TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Chilonium, commonly called Kiel, is an elegant old city in Holstein on an isthmus in the Baltic Sea, noteworthy for a situation favourable to trade and commerce and the annual gatherings of the Cimbrian nobility. 

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Where the Belt meets the Duchy of Schleswig-Holstein and Schleswig, it has numerous bends forming narrow necks of land notably surrounded by water on both sides, which the ancient Greeks called an isthmus. Between these necks of land thrusts the sea to the great advantage of the residents, and it provides merchants and their sea-going vessels with a safe refuge where they can recover from the hardships sustained at sea. Kiel also provides an amenity of this kind, which is used similarly. It is an old city, well-supplied and almost surrounded by water. Its name derives from "Kiell" or "Keyl", which means chisel in German." 

From an elevated vantage point and looking south, this view shows the island situation of the city systematically laid out on Kiel Fjord and surrounded by the Kleiner Kiel and pasture land. The centre is dominated by the Gothic church of St Nicolas (A). finished in 1240; it was joined by the church of the Holy Spirit (D) in the 14th century. The Holsten gate in the south led to the mainland. Founded by Count Adolf IV between 1233 and 1242, Kiel became a free city in 1242. Lacking links with inland waterways or good overland routes to larger cities, Kiel attained only regional importance as a trading port. One indication of modest circumstances is the dilapidated condition of the fortifications along the fjord. (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 most excellent 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. Many plates were engraved after the original drawings of a professional artist, a professional artist, Joris Hoefnagel (1542-1600). 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 made 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 1612. The subsequent 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. 1561, he obtained his bachelor's degree, and in 1562, he received 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.