Novesium vulgo Neus, ante bellum. . .Verona, nunc Bonna,1620 ... [and] Brula, vulgari idiomate Broell; ante bellum. [and] Sontina, Zunss Oppidum ad Rheni ripas,Anno 1620. . .

A ftne antique copper engraved sheet with four bird's-eye views by Braun and Hogenberg: Neuss, Bonn, Brühl and Zons. From: 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum, ... Part 2: De Praecipuis, Totius Universi Urbibus, Liber Secundus'. Köln, rare later state with dates changed to '1620' or 'ante bellum'-[before the war]

NEUSS. CARTOUCHE: Novesium, in German Neuss, a Rhenish city of the Ubii, drawn true to nature in the year of our Lord - before the war.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Neuss lies four miles from Cologne; it is the site of a monastery and a convent, which is very famous because of the relics of St Quirinus, which are venerated there."

BONN. CARTOUCHE: Verona, commonly known today as Bonna; Bonn. Famous town on the Rhine above Cologne. 1620.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Bonn is a small town; the surrounding farmland is fertile for grain and wine, here the air has always been healthy, for this reason the nobility and the elector and archbishop of Cologne have resided here since the old days. The city has a very large marketplace with a beautiful fountain in the middle of it."
This view of the Rhine front from the right bank shows Bonn in the 16th century, when it had about 4,000 inhabitants. On the left Bonn's Romanesque minster (St Martin's) can be seen, which was built in the 11th century as the collegiate church of SS Cassius and Florentius for the Cassius foundation.
In 1597 Bonn became the residence and capital of the electors and archbishops of Cologne; the cityscape is characterised by the stately buildings from this era.

BRÜHL. CARTOUCHE: Brula, in the local dialect Broell before the war.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "In Brühl, partly because of the charm of the region, but also because of a dispute with Cologne, the bishop of Cologne, Siegfried von Westenburg, built a castle and surrounded it with such sturdy walls that it was able to withstand a siege for four months in 1318. Since this time Brühl has generally been the seat of the electors of Cologne."
This view shows the city of Brühl, which was created capital of the Electorate of Cologne by Elector Rupert in 1469.
The viewer's attention is drawn directly to the moated castle that was erected in 1284 by the Archbishop Siegfried of Cologne, as a bulwark against the city of Cologne, and which was reinforced during the following decades. The castle remained unchanged until 1689, when it was blown up by the French.
Today, the palace of Augustusburg and the Falkenlust hunting lodge, both built in the 18th century, stand on the site of the former moated castle.

ZONS.CARTOUCHE: Zons, town in the bank of the Rhine, known as a customs station. In the year 1620.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Zons is a charming little town on the left bank of the Rhine, which gained importance because of the Rhine and the toll station. Most of the inhabitants are farmers, for the land is good and yields abundant grain. The castle here was built by Bishop Siegffried."
This old Cologne customs stronghold is shown from the right bank of the Rhine, and the magnificent castle, built in the 14th-15th centuries, is depicted on the far left. When the Rhine toll was moved here in 1372, the fortifications were extended, and the town was laid out in rectangular form with fortified towers at each corner.
Archbishop Dietrich II von Moers gave the little town as a pledge to the Cologne cathedral chapter in the 15th century. The architectural history of Zons has been much affected by three devastating fires (1464, 1547 and 1620).

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, 3024, state 1; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.170.