Praga, Bohemiae Metropolis Accuratissime Expressa [on sheet with] Egra, Urbs a Fluvio.

Two very desirable and early town-views of Prague (Praha) and Cheb in Bohemia.
"PRAGUE : The splendid first illustration of Prague shows the royal city from the southeast, in its natural setting in the VLtava Valley, which has cut its way deeply between the surrounding hills. On the left lies the all-dominating Hradcany castle complex from the 9th/10th centuries, beneath which is the Lesser Quarter (Malá Strana), which is linked to the Old Town (Staré Mesto) by the magnificent Charles bridge with its massive towers at each end. In the Old Town itself, the Gothic Teyn church with its twin towers can be recognized near the town hall. Above the Old Town and beneath the New Town (Nové Mesto) lies the old Jewish Quarter (Josefov). From the second half of the 14th century onwards, under Emperor Charles IV and his son Wenceslas IV, Prague was the capital of the Holy Roman Empire. Prague University, founded in 1348, was the first German-speaking university. By around 1600 Prague had a total of 60,000 inhabitants, although its various districts were officially combined into a single metropolis as late as 1784. .. ." (Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.88.)

CEHEB : The view in cavalier perspective from the opposite bank of the River Ohre shows the well-fortified town with its all-dominating imperial palace from the 12th century and the Gothic hall church of SS Nicholas and Elizabeth.
Cheb was originally built as an imperial palace by Emperor Barbarossa and in 1277 became an imperial city. Two important treaties were negotiated here: the Golden Bull of Eger of 1213, in which King Frederick II granted the German bishops the freedom to elect their own prelates, and the 1459 Peace of Eger, which determined the border between Bohemia and the Electorate of Saxony. . . (Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.88.)

From volume one of the greatest publication in this genre!. The Civitates was compiled and written by George Braun, Canon of Cologne Cathedral. Braun gathered together vast amounts of information and draft plans to produce over 500 city views/maps published in six parts between 1572 and 1617. Most of these engravings were made by Simon Novellanus and Frans Hogenberg, many after drawings by Joris Hoefnagel.


Reference: Koeman (1967-70) B & H 1-5, NMM III, i, 459 (1573-1618 ed.), Introduction', in: G. Braun and F. Hogenberg, Civitates orbis terrarum (Amsterdam: 1965). (2)