Old Map of Nuremberg by Willem Blaeu, c.1635

Historical Background

This map presents Nuremberg not merely as a city but as the centre of an extensive territory within the Holy Roman Empire. Published around 1635, it records the settlements, roads, rivers, forests and boundaries administered or influenced by the Free Imperial City of Nuremberg.

Attribution

• Original title: Territorium Norimbergense
• Cartographer and publisher: Willem Janszoon Blaeu
• Publication place: Amsterdam
• Date: c.1635
• Printing method: Copper engraving
• Area shown: Nuremberg and its surrounding territory in Franconia
• Orientation: West is at the top
• Inset: Fortified plan of Nuremberg

The Territory of Nuremberg

Nuremberg appears near the centre as a conspicuous red walled city. Roads radiate from it towards smaller towns and villages, illustrating its position at the heart of a regional commercial network.

The map extends across a broad area of Franconia. Places including Lauf, Hersbruck, Altdorf, Schwabach and Fürth can be identified among the many settlements. Wooded country, cultivated land, rivers, ponds and areas of higher ground are represented pictorially.

Coloured boundary lines distinguish Nuremberg’s territory from neighbouring jurisdictions. These borders were important in a landscape divided among imperial cities, ecclesiastical territories, principalities and estates belonging to local nobles.

An Unusual Orientation

The engraved directions around the border reveal that west, marked Occidens, is at the top. East lies at the bottom, north is to the right and south to the left.

This orientation turns the modern expectation of a north-up map on its side. It may initially make the geography appear unfamiliar, but it also reflects a period when European mapmakers had not yet adopted north at the top as an absolute convention.

The Inset Plan of Nuremberg

A detailed plan in the lower-right corner shows the compact city enclosed by its formidable walls. The River Pegnitz passes through Nuremberg, dividing the northern and southern halves before continuing beyond the fortifications.

Streets, gates and densely packed buildings are represented within the enclosure. The Imperial Castle occupies the elevated northern part of the city, overlooking the street pattern below.

The inset provides a useful contrast with the main map. While the larger composition explains Nuremberg’s territorial reach, the plan shows the fortified urban centre from which that territory was governed.

The Free Imperial City

During the seventeenth century, Nuremberg retained the status of a Free Imperial City. It answered directly to the Holy Roman Emperor rather than to a surrounding territorial prince and controlled substantial lands beyond its walls.

The city had long prospered through trade, metalworking, printing and skilled craft production. However, the Thirty Years’ War was underway when this map was published. Nuremberg avoided direct destruction during much of the conflict but faced military pressure, disruption to trade and the cost of supporting armies.

Blaeu dedicated the map to the consuls and senate of the Nuremberg republic. The Latin dedication appears within the ornate cartouche in the upper-left corner, reinforcing the map’s connection with the city’s governing authorities.

Decoration and Civic Identity

The title cartouche is crowned by Nuremberg’s heraldic arms and accompanied by a winged figure sounding a trumpet. The imagery presents the city as an important and celebrated political community.

Blaeu balanced these decorative features with an unusually dense depiction of the surrounding landscape. Individual trees, wooded areas, hills and waterways give the territory a strongly pictorial character without obscuring its settlements and routes.

Willem Janszoon Blaeu

Willem Janszoon Blaeu was one of the leading figures of seventeenth-century Dutch cartography. Working in Amsterdam, he produced terrestrial maps, sea charts, globes and atlases distinguished by their precise engraving and restrained but elaborate ornament.