AACHEN, Aquisgranum, vulgo Aich, ad Menapiorum fines, perantiqua Imperij Urbs, Monumento Caroli Magni,. . .

A fine antique copper engraved bird's-eye view / plan of Aachen by Braun and Hogenberg, after Hendrick Steenwijck. From: 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum', ... Part 1. Köln, 1572.

TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Aquisgranum, or Aachen, situated on the borders of the territory of the Menapii, a very old imperial city.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The imperial city of Aachen lies between the Rhine and the Meuse on the border of the Duchy of Jülich and has become very famous for the first coronation of a Roman emperor and for the burial place of Charlemagne and the pilgrimage every seven years."
This plan of Aachen from a bird's-eye perspective appeared in 1582 in the new edition of the first volume. It is schematically surrounded by two elliptical city walls.
The open marketplace, the Gothic faÇade of the town and the distinctive octagon with westwork and Gothic choir chapel of the cathedral can be seen exactly in the centre; the town houses on the other hand are miniaturized and the streets and squares are excessively wide for the sake of greater clarity.
Aachen played a central role in the Holy Roman Empire. For this reason Braun emphasises the "Heiltumsfahrt" (pilgrimage to the sacred relics), the construction of the palace and the Palatine chapel (ca 800) and the hot sulphur springs, which had been appreciated earlier by the Romans.
The Old High German word Ahha (Acha) means water; the Romans called the site Aquae Grani, later Aquisgranum, after Grannus, the god of healing. Thirty-two kings were crowned in Aachen, the last being Ferdinand I in 1531 (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, 3 state 2; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.69