Walled City

This bird's-eye-view of a medieval walled city is influenced by Braun and Hogenberg's famous city atlas, one of the great cartographical achievements of the 16th century. The first comprehensive atlas of town plans and birds-eye views was "one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Although the Civitates had no precedent, it immediately answered a great public demand, because social, political and economic life at that time was concentrated in cities" (Koeman II, p. 10). It was produced by editor Georg Braun of Cologne together with Flemish engraver and mapmaker Frans Hogenberg. They relied on existing maps along with maps made after drawings by the Antwerp artist Joris Hoefnagel, and after his death in 1600, his son Jakob. Other contributors included Jacob van Deventer (1505-1575) and over a hundred other artists and engravers.