COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Stockholm, which is celebrated for its commerce, large fairs and royal residences, is, however, an elegant city and, by its natural situation, one of the most secure cities in the entire Kingdom of Sweden because it is situated on a strait, which, moreover, is very deep, so that it is navigable by even the largest ships. [...] In the foreground on the narrow neck of this strait is a castle, but on the opposite side, the mouth of the strait has been so narrowed by pilings driven into the seabed with crossbeams set above them that those seeking to sail in or out can be easily overcome artillery."

The top engraving, showing the timber houses so typical of Scandinavia, is a view from the northeast across what was then the suburb of Norrmalm and is now the city centre, to the city located on islands, with the Baltic on the left and Lake Mälaren on the right. Stockholm started out as an entrepôt between the lake and the inland waterways. The town is first mentioned in 1252 by the statesman Birger Jarl. A powerful keep with a fortified inner bailey was laid out in the late 13th century. Further, the complex is dominated by what is now the Cathedral of St Nicholas. In 1270 a Franciscan monastery (right) was founded in the western part of the city. Construction on the nearby Riddarholmen church, which is still in use, began in 1280. The bottom engraving shows Stockholm from the southwest, focusing on what was once the mercantile city and the port with its quay; an embankment causeway links the island with the mainland. The Hanseatic League had a trading post here from the 14th century, and the German merchants' presence was strongly felt in the city. Trade was in iron and copper from the inland mines. The warship in the foreground signifies that the city did not need fortifications on the sea to its powerful fleet. (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.