Besançon, - Vesontionis Antiquissimae Celeberrimaeq Sequanorum qui in Celtica Gallia Burgundiae Comitatus Nomine Censentur Metropolis Imperialisq Civitatis delineatio.

CAPTION: The Sequani called this city Vesontion, the French call it Besançon, and the Germans Byzantz.

TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Drawing of the very ancient and highly famed Besançon, city of the Sequani, which is held to be the founding city and capital of the Duchy of Burgundy in Celtic Gaul. ... Cologne, 1575.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Besançon is a famous and splendid city in Burgundy and richly endowed by nature. The Doubs flows around the city, it is the capital of the county and is annexed to the Empire. It is so old that no mention of its founding can be found in the chronicles. [...] Because of its fruits and its abundant grain, it is often called the breadbasket of Burgundy.".

This plate of Besançon is a bird's-eye view from a low angle, seen from the west and overlooking the Doubs. Julius Caesar conquered the city, called Chrysopolis ("golden city") in Greek, in 58 BC and expanded it. A relic of Besançon's Roman past, the Porte Noire, a Roman triumphal arch from the 2nd century, can be seen in the middle of the plate. The 16th century was an important phase in the city's development, with the construction of the Palais Granvelle (today Musée de Temps) for Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle, initially Charles V's chancellor and later his minister of justice, the Tour de la Pelote, the Porte Rivotte, the town hall and the law courts. Today's cityscape is characterized by the architecture of Sébastien Le Prestre, Marquis de Vauban. (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 coloured. 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.