactur der vornembster Stät der Welt, Max Schefold. Plochingen: Müller und Schindler, 1965.

1575

Engraving

Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN

https://www.loc.gov/item/2008627031/
https://clemson.maps.arcgis.com/apps/Shortlist/index.html?appid=ba6fb42c256746f1ae96136087b1e752

German, Latin

City Views

World

Ballon, Hilary, and David Friedman. “Portraying the City in Early Modern Europe: Measurement, Representation, and Planning.” In The History of Cartography 3, vol. 3:680–704. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Elliot, James. “Braun & Hogenberg and after: the Town Plans of the 17th Century.” British Library, March 15, 2017. https://www.bl.uk/picturing-places/articles/braun-and-hogenberg-and-after-the-town-plans-of-the-17th-century. 

Năiduţ, Petruţa. “A Book of Cities: Mapping Urban Space in Braun and Hogenberg’s Civitates Orbis Terrarum (1572-1617).” American, British, and Canadian studies 34, no. 1 (2020): 8–25.

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