TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Magdeburg was called Parthenopolis (virgin city) after Venus, who was once worshipped here: it is the capital of Saxony, remarkable for its wealth and power and known for its narrow city walls and its proximity to the Elbe. 

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Magdeburg [...] is the noblest city in Saxony [...]. Here there are splendid houses, magificent streets, large and richly decorated churches: the church of St Maurice built by Emperor Otto is particularly handsome. In Magdeburg there used to be a fortified castle surrounded by fishermen's huts like a village or some other open bourg. There used to be burgraves here as in Nuremberg: whether they were Saxons or Vandals, however, is uncertain. It is known, however, that after Otto a burgraviate was created by Imperial mandate and numbered amongst the four burgraves in the empire." 

In this plan view seen from a lofty bird's-eye perspective, Magdeburg - the name is probably derived from 'Magadoburg" (Ger. mächtige Burg, "mighty fortress") - lies on the right bank of the Elbe. The Gothic cathedral of SS Maurice and Catherine is clearly recognizable on the right (Der Dom). Further left is the ensemble of St John's church, where Martin Luther preached in 1524, and the town hall overlooking the Alter Markt, the old market square on which it is also possible to make out the famous equestrian statue of the Magdeburg Knight and a Magdeburg Roland statue. (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.