Bilder Sebastian Munster (1488–1552) – View of the City of Freiberg – Woodcut (1550)

Beskrivning

This print presents a detailed topographical woodcut view of the city of Freiberg in Saxony, depicted within its prominent circular fortifications. The bird's-eye perspective highlights the densely packed urban center with its grid-like street layout, civic buildings, and numerous church spires, all surrounded by defensive walls, moats, and outer gatehouses. A detailed legend at the bottom of the page provides an alphabetical and numerical key to specific landmarks and locations within and around the city. The work was published as part of the Cosmographia, the earliest German-language description of the world, which served as a critical resource for sixteenth-century scholars to understand the urban development and geography of Central Europe during the Reformation era.

Sebastian Munster was a German cartographer, cosmographer, and Christian Hebraist who became one of the most significant geographic scholars of the sixteenth century. A former Franciscan monk who later converted to Protestantism, he served as a professor at the University of Basel, where he compiled vast amounts of geographical and historical data. His masterpiece, the Cosmographia, went through numerous editions and was translated into several languages, fundamentally shaping the European worldview for decades. Munster is recognized for his systematic approach to cartography and his role in popularizing the study of geography through highly detailed woodcut illustrations and maps.

Artist or Maker: Sebastian Munster.

Dimensions: Approximately 36 cm x 43 cm.

Medium: Woodcut .

Date: 1550.

Condition Report:
This work is in good condition overall. There may be a few minor imperfections or fox or mottled marks to be expected with age. Please review the images carefully for condition details, and feel free to contact us with any questions or for a comprehensive condition report.