Beyde Stett Genff groß und klein/ mit einer Brucken zusammen gehängt

Title

Beyde Stett Genff groß und klein/ mit einer Brucken zusammen gehängt

Map shows the city of Geneva from the Vogelschgau with its coat of arms. The reverse shows the whole of France.

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

Geneva was a fortified border town of the Allobroges against the Helvetii in the Celtic period. It came under Roman rule around 120 BC. From 400 to 1536 it was a bishop's see, and in the fifth and ninth centuries it also functioned as the seat of the Burgundian kings. In 1526 Geneva joined a confederation of cities together with Bern and Fribourg. The French reformer John Calvin founded the Geneva Academy, now the University of Geneva, in 1559. From 1540 to 1700, Geneva had become an important refuge and new home for Italian and French Protestant refugees. The immigrant families, however, were not only a burden for the city, but also a social and economic enrichment through their education and knowledge in silk production and trade and in the art of watchmaking, which they brought with them and settled in Geneva and the surrounding area.