"Hildesia / Hildesheim" from Topographie Niedersachsen

Matthäeus Merian the Elder was born in Basel (modern Switzerland) in 1593. He began his career as a stained glass designer, but switched to engraving, working under Dietrich Meyer (1572-1658). In his early career, Merian the Elder found work in Strasburg, Paris, Stuttgart, and finally Oppenheim, where he was employed at the publishing firm of Johann Theodor de Bry. He went on to marry de Bry’s daughter, and the two returned to Basel where their first son, Matthäeus the Younger was born in 1621. In 1623, de Bry died, leaving his workshop in sole possession of his son-in-law. Matthäeus the Elder operated for the remainder of his life out of Oppenheim and the nearby city of Frankfurt until his death in 1650.

Matthäeus Merian the Younger also went on to work as an engraver as well as a portrait painter. He spent much of his youth traveling, spending considerable time in Italy and Nuremberg. Upon his father’s death, he took over management of the workshop. Matthäeus the Younger likely contributed illustrations to the Topographia Germaniae, and was responsible for publishing the remaining volumes after 1650.

This engraving of the city Hildesheim is originally from the Topographie Niedersachsen, written by Martin Zeiler and illustrated in the workshop of Matthäeus Merian. It is one of two representations of this German city in the atlas series; the other is a plan view. This black-and-white engraving depicts the city from an elevated position in the northeast, as if the viewer is looking from a hill outside the city or looking from a bird’s eye view.

The upper two fifths of this city view is the sky. In the middle of the sky is the emblem of the city, which features an eagle. The emblem is surrounded by a wreath decorated with flowing ribbons on the top. The name of the city, in both Latin and German forms, appears on the two sides of the emblem. Blank white space represents the sky, while horizontal lines form organic shapes to represent clouds.

Below the sky, we see the distant hills and farmlands outside the city. Trees cover most of the hills. Small, thin, wiggly and repetitive lines depict the distant forests. In contrast to the dense forest, the rather blank area with parallel lines are the farmlands. Some marks suggestive of towns do exist, but they are not as elaborate or detailed as those near or inside the city.

The city appears in the middle ground, protected by a fortified wall and a moat. Due to the elevated perspective, the buildings’ roofs are the main subjects, while tree canopies appear occasionally. No animals or human figures appear inside the city. The engraver successfully conveys a large variety of buildings with small liner strokes, including buildings with complex pointed towers. By changing how packed the lines are, the engraver creates shadows and shading to suggest the light comes from the east. Capitalized letters appear next to some of the buildings. A viewer can find the names for those buildings using the scroll with explanatory legends at the bottom of the engraving. The engraver depicts a peaceful Hildesheim, not interrupted by the Thirty-Years War. David Paisey says:

“the Topographiae Germaniae, comprising hundreds of engravings, of which Merian was justly proud, record[ed] as he intended a Germany untouched by the dreadful War that lasted most of his adult life." (Paisey 85)

A closeup depiction of the countryside and a hill are in the foreground. In this area, human figures and animals are occupied with daily activities. For example, in the lower left, two figures and a three- horse wagon are heading toward the city gate. There are also farmers sowing the farmlands and travelers resting on the hill.  (Yuewei Wang ‘24 and Evan Orjala ‘24)

Harley, J. B., David Woodward, Mark S. Monmonier, and Mary Sponberg Pedley. The History of Cartography. Edited by J. B. (John Brian) Harley, David Woodward, Mark S. Monmonier, and Mary Sponberg Pedley. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1987.

Merian, Matthaeus, and Joannes Jonstonus. 1300 Real and Fanciful Animals : from Seventeenth-Century Engravings, Matthäus Merian the Younger. Mineola, N.Y: Dover Publications, 1998.

Paisey, David. Review of Matthaeus Merian, by Wilhelm Bingsohn, Ulrike Fuchs, Rosa Neugebauer, and Ute Schneider. Print Quarterly 12, no. 1 (1995): 83–85. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41825192.