Landshut, Alberto D.G. Com. Pal. Rheni Utriusque Bavariae Duci. . . MDLXXVIII.

A fine copper engraved panoramic birds-eye view of the city Landshut, straddling the River Isar in Bavaria Germany, with the Trausnitz Castle. From: 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum. Liber tertius'. Köln, 1581.
Landshut is known for the medieval Trausnitz Castle, with its views across the old town. Trausnitz Castle was the home of the Wittelsbach dynasty, and it served as their ducal residence for Lower Bavaria from 1255–1503, and later as the seat of the hereditary rulers of the whole of Bavaria.
The castle was founded in 1204 by Duke Ludwig I. TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: To Albert, Count Palatine of the Rhine by the grace of God and Duke of both Bavarias, the unrivalled patron of the Muses in our time, for his delight. Painted by Georg Hoefnagel, Antwerp. Let artistry be the guide and the mistress of Nature. Munich, 1578.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The surrounding farmland not only yields a multitude of fruits and thoroughly delicious wine, intended to refresh both God and man, and good grain, but also has a great many pastures for grazing cattle. There is virtually no other land that is richer in dairy products. This region can therefore rightly be counted among the most beautiful and most fertile in all Europe."

The town of Landshut and Trausnitz castle lying above it on the right are seen here from the southwest, looking across the banks of the Isar. Trausnitz castle was visited in 1235 by Emperor Frederick II and the Minnesingers Walther von der Vogelweide and Tannhäuser. In the 15th century it was expanded in particular under George the Rich and fortified with ring walls and defensive towers. Soaring above the town itself is the brick Gothic collegiate church of SS Martin and Castulus, with the tallest brick tower (130 m high) in the world (Taschen).

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, 2206; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.352.