Marburg, a German town, is a former capital of Hesse,[1] one of the Holy Roman Empire’s provinces, and known for its Protestant university, the University of Marburg.[2] Braun and Hogenberg published the “Marpurg” visualization in the first edition of Civitates Orbis Terrarum in 1572. For the two centuries following the atlas’ publication, Marburg’s governance was disputed, and the town “suffered considerably from sieges and famine” during the Thirty Years’ and Seven Years’ Wars (1618-1648 and 1756-1763, respectively).[3] Today, Marburg remains a university town, and Braun and Hogenberg’s city-view provides a glimpse of the city before ravaged by regional instablity during the early modern period.
[1] “Marburg Steckbrief - Gründung und Frühgeschichte, Reformation,” Screenhaus., January 8, 2021, https://www.screenhaus.de/marburg/.
[2] Hugh Chisholm, The Encyclopaedia Britannica : A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, Literature and General Information, 17th ed. (New York : Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1922), http://archive.org/details/encyclopaediabri17chisrich., 680-681.
[3] Chisholm.