Beschreibung der Statt Würzburg/mit sampt den Fürstlichen Schloß

Title

Beschreibung der Statt Würzburg/mit sampt den Fürstlichen Schloß

Bird's eye view of the Franconian city of Würzburg. Furthermore, depictions of coats of arms in the sky and an index within a cartouche at lower left.

ca. 1550

Artist

Münster (1489-1552)

Sebastian Münster (1489–1552) was a leading Renaissance cosmographer. His most famous work, the Cosmographia (1544), was a comprehensive description of the world with 24 maps, based on research dating back to 1528. Continuously revised, the 1550 edition already included many new maps. It was the first scientific yet accessible world description published in German, illustrated with numerous woodcuts by artists such as Hans Holbein the Younger. Between 1544 and 1650, the Cosmographia appeared in 46 editions (27 in German) and was translated into several languages. Münster’s work combined the knowledge of scholars, artists, and travelers and remained influential long after his death.

Historical Description

The earliest mentions of the place name are found around 704 A.D., by the geographer of Ravenna, with the name Uburzis and mentioned in a document in 704 as castello Virteburh. Already in the 10th century an etymology was made in the form Herbipolis on the basis of Latin herba '(healing) herbs'. Würzburg would thus mean 'castle on the herb-rich place'. Ludwig the Pious granted the Würzburg bishops a customs privilege around 820, and the right to hold markets and mint coins in 1030. The marketplace frequented by long-distance merchants and wholesalers in the 10th century was located in today's Domstrasse. In 1188, Hohenstaufen farms and proprietary estates in the city and diocese of Würzburg were mentioned in a treaty between Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa and King Alfonso VIII of Castile. The Prince-Bishop Julius Echter of Mespelbrunn was significant for the history of Würzburg. He founded the Juliusspital, reestablished the university and extended the fortress on the Marienberg as a Renaissance castle. He was known far beyond Würzburg as a counter-reformer and persecutor of witches. From 1631 to 1634, Würzburg was occupied by the Swedes, and after the Thirty Years' War and the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, the baroque, star-shaped expansion of Würzburg's fortifications took place, including the creation of new fortress and city gates. Under Prince-Bishop Johann Philipp II von Greiffenclau zu Vollraths and his successors, especially from the House of Schönborn, there were significant artistic and especially building activities from 1699. They still characterize the cityscape today.