Cliviam, Ducatus Clivensis elegans opp: - Duisburgum, Oppidum Antiquissimum Vetus Francoru Regia - Embrica, Clivensis ditionis oppidum Ecclesia collegiata... - Gennapium, Ducatus Clivensis, Opp:.[Kleve, Duisbu.

A fine copper engraving with four important early views of - Kleve, Duisburg, Emmerich, and Gennep - on a single sheet. From: 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum, ... Part 2'. Köln, 1575.
KLEVE. TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Kleve, an elegant town in the Duchy of Cleves, renowned and remarkable for the famous ducal castle and the collegiate foundation.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "The city of Kleve in the Duchy of Cleves is highly regarded because of its age and because the Duke of Jülich, Cleves and Berg has a splendid castle here, where he holds his princely court, and also because of its collegiate church."
This view of Kleve, seen from the direction of the Mühlberg, is dominated by the castle of the Counts and Dukes of Cleves, which has been called Schwanenburg since the 19th century after the legendary Knight of the Swan, Helias.
The other building that dominates the silhouette of the city is the Gothic collegiate church of St Mary's Assumption. In the course of the changes carried out in the 15th century, the New City, known as the Hag Quarter, was founded. When the Cleves line died out in 1614, the city passed to Brandenburg. As a residence of the Electors of Brandenburg, Kleve took on the Baroque appearance that is still largely preserved today.

DUISBURG. CARTOUCHE: Duisburg, ancient town, the old royal palace of the Franks. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Duisburg is a city in old Germany between the Ruhr and the Anger, in the old days the Rhine also flowed up to the city walls. As long as the city still bordered the Rhine, a fair was held here, which is now held in Frankfurt."
Duisburg is shown in a bird's-eye view from the west. In the middle of the city rises the late Gothic St Saviour's church, which dates back to the 9th century. This plate, which was faithfully reproduced by Merian even in 1647, also shows the harbor on the navigable dead arm of the Rhine, which gave the city great economic importance up to the 14th century.
But in 1290, when Duisburg was pledged by King Rudolf I to Dietrich of Cleves, it lost its privileges and its imperial importance and sank into insignificance as a little farming town. The industrial revolution in the 19th century and the development of the inland port led to an economic upturn.

EMMERICH. CARTOUCHE: Emmerich, a town under the rule of Cleves, famous because of its collegiate church and school. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Emmerich is a little town in the Duchy of Cleves with elegant buildings and a great religious foundation, built by St Willibrord himself. Here is a good elementary school, in which many learned men have received their basic education, for many industrious rectors have headed this school."
This view from the opposite bank of the Rhine shows the city of Emmerich, which is mentioned in a document for the first time in 828. The city grew up around a church erected by St Willibrord c. 700 on the site where the church of St Aldegund with late medieval sculptures. In 1233 Emmerich was granted a municipal charter and in 1407 it became a member of the Hanseatic League.

GENAPPE. CARTOUCHE: Genappe, a town in the Duchy of Cleves. This town is located on the Dyle south of Brussels and is shown in the place set in a picturesque landscape, an impression that is reinforced by the windmill. Towards the end of the 12th century, the Dukes of Brabant erected a fortress here on the banks of the Dyle, which grew into a little town in the 13th and 14th centuries.
In the 15th century the future King Louis XI lived in the castle of Genappe. The town lost its importance as a result of the plague in 1533 and due to religious conflicts in 1578.

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.

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Reference: Van der Krogt 4, 2061; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.171.