Kolding Map 1598 Braun & Hogenberg Bird's-Eye View Print - Kolding, Koldinghus, Jutland, Denmark

This early bird's-eye view of the Danish seaport of Kolding and the royal residence of Koldinghus, titled Colding Schloss und Stat, was published in Cologne in 1598 by Georg Braun and Frans Hogenberg. It gives a high vantage over the Jutland town and its dominant landmark, the royal castle. The view owes its origin to Heinrich Rantzau, who lived from 1526 to 1598 and was a Danish statesman, scholar and humanist, and Danish governor of the royal duchies of Schleswig and Holstein. He kept a wide correspondence with scholars across Europe. The sheet is a rare early view of a Danish town, and its fine engraving rewards close study of the castle, the harbor and the countryside around them.

Rantzau supplied Braun and Hogenberg with original drawings and geographic data for many Scandinavian and northern European cities, which widened the northern scope of the Civitates Orbis Terrarum. This view appeared in the fifth volume, issued first in 1598, of a work conceived as a companion to the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum of Abraham Ortelius and the first systematic city atlas, which came to include 546 views in six volumes. A banner cartouche at the upper right acknowledges Rantzau's museum as the source. The engraving shows Kolding along its river and fjord with the great castle rising over the town.

A collector of town views, a family with roots in Kolding or Jutland, or a reader of Danish history will find a rare gift here. TheMapVault's views of Leuven and Antwerp from the same Civitates cover the Low Countries, whereas this sheet carries the series north to Jutland. Like every print in the collection, it ships unframed and is available in a full range of sizes, from a compact desk piece to a large-format statement print. It would suit a study, a hall or a library. The view is a good fit for a collector of Danish history.