Constantia, vulgo Costnitz Memorabile Sueuie Opp. - S. Galli Opp. et Monasterium Helvetiorum, [Konstanz - Sankt Gallen]

Two bird's-eye panoramic views on one sheet: Constance and Sankt Gallen, by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg. From: 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum, ... Part 2'. Köln, 1575.
CONSTANCE (KONSTANZ). CAPTION: Constantia, commonly known as Konstanz, a remarkable Swabian town. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Constance lies at a very charming place on the Swiss side of Lake Constance. It is surely the most excellent of all the towns on this lake at the present time, and is divided into two groups, the one consisting of noble and knightly persons, and the other of merchants and artisans.
When one of the common people achieves great wealth and would aspire to become a member of the knightly estate, this is not permitted and he must continue in his standing."
This bird's-eye view shows the city from an ideal viewpoint looking out across Lake Constance. In the 16th century it had a population of about 5,000. In the middle of the harbour is the 14th-century building in which the conclave for the election of Pope Martin V took place during the Council of Constance in 1414-1418.
On the right can be seen the originally Romanesque minster dedicated to Our Lady, which was altered in the Gothic style up to the 15th century. For over 1,000 years the see of the former bishopric of Constance was here. The second tall church tower is that of the late Gothic church of St Stephen, which was the town's parish church.
The present-day town hall is in the former guild house of the linen weavers dating from the 16th century, which does not stand out from the mass houses but which is close to St Stephen's church.
This view is made after a single-state woodcut in the Ueberlingen City Archives, printed by Hamma in Constance, 1544.

ST GALLEN. CARTOUCHE: St Gallen, town and monastery in Switzerland: according to the chronicle of Otto of Freising, Book 5, built by St Gallus, who settled in Swabia and in the area of Constance. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "In the beginning the town belonged to a monastery. It lies in the mountains in rather bleak surroundings, but on a charming site with good air and good water and fertile farmland; there is a large population with wealthy and stately burghers who are important producers of linen, and merchants who speak many languages and whose trading activities spread to all the lands of Christendom."
The city of St Gallen is shown in cavalier perspective. The caption S. Lorentz identifies the 15th-century church of St Lawrence. After St Gallen accepted Protestantism under the leadership of the humanist Joachim von Watt (Vadianus) in 1526, this became the main church for the reformed population.
The biggest church shown in the plate marks the monastery district of St Gallen. However, today's Baroque monastery district, with its collegiate church, monastery building and library, stands on the site of the Otmar basilica and St Gallus church that are depicted here. It was constructed in the 18th century as a magnificent residence for the abbots of the Benedictine abbey of St Gallen.
From 1206 the abbots on St Gallen were imperial princes with a seat and a vote in the imperial Diet of the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, and in 1454 the city became the first so-called associate town in the Old Swiss Confederacy.
This view is made after a woodcut by Heinrich Vogtherr the Elder, which appeared in the Schweytzer Chronick of Johannes Stumpff, 1548.

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, 2114; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.179.