Bardowick by Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg. 1617
TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: The picture of the very ancient Saxon town of Bardowick was generously procured by Heinrich Rantzau, lord of the Lower Elbe, to further embellish this fifth volume. In the year 1595.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "Bardowick was formerly an ancient town in Saxony and was inhabited, as the name suggests, by the Bards or Lombards (who were powerful people, but were nevertheless skilful, robust and valiant and who ruled on the right bank of the Elbe from Magdeburg down to Stade). Towards midnight or the north it lies about two miles from Lüneburg and is built on the River Lunow, which is also called Ilmenau."
Bardowick is presented in a bird's-eye view from the northwest, offering a good view of the collegiate church of SS Peter and Paul with its twin-towered west façade (bottom left). One of the oldest towns in Lower Saxony, Bardowick is first documented in AD 795, although a village by the name of Bardorum is already mentioned in Roman sources from an even earlier date. Thanks to its favourable location at the crossroads of two trade routes, Bardowick rapidly became a major centre of commerce. At that time, moreover, the Ilmenau was navigable only between Bardowick and the Elbe, the latter providing access to the sea. This meant that salt produced in Lüneburg had to be shipped via Bardowick. In 972 Bardowick was granted civic, coignage and toll rights, leading to economic prosperity. The town lost its role as a commercial hub in the mid-12th century, however, as Lübeck rose in importance and the Ilmenau became navigable as far as Lüneburg. (Taschen)
Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.
The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the "Braun & Hogenberg", is a six-volume town atlas and the greatest book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully coloured. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. A large number of the plates were engraved after the original drawings of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600), who was a professional artist. The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, and the sixth in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel created those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.
Following the original publication of Volume 1 of the Civitates in 1572, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and in 1612. The next volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. The German translation of the first volume appeared from 1574 on, and the French edition from 1575 on.
Several printers were involved: Theodor Graminaeus, Heinrich von Aich, Gottfried von Kempen, Johannis Sinniger, Bertram Buchholtz and Peter von Brachel, who all worked in Cologne.
Georg Braun (1541-1622)
Georg Braun was born in Cologne in 1541. After his studies in Cologne, he entered the Jesuit Order as a novice. In 1561 he obtained his bachelor's degree, and in 1562 his Magister Artium. Although he left the Jesuit Order, he studied theology, gaining a licentiate in theology.
Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)
Frans Hogenberg was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg.
By the end of the 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.
Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.
Bardewick.
Item Number: 23385 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > Europe > Germany - Cities
Old, antique bird’s-eye view plan of Bardowick, by Georg Braun & Frans Hogenberg.
Title: Bardewick
Daniel Frese pinxit 1588.
Oriented to the east.
Cartographer: Daniel Frese.
Date of the first edition: 1596.
Date of this map: 1623.
Date on map: 1588.
Copper engraving, printed on paper.
Size (not including margins): 384 x 512mm (15.12 x 20.16 inches).
Verso: Latin text.
Condition: Excellent, superb old colour.
Condition Rating: A+.
References: Van der Krogt 4, #387, State 1; Fauser, #1083; Taschen, Br. Hog., p.407
From: Urbium Praeipuarum Mundi Theatrum Quintum Auctore Georgio Braunio Agrippinate. Part 5. Köln, Petrus von Brachel, 1623. (Van der Krogt 4, 41:1.5)
TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: The picture of the very ancient Saxon town of Bardowick was generously procured by Heinrich Rantzau, lord of the Lower Elbe, to further embellish this fifth volume. In the year 1595.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "Bardowick was formerly an ancient town in Saxony and was inhabited, as the name suggests, by the Bards or Lombards (who were powerful people, but were nevertheless skilful, robust and valiant and who ruled on the right bank of the Elbe from Magdeburg down to Stade). Towards midnight or the north it lies about two miles from Lüneburg and is built on the River Lunow, which is also called Ilmenau."
Bardowick is presented in a bird's-eye view from the northwest, offering a good view of the collegiate church of SS Peter and Paul with its twin-towered west façade (bottom left). One of the oldest towns in Lower Saxony, Bardowick is first documented in AD 795, although a village by the name of Bardorum is already mentioned in Roman sources from an even earlier date. Thanks to its favourable location at the crossroads of two trade routes, Bardowick rapidly became a major centre of commerce. At that time, moreover, the Ilmenau was navigable only between Bardowick and the Elbe, the latter providing access to the sea. This meant that salt produced in Lüneburg had to be shipped via Bardowick. In 972 Bardowick was granted civic, coignage and toll rights, leading to economic prosperity. The town lost its role as a commercial hub in the mid-12th century, however, as Lübeck rose in importance and the Ilmenau became navigable as far as Lüneburg. (Taschen)
Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum.
The Civitates Orbis Terrarum, or the "Braun & Hogenberg", is a six-volume town atlas and the greatest book of town views and plans ever published: 363 engravings, sometimes beautifully coloured. It was one of the best-selling works in the last quarter of the 16th century. Georg Braun wrote the text accompanying the plans and views on the verso. A large number of the plates were engraved after the original drawings of Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600), who was a professional artist. The first volume was published in Latin in 1572, and the sixth in 1617. Frans Hogenberg created the tables for volumes I through IV, and Simon van den Neuwel created those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were cartographers Daniel Freese and Heinrich Rantzau. Works by Jacob van Deventer, Sebastian Münster, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Translations appeared in German and French.
Following the original publication of Volume 1 of the Civitates in 1572, seven further editions of 1575, 1577, 1582, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1612 can be identified. Vol.2, first issued in 1575, was followed by further editions in 1597 and in 1612. The next volumes appeared in 1581, 1588, 1593, 1599 and 1606. The German translation of the first volume appeared from 1574 on, and the French edition from 1575 on.
Several printers were involved: Theodor Graminaeus, Heinrich von Aich, Gottfried von Kempen, Johannis Sinniger, Bertram Buchholtz and Peter von Brachel, who all worked in Cologne.
Georg Braun (1541-1622)
Georg Braun was born in Cologne in 1541. After his studies in Cologne, he entered the Jesuit Order as a novice. In 1561 he obtained his bachelor's degree, and in 1562 his Magister Artium. Although he left the Jesuit Order, he studied theology, gaining a licentiate in theology.
Frans Hogenberg (1535-1590)
Frans Hogenberg was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker. He was born in Mechelen as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg.
By the end of the 1560s, Frans Hogenberg was employed upon Abraham Ortelius's Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, published in 1570; he is named an engraver of numerous maps. In 1568 he was banned from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. He immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates, published in 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.
Thanks to large-scale projects like the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.