![[Elbląg] MERIAN, Matthäus (1593–1650) — *Wahre Contrafactur der Statt Elbing*. Frankfurt, 1635.](https://gcp-la8-storage-cdn.lot-art.com/public/upl/64/Elblag-MERIAN-Matthaus-1593-1650-Wahre-Contrafactur-der-Statt-Elbing-Frankfurt-1635_6a9dd8761b349-full-07679700_1788729463-6a9dd87712c15.jpg "[Elbląg] MERIAN, Matthäus (1593–1650) — *Wahre Contrafactur der Statt Elbing*. Frankfurt, 1635.")
[Elbląg] MERIAN, Matthäus (1593–1650) — *Wahre Contrafactur der Statt Elbing*. Frankfurt, 1635.
[Elbląg] MERIAN, Matthäus (1593–1650) — *Wahre Contrafactur der Statt Elbing*. Frankfurt, 1635.
Copper engraving, paper, 230 × 315 mm. Blank reverse. Framed.
A detailed bird’s-eye view of Elbląg, showing the city’s extensive star-shaped fortification system, which was rebuilt under Swedish rule after the city’s capture in 1626 during the Polish–Swedish War. The city is depicted on both sides of the Elbląg River: the walled Old Town occupies the central and left portions of the composition, featuring a dense arrangement of houses with gabled facades, dominated by tall church towers. On the western side lies the New Town, surrounded by its own system of bastion fortifications, while on the eastern bank, within the bastion fortifications, another fortified quarter is depicted: “Die Speicher”—granaries and warehouses. A drawbridge connects the various parts of the city.
Surrounding the city is a landscape featuring figures, grazing cattle, and roads leading inland. In the upper part of the composition, beneath the title, there is a small heraldic cartouche bearing the city’s coat of arms with a cross. A list of letters placed below the view identifies the city’s twenty most important buildings, including the parish church, the monastery church, the hospital church, the town halls, and the city gates.
The view was published in the first volume of Matthäus Merian’s *Theatrum Europaeum*, a monumental illustrated chronicle of European political and military history, and serves as an important iconographic source for the history of Elbląg and its fortifications during the Swedish occupation.
Dantiscum Emporium G73/2.
[Elbląg] MERIAN, Matthäus (1593–1650) — *Wahre Contrafactur der Statt Elbing*. Frankfurt, 1635.
Copper engraving, paper, 230 × 315 mm. Blank reverse. Framed.
A detailed bird’s-eye view of Elbląg, showing the city’s extensive star-shaped fortification system, which was rebuilt under Swedish rule after the city’s capture in 1626 during the Polish–Swedish War. The city is depicted on both sides of the Elbląg River: the walled Old Town occupies the central and left portions of the composition, featuring a dense arrangement of houses with gabled facades, dominated by tall church towers. On the western side lies the New Town, surrounded by its own system of bastion fortifications, while on the eastern bank, within the bastion fortifications, another fortified quarter is depicted: “Die Speicher”—granaries and warehouses. A drawbridge connects the various parts of the city.
Surrounding the city is a landscape featuring figures, grazing cattle, and roads leading inland. In the upper part of the composition, beneath the title, there is a small heraldic cartouche bearing the city’s coat of arms with a cross. A list of letters placed below the view identifies the city’s twenty most important buildings, including the parish church, the monastery church, the hospital church, the town halls, and the city gates.
The view was published in the first volume of Matthäus Merian’s *Theatrum Europaeum*, a monumental illustrated chronicle of European political and military history, and serves as an important iconographic source for the history of Elbląg and its fortifications during the Swedish occupation.
Dantiscum Emporium G73/2.
