Husemum Ducatus Slesvicensis ad Sinum Heveram Opp. [on sheet with] Haderslebia in Ducatu Slesvicensi. (Husum and Haderslev)

Two bird's-eye views by Braun and Hogenberg: Husum and Haderslev.

HUSUM with CARTOUCHE LEFT: Husum, town in the Duchy of Schleswig on the Hever coast.

CARTOUCHE RIGHT: Recorded by the illustrious gentleman Heinrich Rantzau, viceroy of the King, etc.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "Husum, a town in Schleswig situated in the territory ruled by Adolf, Duke of Schleswig, has a shipping port that is celebrated for its far-flung commerce and trade links. To it the city owes the bend or twist made by the large arm of the sea called the Hever so that it extends as far as Husum. Hence it is easy to go by ship from here to Holland, Zeeland, England and Scotland, which is, conversely, the reason why so many goods arrive here for transhipment to Flensburg, which is only five miles distant, that is, from the North Sea to the Baltic."

This view, looking north from a slightly elevated vantage point, shows the unfortified town on the Hever, with ships on it. At the centre is the church of St Mary, consecrated in 1436. Behind it is the castle built by Duke Adolf from 1577 to 1582. First mentioned in 1409, Husum was the most important North Friesland port in the late 15th century. It owed this status to a storm flood, which swept away much of the North Friesland coast in 1362, turning an inland settlement into a port town overnight. Husum was not made a free city until the early 17th century. Active in Husum from 1512 to 1521, the celebrated Hans Brüggemann produced his masterpiece here, the Bordersholm Altarpiece. Husum was fondly addressed as " O grey town on the sea" by a famous son, the writer Theodor Storm.

HADERSLEV with CARTOUCHE: Haderslev, town in the Duchy of Schleswig across from Funen, defended by a royal fort that is square in ground plan, 150 paces long and nearly as many wide. 1585 at Cologne.

COMMENTARY BY BRAUN (on verso): "Haderslev, a town in the Duchy of Schleswig, was incorporated and granted its civic privileges in the year of our lord 1292 by Waldemar, Duke of Jutland. Once it had a fortified castle on an elevation. [...] Moreover it also has a secure harbour or safe haven for mooring ships such that it extends into the Baltic across from Finland, which is surrounded on all sides in the immediate environs by fertile, arable land."

This view with sea-going vessels indicates the importance of Haderslev as a trading port situated on a man-made peninsula at the end of Haderslev Fjord. In the Middle Ages it was one of the most prosperous ports in the region. In 1544 Haderslev became a seat of territorial government and the fortress situated to the east of the city was replaced by magnificent Hansburg castle, which was besieged and destroyed by the Swedes in the 17th century and never rebuilt. The High Gothic church of St Mary was, after Schleswig cathedral, the largest in the former bishopric of Schleswig. Haderslev lost its importance as a port because the fjord and harbour were too narrow for larger ships to be able to manoeuvre in them.

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Reference: Van der Krogt 4, 1853; Taschen, Braun and Hogenberg.