BRAUN,G. / HOGENBERG, F. - Znaymum vulgo Znaym, Moraviae Civitas Primaria.

Rare bird's-eye view of Znojmo (Znaim) Key to 12 locations.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "This is a beautiful and wealthy city in Moravia, situated on the border to Austria on a hill or mountain, at the foot of which lies the River Dyje. In the city there is a splendid town hall or council house with a high and skillfully built tower. The town houses are also very fine and handsome. The burghers of Znojmo are especially praised by Dubravius because they opposed the sect of the Hussites, even though today the whole of Moravia is a nest of Anabaptists."

Znojmo, which lies high above the River Dyje, is shown from the southwest with its city wall and many towers, with the Gothic hall tower (C) rising high in the middle. To the left of this is the church of St Nicholas (B) with its high nave and square tower. There was a castle in Znojmo in the 9th century during the great Moravian Empire. The town developed under the protection of the castle, built by the Margraves of Moravia in the 11th century. Of this castle the Romanesque Rotunda of St Catherine with its outstanding frescoes has been preserved. After its destruction in the 12th century, Znojmo was refounded by German settlers and was raised to the status of a royal city in 1226. The engraving shows the 13th-century Gothic castle (A); in the 17th century this was turned into a Baroque palace, which still exists. (Taschen)

Frans Hogenberg (1535 Mechelen - Cologne 1590) was a copper engraver and etcher. Georg Braun (1541 - Cologne - 1622) was a geographer and publisher. Both edited the first comprehensive and systematically designed atlas with town views and plans from all over the world. The collection 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum' was published from 1572 until 1618 and ultimately 6 volumes contained more than 500 copper engravings together with a huge amount of textural information