LUBECA Urbs Imperialis . . Inclytae Hanseaticae Societatis Caput [on sheet with] HAMBURGA, Florentissimum Inferioris Saxoniae Emporium.

An antique, decorative map with two bird's-eye views by Braun and Hogenberg: Lubeck and Hamburg. LÜBECK. TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: The Free Imperial City of Lübeck, capital of the Vandals and the world-famous Hanseatic League.
COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Lübeck is well fortified in our own day with massive bulwarks, which lie on strong stakes in the water. It possesses two long streets, which are crossed by the others and which lead down to the Rivers Trave and Wakenitz; the streets are very clean, because all the dirt runs off into the rivers.
Lübeck also has handsome churches with tall towers that are roofed in copper and lead and have gold spires. The water is conveyed from the river to a high tower by an ingeniously designed mill and from there runs via the ground and channels into the town houses, so that an unknowing observer might think it came from a spring."

The view shows the "City of Seven Spires" on the Baltic Sea seen from the west across the inland harbour, with the city gates - the Holstentor, left, Molentor and Burgtor, right - and the spires of its seven Gothic red-brick churches, all of which evolved out of existing Romanesque churches. Rising magnificently on the left is Lübeck's Gothic cathedral (De Dom).
Further right lies the church of St Giles (S. Tillien), then the imperial church of St Peter (S. Petri) and the town Hall. St Mary's (Unse Lefrowen Karck) served the merchants, city council and people of Lübeck and is considered the mother church of red-brick Gothic architecture in northern Germany: it would provide the model for some 70 churches in the Baltic region. On the far right, finally, is the church of St. James (S. Iakob), dedicated to the patron saint of sailors and fishermen.

HAMBURG. CARTOUCHE READS: Hamburg, flourishing centre of trade in Lower Saxony, in our times particularly well known for its many English visitors. In the year of our Lord 1572. COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Hamburg is ten miles from Lübeck, is abundantly surrounded by water and therefore is best placed to conduct international trade; for this reason one sees many English here, who no longer travel to Antwerp, but transact their business here.
As far as the city walls, the moats, the embankments and the wealth of the inhabitants is concerned, I have seen nothing more beautiful or better fortified than Hamburg. There are very splendid buildings here that are equipped with water pipes.
For want of wine, the Hamburgers brew beer, which is drunk with great pleasure not only in the city but in all the towns of Lower Saxony; it is quite astonishing to see how the people get drunk on beer: it is even the case that the one who can drink the most receives the most praise and admiration. [...]"

This view, showing the city from a low vantage point, reveals its rural character. Left stands the 153m-high tower of the church of St Nicholas, which was completed in 1517 in the north-German brick-Gothic style. To the right is the spire of St Peter's. The modern city landmark, the Hamburger Michel, was finished in 1786 as the tower of the Barocque church of St Michael.
After the Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa granted the city port rights in 1189 and, therefore, tax exemption on trading with the entire Lower Elbe region, Hamburg grew into a vibrant commercial hub. Boasting up to 600 breweries, the city was the purveyor of beer to the Hanseatic League.

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Reference: Van der Krogt 4, 2482; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.86.