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Antique maps > europe > austria > Antique map of Innsbruck by Braun & Hogenberg

Elegantissimus a Parte Orientali Oenipontis Prospectus - Braun & Hogenberg, 1598.



View of Ambras castle with Innsbruck in the distance, by G. Hoefnagel after Alexander Colijn.

TRANSLATION OF CAPTION TOP: Prospect of the most elegant city of Innsbruck, from the east.

CAPTION LEFT: Ambras castle, built by the Most Serene Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, which also contains his library and his cabinet of curiosities.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Near the city on a hill is Ambras castle, completed by the Most Serene Archduke Ferdinand of Austria, with a magnificent library and study. This palace was built by the prince for himself and his courtiers, so that they could enjoy the cool air there during the summer."

This engraving offers a view of the Inn Valley from the east. In its animation and dynamism, conveyed by the rural staffage, high mountains and dramatic, cloudy sky, the illustration is somewhat untypical of the city atlas. Visible on the left is Ambras castle, in the possession of the Habsburgs from 1363. Below it on the right lies the village of Amras, today a suburb of Innsbruck. The castle takes its name from the Latin ad umbras, "in the shade". The medieval complex was remodelled in the Renaissance style by Archduke Ferdinand II, who in 1563 became governor of the Tyrol. He also founded the magnificent Ambras collections, to which the Amraser Heldenbuch (Ambras Book of Heroes) at that time belonged; this anthology of medieval epics and chivalric tales from the 12th and 13th century was compiled by Hans Ried in 1504-1517 on behalf of Emperor Maximilian I and includes the Song of the Nibelungen and Hartmann von Aue's Erec and Iwein. (Taschen)

Copper engraving
Size: 36 x 51cm (14 x 19.9 inches)
Verso text: Latin
Condition: Small hole filled, else excellent, superb old colour.
Condition Rating: A
References: Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.416.

From: Civitates Orbis Terrarum, ... Part 5. Köln, 1598.

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Item number: 23396
Price: 950 Euro

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