De Germania Liber III. Civitas Augustana olim Vindelica, hode Rhetica, tota orbe terrarum notissima.

Title

De Germania Liber III. Civitas Augustana olim Vindelica, hode Rhetica, tota orbe terrarum notissima.

Detailed city map of Augsburg with city coat of arms and legend.

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

Augsburg's peak boom years occurred during the 15th and 16th centuries thanks to the bank and metal businesses of the merchant families Fugger and Welser, who held a local near total monopoly on their respective industries. Augsburg's wealth attracted artists seeking patrons and rapidly became a creative centre for famous painters, sculptors and musicians notably birthplace of : the Holbein painter family. In later centuries the city was the birthplace of the composer Leopold Mozart and the playwright Berthold Brecht. Rococo became so prevalent that it became known as “Augsburg style” throughout Germany.In 1806, when the Holy Roman Empire was dissolved, Augsburg lost its independence and was annexed to the Kingdom of Bavaria. In 1817, the city became an administrative capital of the Oberdon, , then administrative capital in 1837 for the district Swabia and Neuburg.