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Exhibition Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress

Collecting Memories: Treasures from the Library of Congress

Colorful Atlas of European Cities

Colorful bird’s-eye view of Constantinople jutting into sea. Waterways around city are dotted with ships and flanked by islands. Along bottom, are men’s portraits in profile. In bottom center, group of men carrying bows and arrows guard a man on horseback.
Frans Hogenberg and Georg Braun, et al. “Byzantivm, nunc Constantinoplis” in Civitates orbis terrarvm. Germany, 1612–1618. Geography & Map Division (076.00.00)
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Colorful map of Colonia Agrippina with river running along the top. Has coats of arms, text, and images of people.
Frans Hogenberg and Georg Braun, et al. “Colonia Agrippina” in Civitates orbis terrarvm. Germany, 1612–1618. Geography & Map Division (076.00.01)
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Colorful Atlas of European Cities

Frans Hogenberg was a Flemish and German engraver and mapmaker who created some of the most stunning city views made in the sixteenth century. The Civitates orbis terrarum was produced as a collaborative endeavor with his son Abraham and Georg Braun, who was responsible for gathering and editing the 546 city views that the book contains. The maps and images within the work represent a record of urban and domestic life, illustrating heraldic coats of arms, rural scenes, land and water transportation, and private and public buildings. The atlas is one of the most important records of the architectural layout of towns across Europe and around the world.