HAIDELBERGA- Florentissimae civitatis Heidelbergensis . . . [on sheet with] SPIRA Celebris admodum Imperij & episcopalis in Germania civitas ... [and] WORMACIA vetustissima Vangionum civitas...

Three very desirable and early town-plans of Heidelberg, Speyer and Worms in a first state.

"HEIDELBERG: The view of the city and castle overlooking the Neckar is presented from the slightly elevated path known as the Philosopher's Way. Those familiar with Heidelberg will easily recognise the layout of the Old Town as it still exists today.
The church of the Holy Ghost (Der Hylig Geist) housed the famous 'Biblioteca Palatina', a library of manuscripts and early printed books.
In 1620, during the Thirty Year's War, these were seized by Elector Maximilian I and presented as a gift to Pope Gregory XV. Heidelberg saw its first flowering in 1356, when Count Palatine Rupert I was granted the rank of Elector.
The founding of the university in 1386 attracted many scholars in its wake, and the Heidelberg court would later become a meeting point for humanists during the Reformation.
At the start of the 15th century Heidelberg occupied the area of the present Old Town as far as Bismarckplatz. The city nevertheless had an estimated population of only 6,300 around 1590 and thereby lagged far behind cities such as Cologne and Nuremberg. (Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.91.)

SPYER:"Seen from the banks of the Rhine. The tallest steeple on the left belongs to the monastery of St German. In the centre, captioned Das Münster, is the imperial cathedral, one of the most important Romanesque buildings in Germany.
In the first half of the 16th century Speyer hosted several important imperial diets, e.g. in 1526, when it was resolved to move the imperial chamber court to Speyer, and in 1529, when the 19 Lutheran imperial states protested against the imperial ban placed upon Luther and his supporters in the Edict of Worms and against the restrictions to the Lutheran (i.e. Protestant) faith. .". (Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.91.)

WORMS:"The view across the Rhine shows a well-fortified city with numerous churches and handsome private residences. Rising from the city centre's highest point is St Peter's cathedral (Thumstifft).
Amongst the churches on either side are (right) St Paul's, St Rupert's, the Dominican monastery (Predicatores), St Martin's and the Liebfrauenkirche, and (left) St Andrew's.
A number of historic decisions were reached in Worms in the late 15th/early 16th century: a diet held here by Emperor Maximilian in 1495 saw the introduction of the Imperial Chamber Court and the "Eternal Peace", while at the diet of 1521 Martin Luther was summoned to defend his 95 theses and Emperor Charles V issued the Edict of Worms outlawing Luther and his supporters." (Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.91.)

From volume one of the greatest publication in this genre !. 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.

More about Braun and Hogenberg, Civitatus [+]

Reference: Koeman (1967-70) B & H 1-5, NMM III, i, 459 (1573-1618 ed.), Introduction', in: G. Braun and F. Hogenberg, Civitates orbis terrarum (Amsterdam: 1965). (2)