Original engraving by the German engraver Johann Koppmayer showing the walled city of Luxembourg as it looked from the south side of the Alzette River.
It has been re-margined sometime in the past, without affecting the plate image.
A solid stone wall with many towers and gates circles the town, while two branches of the river curve in front of the walls. Inside the defenses, steep roofs and blue-tipped church spires stand close together; the tallest belong to Notre-Dame Cathedral and St. Michael’s Church. Behind the houses, gentle green hills of the Ardennes rise toward the sky, and cattle graze peacefully in the foreground.
Luxembourg was a key fortress in Europe’s power struggles. French troops under King Louis XIV captured the city in 1684, and his famous engineer Vauban quickly built new, stronger defenses around it. Although the Treaty of Ryswick in 1697 forced France to give Luxembourg back to Spain, the French fortifications stayed in place. Over the next years the city repeatedly changed rulers during wars between France, Spain, Austria, and the Dutch, making Luxembourg a much-fought-over “Gibraltar of the North.”
Koppmayer copied an earlier plate by Merian incorporating slight variations in the finer architectural details.
Jakob Koppmayer (1640–1705) was a prominent German publisher, printer, bookbinder and bookseller based in Augsburg, Germany. He operated a major print-making studio and publishing house and commissioned local German artisans to engrave copper plates based on earlier iconic architectural or geographical works.
In the late 17th century, the demand for panoramic city views and maps spiked due to the ongoing wars with the Ottoman Empire and regional European power struggles. Koppmayer capitalized on this and his sutio became profitable and internationally known due to his detailed and highly sought-after city views, many of which were copied from other artists, such as Merian. His 1689 panorama of Luxembourg City is a prime example of his output - recreating older premium plates to sell to a broader consumer audience.
