![Zurych Turicum](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Zurych_Turicum.jpg)
Georg Braun (also ''Brunus, Bruin''; 1541 – 10 March 1622) was a German topo-
geographer
A geographer is a physical scientist, social scientist or humanist whose area of study is geography, the study of Earth's natural environment and human society, including how society and nature interacts. The Greek prefix "geo" means "earth" a ...
. From 1572 to 1617, he edited the ''Civitates orbis terrarum,'' which contains 546 prospects, bird's-eye views and maps of cities from all around the world. He was the principal editor of the work, he acquired the tables, hired the artists, and wrote the texts. He died as an octogenarian in 1622, as the only survivor of the original team to witness the publication of volume VI in 1617.
Biography
![Braun&Hogenberg Trier 1572](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/Braun%26Hogenberg_Trier_1572.jpg)
Braun was born and died in
Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...
. His principal profession was as a
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
cleric
Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...
. He spent thirty-seven years as
canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
and
dean
Dean may refer to:
People
* Dean (given name)
* Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin
* Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk
* Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean
Titles
* ...
at the church,
St. Maria ad Gradus, in Cologne. His six-volume work was inspired by
Sebastian Münster
Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, ' ...
's ''
Cosmographia''. In form and layout it resembles the 1570 ''
Theatrum orbis terrarum
''Theatrum Orbis Terrarum'' (, "Theatre of the Orb of the World") is considered to be the first true modern atlas. Written by Abraham Ortelius, strongly encouraged by Gillis Hooftman and originally printed on 20 May 1570 in Antwerp, it consi ...
'' by
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the '' Theatrum Orbis Terra ...
, as Ortelius was interested in a complementary companion for the Theatrum.
The Braun publication set new standards in cartography for over 100 years.
Frans Hogenberg
Frans Hogenberg (1535–1590) was a Flemish and German painter, engraver, and mapmaker.
Hogenberg was born in Mechelen in Flanders as the son of Nicolaas Hogenberg. (1535–1590, from
Mechelen) created the tables for volumes I through IV, and
Simon van den Neuwel created those for volumes V and VI. Other contributors were
Joris Hoefnagel
Joris Hoefnagel or Georg Hoefnagel (1542, in Antwerp – 24 July 1601, in Vienna) was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman and merchant. He is noted for his illustrations of natural history subjects, topographical views, ...
,
Jacob Hoefnagel, cartographer
Daniel Freese
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
, and
Heinrich Rantzau. Works by
Jacob van Deventer,
Sebastian Münster
Sebastian Münster (20 January 1488 – 26 May 1552) was a German cartographer and cosmographer. He also was a Christian Hebraist scholar who taught as a professor at the University of Basel. His well-known work, the highly accurate world map, ' ...
, and
Johannes Stumpf were also used. Primarily European cities are depicted in the publication; however,
Cairo
Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...
Casablanca and
Mexico City
Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...
as well as
Cuzco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
on one sheet are also included in volume I, whereas
Tunis
''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois
, population_note =
, population_urban =
, population_metro = 2658816
, population_density_km2 =
, timezone1 = CET
, utc_offset1 ...
is featured in volume II.
Sources
* James Elliot (1987),
The City in Maps: Urban Mapping to 1900'' British Library London,
* Ronald Vere Tooley (1979),
Tooley's Dictionary of Mapmakers''
*
Leo Bagrow Leo Bagrow (1881 Saint Petersburg – 9 August 1957 The Hague), born Lev Solomonovich Bagrow, was a historian of cartography and the founder of the journal ''Imago Mundi
''Imago Mundi'', or in full ''Imago Mundi: International Journal for the His ...
,
Abraham Ortelius
Abraham Ortelius (; also Ortels, Orthellius, Wortels; 4 or 14 April 152728 June 1598) was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the '' Theatrum Orbis Terra ...
:
A. Ortelii Catalogus Cartographorum'' J. Perthes (1928) (link broken)
Gallery
File:PPN750079541 Hamburgum (1588).jpg, Hamburg (Hamburgum)
File:Kronborg Braun-Hogenberg.jpg, Kronborg Castle and the Øresund
File:Braun-Lipsae-Insignis.png, Leipzig (Lipsae Insignis)
File:Braun-mexico-cuzco.png, Mexico City and Cuzco
File:Map of Nijmegen (Noviomagum) ca 1570.jpg, Nijmegen (Noviomagum)
References
External links
*
*
** Wolfgang Bruhn:
Alte deutsche Städtebilder : 24 farb. Blätter / Georg Braun; Franz Hogenberg'' J. Asmus, Leipzig (1938)
** Georg Braun, Franz Hogenberg:
Old European Cities: 16th century city maps and texts'' with a description by Ruthardt Oehme of early map-making techniques, London (1965)
(description and high-res scans)
at
University of South Carolina
Georg Braun maps depicting Europe and Mexicoat the
John Carter Brown Library
The John Carter Brown Library is an independently funded research library of history and the humanities on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. The library's rare book, manuscript, and map collections encompass a variety of ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Braun, Georg
1541 births
1622 deaths
Scientists from Cologne
German Roman Catholics
German geographers
16th-century cartographers
17th-century cartographers
German cartographers
16th-century German Roman Catholic priests
17th-century German Roman Catholic priests
16th-century German writers
16th-century German male writers
Clergy from Cologne