Lipsiae Insignis Saxoniae urbis et celeberrimi Emporij vera Effigies. Anno M.DC.XVII. [LEIPZIG]

An original copper-engraving from the 6th part of Latin ed. of Braun and Hogenberg's "Civitates Orbis Terrarum", published 1617/18. With an ornamental title-cartouche, 2 coats-of-arms and another ornamental cartouche with explanatory notes (1.-18.).
A birds-eye-view of Leipzig, the largest city in the federal state of Saxony, Germany. This view of Leipzig is from the sixth and last volume of 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum', published in a much smaller edition than previous volumes, and it is therefore rarer than most of Braun & Hogenberg city views.

TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: True likeness of the highly famed market city of Leipzig in Saxony. In the year 1617.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Leipzig is the capital of the Magravate of Meissen and lies at the confluence of the Elster and the Pleisse. It has two handsome parish churches, two elementary schools, a court of lay assessors and a regional court. A particular embellishment of the city is the university.
There is something I must warn students who are thinking of coming here: not long ago a nobleman came to Leipzig and enquired about his cousin, whether he was applying himself assiduously to his studies. A fellow student answered that he was holding his own very well, for among the 1,500 students there was no other who could drink better than he. But this is a bad reputation, and especially unbecoming for a student."

The first plate of Leipzig shows the city around 1570 from a very low position, with three horsemen in the left foreground as a reference to the horse market. After receiving market privileges in the year 1165, Leipzig developed into a leading trade-fair centre, achieving fame across Europe after having been awarded imperial trade-fair rights in 1497.
This second plate, executed 50 years later, is an unusual combination of cavalier perspective and bird's-eye view. The viewer has the feeling of floating above the roofs. This plate is based on an official drawing by Konrad Knobloch commissioned by the Leipzig City Council. This explains why not only churches and public buildings, but also the town houses are accurately represented with architectural details.
Shortly before the first plate, there had been great changes in Leipzig's buildings. After the siege and destruction of parts of the fortifications in 1547, a new fortress was begun under Elector Maurice of Saxony. This project culminated in the newly built Pleissenburg castle. In the 16th-17th centuries Leipzig was a medium-sized city with a university (visible on the right), founded in 1408-9 by scholars who had left the University of Prague.
In 1620, it had a population of around 15,000. From the end of the 15th century Leipzig was also a centre of the printing and publishing industry. In addition the city played an important role in the Reformation, for the "Leipzig Disputation", a debate that took place at Pleissenburg castle in the summer of 1519 amongst Johannes Eck, Andreas Karlstadt, Philipp Melanchton and Martin Luther, sealed Luther's final break with the papacy. The engraving is made by Manasse Steinberg, after a drawing by Konrad Knobloch.

Braun G. & Hogenberg F. and the Civitates Orbis Terrarum. 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.

Reference: Koeman IV, map 2292, ed. 41:1-3 (1617/18 B&H 6).Van der Krogt 4, 2292; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.466.