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 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 List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

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 t ...

. He spent thirty-seven years as canon and dean at the church,

St. Maria ad Gradus St. Maria ad Gradus ("Our Lady of the Steps", also colloquially called ''Mariengraden'' in German language) is the name of a former church located East of the Cathedral of Cologne, Germany, situated between the cathedral and the Rhine. Founded b ...

, 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 Terr ...

, 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 Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

) created the tables for volumes I through IV, and

Simon van den Neuwel Simon may refer to: People * Simon (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name Simon * Simon (surname), including a list of people with the surname Simon * Eugène Simon, French naturalist and the genus ...

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 Jacob Hoefnagel (also 'Jacobus', 'Jakob' or 'Jakub") (1573 in Antwerp – c.1632 in Hamburg), was a Flemish painter, printmaker, miniaturist, draftsman, art dealer, diplomat, merchant and politician. He was the son of the Flemish painter ...

, cartographer Daniel Freese, and

Heinrich Rantzau Heinrich Rantzau or Ranzow (Ranzovius) (11 March 1526 – 31 December 1598) was a German humanist writer and statesman, a prolific astrologer and an associate of Tycho Brahe. He was son of Johan Rantzau. He was Governor of the Danish royal ...

. Works by Jacob van Deventer,

, and Johannes Stumpf were also used. Primarily European cities are depicted in the publication; however,

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo met ...

Casablanca and

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley of ...

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,

:
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 Mexico
at 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