BUDINGEN [Büdingen, Hessen.]

A birds-eye-view / town plan of Büdingen, Hessen. This view comes from the sixth and last volume of 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum' ("Theatri Praecipuarum Totius Mundi Urbivm Liber Sextus"), published in a much smaller edition than previous volumes, and it is therefore rarer than most of Braun & Hogenberg city views.
An original copper-engraving from the 6th part of Latin ed. of Braun and Hogenberg's "Civitates Orbis Terrarum", published by A. Hierat in Cologne, 1617. With ornamental title-cartouche, and 2 coats-of-arms.

TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: God gave every land its gifts. In the year 1617. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "This is a fine handsome city; it lies on the Kinzig, which flows into the Main. It is part of the area belonging to the Counts of Ysenburg, who call themselves the lords of Büdingen and who have a great castle and court there.
The surrounding mountains are full of fruitful vines; there are also impressive vegetable gardens and orchards and fine pastures, so that nothing is lacking here that is needed for human nourishment, except that much sweat and labour are required to produce it from the soil."
The view shows a city surrounded by vineyards and well fortified with walls and moats. On the right is the castle with its keep. Seen from a high viewpoint in the south, the houses in the city are shown crowded together, with the late Gothic church of St Mary standing out in the middle.
The figures in the foreground are a reference to the status of the city: the burgher woman with a hood is shown in accordance with her standing with ruff and full-length skirt, but her apron indicates that she is hard working.
The maids, with their skirts tucked up for work and carrying the harvest on their heads, symbolise the fertility of the soil, while the men carrying a prong-hoe and an axe represent the toil in the fields.

The "Civitates" was compiled and written by George Braun, Canon of Cologne Cathedral. Braun gathered together vast amounts of information and draft plans to produce over 500 city views/maps published in six parts between 1572 and 1617. Most of these engravings were made by Simon Novellanus and Frans Hogenberg, many after drawings by Joris Hoefnagel.
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Reference: Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.453. Koeman IV, map 700, ed. 41:1-3 (1617/18 B&H 6).