Georg Braun (1541 – 1622) & Frans Hogenberg (1535 – 1590)

Frans Hogenberg (1535 Mecheln - Cologne 1590) was a copper engraver and etcher. Georg Braun (1541 - Cologne - 1622) was a geographer and publisher. Both edited the first comprehensive and systematicly 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. G. Braun was compiling the text and F. Hogenberg was responsible for the engravings (of the first 4 volumes). Many of the views were based on drawings by Joris Hoefnagel (1542 Antwerp - Vienna 1600). The 'Civitates Orbis Terrarum' can be seen very much as a companion piece to the 'Theatrum Orbis Terrarum' by Abraham Ortelius (1527 - Antwerp - 1598), whose atlases with maps from all over the world were published from 1570 until 1612.