Gorlitz - Gorlitium, Urbs Superioris Lusatiae, ad vivum delineata, Anno Salutis MDLXXV.

A fine antique copper engraved panoramic view of Gorlitz by Braun and Hogenberg, with local costumes in the foreground. Today the Neisse river serves as border between Germany and Poland, so in the foreground what's shown is the polish town of Zgorzelec, and in the background the german town of Görlitz. From: Civitates Orbis Terrarum, ... Part 2, 1575.

TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Görlitz, city in Upper Lusatia, drawn true to nature in 1575.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Görlitz is a splendid city in Upper Lusatia; it is adorned with many very beautiful buildings and well fortified with walls and moats, but the ground on which it lies is uneven and mountainous.
The River Neisse flows through the city, which is of great advantage to the millers, brewers, dyers and other artisans. Spanning this river is a great wooden bridge covered with a roof."
Görlitz is shown from the east looking across the Neisse; the impressive silhouette of this city on the bank of the river is reproduced in detail, with its many church spires and magnificent half-timbered houses. On the right above the wooden bridge over the Neisse, which was roofed over in 1566, the city's landmark can be seen, the mighty late Gothic hall church of SS Peter and Paul, on the left the tall town hall and watchtower.
The town prospered due to its location on an important trade route and received a municipal charter around 1200. It was granted the right to brew beer, the right to mint and issue coins, and staple rights for the woad plant (German indigo, principally used to produce blue linen), and reached the height of its political and economic power at the beginning of the 15th century (Taschen).
Copper engraving, made after a woodcut by Georg Scharfenberg, after the drawing by Joseph Metzker, 1565.

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, 1579; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.182.