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Antique maps > europe > central europe > Antique map - bird's-eye views of Prague.

Palatium Imperatorum Pragae quod vulgo Ratzin Appellatur [on sheet with] Praga Regni Bohemiae Metropolis - Braun & Hogenberg, 1596/97.



Antique map with two bird's-eye views of Prague by Braun and Hogenberg.

TRANSLATION CAPTION TOP: Imperial Palace in Prague, in the vernacular the Hradcany.

CAPTION BOTTOM: Prague, capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN: "In the town hall there is an extraordinary beautiful clock, the like of which is found nowhere else in the whole world in the unanimous opinion of all informed masters. The clock not only shows the entire course of the year and naturally also the number of all the months and days and the complete calendar, but also the ascent and descent of all twelve signs of the zodiac. In the part of the city that leads down to the river towards the west, the Jews have their houses; this part might be compared with a small town."

This view of the city from the north shows on the right the Hradcany castle with - rather cramped beneath it - the Lesser Quarter (Mala Strana), from where the Charles bridge leads into the Old Town. The Lesser Quarter was charted as an independent town in 1257, the old town having already received its own, separate charter in 1230. The Gothic Teyn church with its two towers can be seen on the left, directly above the bend in the Vltava River. Nearby stands the town hall, with Prague's famous astronimical clock, the Orloj. The clock was first installed in a simple form in 1410, making it the third-oldest astronimical clock in the world. The present plate offers a detailed view from the south of the all-dominating Hradcany. The wide steps that formerly led from St Matthew's gate up to the fortress complex can be seen on the left. Towering above its surroundings in the centre is St Vitus's cathedral, which was begun in 1344 and houses the tombs of Charles IV and his son Wenceslas IV. Further right lies the twin-tower Romanesque church of St George, directly attached to St George's monastery from the mid-12th century. On the far right is the Black Tower. (Taschen)

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

Copper engraving
Size: 34 x 49cm (13.3 x 19.1 inches)
Verso text: Latin
Condition: Excellent, superb old colour.
Condition Rating: A
References: Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg, p.399.

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: 24181
Price: 3200 Euro

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