Die Reichstatt Speier vor alten Zeiten Ciuitas Memestum/das ist Memeter statt hat geheissen

Title

Die Reichstatt Speier vor alten Zeiten Ciuitas Memestum/das ist Memeter statt hat geheissen

View of the city of Speyer on the Rhine in Rhineland-Palatinate.

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

Rhineland-Palatinate is surrounded by the states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Saarland, Baden-Württemberg and Hesse. It also borders three foreign countries: France, Luxembourg and Belgium. Rhineland-Palatinate was established in 1946 after World War II, from territory of the historically separate regions of the Free State of Prussia, the People's State of Hesse and Bavaria, by the French military administration in Allied-occupied Germany. Rhineland-Palatinate became part of the Federal Republic of Germany in 1949 and shared the country's only border with the Saar Protectorate until it was returned to German control in 1957. Rhineland-Palatinate has since developed its own identity built on its natural and cultural heritage, including the extensive Palatinate winegrowing region, its picturesque landscapes, and its many castles and palaces.