BRAUNSCHWEIG,BREMEN,STADE,LUENEBURG, - BRUNOPOLIS vulgo Brunsvicum . .LUNEBURGUM, Nobilis Saxoniae Urbs. . . BREMA . . .ALDENBURGUM Holsatiae.

A fine antique copper engraved sheet with four striking panoramic views by Braun and Hogenberg: Braunschweig, Luneburg, Bremen and Stade. From: 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum'. Liber primus. Cologne,1572
BRAUNSCHWEIG. TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Brunopolis, commonly known as Braunschweig, the largest city in all Saxony.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The Oker, which comes from the Harz Mountains, flows through Brunswick and divides the city into two halves. It carries away all the dirt of the city and is crossed everywhere by bridges. The city lies on flat land and is surrounded by two and in some places even three moats.
Between the moats around the city there is a broad earth mound and a large embankment that is stabilised by various bushes and hedges. [...] There are five markets in this city, five law courts and town halls and as many magistracies."
The very low viewpoint allows the tops of the towers, churches and houses to be seen. Most striking of these is the church of St Andreas on the left with its two towers. Close to the centre lies the cathedral (De Dom), begun by the Guelph Henry the Lion beside his Dankwarderode castle in 1173 and consecrated in 1226.
Although the city is considered to have been founded by Duke Bruno in the 9th century, it was under Henry the Lion that Brunswick became a princely residence. The five different markets, administrative offices, law courts and town halls also mentioned by Braun testify to the fact that Brunswick originally comprised five distinct districts, which were subsequently united under Henry the Lion.

LÜNEBURG. CARTOUCHE: Lüneburg, a well-known city in Saxony, highly famed for its salt mines. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "This city, well built and fortified in our own day, is surrounded by walls and moats; it is sooner rectangular than round, about 1450 paces long and 900 wide. There are three important parish churches here, including the main church of St John and three monasteries, of which St Michael's is the oldest.
It is of the greatest importance for the prosperity, employment and trade of all the burghers and inhabitants is salt, which is present in abundance and which is boiled and exported far away by water and land, including to the nearby trade cities of Hamburg and Lübeck.
The small Ilmenau River runs through the city, drives the watermills and does the city great service before flowing into the Elbe."

BREMEN. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Bremen, called Fabiranum by Claudius Ptolemy, is a handsome cathedral city. Following the destruction of Hamburg by the Vikings, the bishopric was moved here and Bremen became the archdiocese for all the northern church provinces.
Bremen lies near East Friesland and on the River Weser. The water is pumped into the city from outside via underground channels by means of a very large wheel; it has a wooden bridge, beneath which stand numerous watermills, which grind wheat and gunpowder.
The noblest burghers of this city make their living from commerce; because the people of Bremen have no wine, they brew the best beer, which is exported to neighbouring lands." This view is made after a woodcut by Martin Weigel, ca. 1550.

ALDENBURGUM. A view showing the view of Stade, indicated in the title as "Aldenburgum Holsatie". The table illustrates in detail the view of the German city in Southern Saxony.

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 colored. 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.

Reference: Van der Krogt 4, 4800; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.244.