TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Rotterdam, at the mouth of the River Roter, home town of the great Desiderius Erasmus.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Rotterdam is a city in northern Holland that is known far and wide because of the glorious Erasmus of Rotterdam. In the Dutch language it is called Rotterdam, like many other cities in this country with names ending in -dam, such as Amsterdam, Sparendam, Munichendam, Edam, Schedam etc., because they were all built on a dam. Its citizens are wealthy, have a renowned herring fishing industry and conduct trade with foreign countries. For many years they have been inclined towards religious reform and today still adhere to the teaching of Calvin."

This is a bird's-eye view from the west of the city, which is surrounded by a wall erected in 1359. The view is dominated by canals, the mouth of the new Meuse and the tributaries of the Meuse, including the River Rotte, from which the city gets the name. The late Gothic Sint Laurenskerk stands out clearly, and the ocean-going ships are a reference to the city's role as a trading port. After growing up as a fishing village in the early 13th century, Rotterdam was granted a municipal charter in 1340. Canals to the Schie linked the city with Delft, the most important trade centre at that time, from whose wealth it was able to profit. From 1586 onwards high numbers of refugees from the Spanish Netherlands settled in the city. The most important commercial activities were tapestry and cloth production; at that time the port ranked far behind Amsterdam. (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, the sixth volume 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 cartographer 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 as engraver of numerous maps. In 1568 he was bannend from Antwerp by the Duke of Alva and travelled to London, where he stayed a few years before emigrating to Cologne. There he immediately embarked on his two most important works, the Civitates published from 1572 and the Geschichtsblätter, which appeared in several series from 1569 until about 1587.

Thanks to such large scale projects as the Geschichtsblätter and the Civitates, Hogenberg's social circumstances improved with each passing year. He died as a wealthy man in Cologne in 1590.