Civitates Orbis Terrarum 1582

Civitates Orbis Terrarum – City Views of the World (1582)
The 1582 edition of the renowned city book Civitates Orbis Terrarum features 81 intricately colored city views on 59 double-sided plates – including Jerusalem, Damascus, Limburg, Görlitz, Wittenberg, and Colmar.

Created between 1572 and 1618, this six-volume work impressively documents the medieval urban landscape before the devastations of the Thirty Years' War. Publisher Georg Braun and engraver Frans Hogenberg combined precise cartography with vibrant everyday scenes: farmers at work, fishermen by the river, merchants, ships, coats of arms, and traditional costumes vividly showcase the life of that era.

Each view is accompanied by informative texts on geography, history, and economy – written for the humanistically educated readers of the time. The 1582 edition is not only an artistic gem but also a unique historical testament to urban culture at the end of the Middle Ages.