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Antique maps > europe > central europe > Antique map - bird's-eye view of Györ in Hungary by Braun and Hogenberg.

Iaverinum vulgo Rab Anno 1594 - Braun & Hogenberg, 1596/97.



Bird's-eye view of Györ in Hungary, engraved by G. Hoefnagel after N. Aginelli, 1596.

TRANSLATION OF CARTOUCHE TEXT: Iaverinum, in German Raab. In the year 1594 Sinan Bassa, serving under the Turkish ruler Amurat, crossed the Danube, scattered the camp of the Christians on the Island of Schutta, and on 31 July began such an oppressive and terrible siege of the city that he was able to seize possession of it on 29 September.

SIGNED AND DATED BOTTOM LEFT: Iaverium, once drawn most accurately by the Italian Nicolas Aginelli in the year 1566, transferred from a somewhat larger to a smaller format, kindly provided by Georg Hoefnagel at the request of his friends in Cologne in the year 1597.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "Györ is a well-known town in Hungary, on the left side of the Danube. On the right side flows the Rába, which empties into the Danube here. The town has an important bishopric and on account of its location significant trade and industry. The remains of the old castle walls, the tombs and the carved and painted pictures on the walls of the churches show the age of the town and that the Romans formerly made their winter camp here and occupied the town. In our own times Emperors Ferdinand and Maximilian have fortified it with such thick walls, deep moats and mighty bastions that it is now quite impregnable."

Györ, which lies southeast of Bratislava at the confluence of the Raba and an arm of the Danube, is seen here in a bird's-eye view. The bastioned fortifications and the bishop's palace (Palatium) were constructed in the early 16th century by Italian military engineers. The palace lay in the immediate vicinity of the cathedral of Our Lady, which was built on the ruins of a Roman temple. When Buda fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1541, it heigthened Györ's importance as the Habsburgs' easternmost bulwark. Under Turkish occupation (1594-1598) the town was almost completely destroyed and for a while bore the Turkish name of Yanik Kala ("burned mountain"). The captions make reference to historical events, such as that in the centre: "Here the Roman Emperor Maximilian II marked out an impregnable camp in the year 1566". Györ's situation at the time of this engraving is underlined by the animated staffage figures, who are identified from left to right as follows: "Heyducks/ Hungarian noblewomen/Polish knight" [with arrows in his torso]/"Captive Turk". Over the course of the 17th century Györ slowly started to recover and was rebuilt in the 18th century. (Taschen)

Date of this print: 1596/97
Date of the first edition: 1596/97

Copper engraving
Size: 36 x 51cm (14 x 19.9 inches)
Verso text: Latin
Condition: Old coloured, excellent.
Condition Rating: A
References: Van der Krogt 4, 1663; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.407

 

From: Urbium Praeipuarum Mundi Theatrum Quintum Auctore Georgio Braunio Agrippinate. Part 5. Köln, 1596/97. (Van der Krogt 4, 41:1.5)

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Item number: 24186
Price: 950 Euro

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