Nové Zámky (OWAR / Neuhäusel)

The original colored copperplate engraving from 1595. Author of the engraving: Franz Hogenberg, drawing based on a model by Joris Hoefnagel. Framed under museum-quality anti-reflective UV glass.

The authorship is indicated below the engraving:

Communicauit G. Housnaglius: depicT. à filio Ao 1595.

(Provided by G. Housnaglius; depicted by his son. In 1595.)

In this signature, the name of the author of the original, Joris Hoefnagel, is transcribed into Latin as G. Housnaglius.

The engraving can be found in institutional collections, including:

• Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna

• Magyar Nemzeti Múzeum, Budapest

• British Library, London

• Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

• Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich

The panoramic view of the fortified town of Nové Zámky (contemporary designation on the engraving: Neuhäusel, OWAR; Neuhäusel is the German name, OWAR is the Hungarian name) is one of the most important iconographic monuments to the history of Renaissance fortification architecture in Central Europe. The engraving depicts a regular hexagonal fortress surrounded by a moat, built as a modern bastion system in the second half of the 16th century to protect the northern border of the Kingdom of Hungary from Ottoman expansion. The town is depicted in a precise geometric layout: massive bastions with sloping fronts, straight connecting walls between the bastions, and water fortifications create a typical example of the so-called Italian fortification system (trace italienne). The inner buildings are organized into a regular grid of streets with a central square, reflecting the planned construction of a fortified town founded in 1573. The composition is divided into two parts: the left half presents a plan-axonometric view of the fortress itself surrounded by watercourses, while the right half develops the landscape context with rural motifs, bridges, mills, and figurative staffage in period clothing, making the veduta not only a military-topographical document, but also a cultural-social image of the landscape.

In the upper register, there is a title strip with the period name of the town, and on the right, a legend with a letter key to the most important objects. The legend reads:

A. Herm Palsy behaußung (Mr. Pálfi's house)

B. Türishe gefencknüsen (Turkish prison)

C. Catolijhe kirch (Catholic church)

D. Caluinijhe Vngerishe kirch (Calvinist Hungarian Church)

E. Luttershe Teutsche kirch (Lutheran German Church)

F. Hutten zum vieh (Cattle pens)

G. Türkishe kopff (Turkish head)

H. Muele (Mill)

I. Der weg auff Nonggradt (Road to Novohrad)

K. Der weg auff Graam (Road to Hron)

The engraving also depicts the fortress before its conquest by the Ottoman Empire (1663). At the time of its creation, Nové Zámky was an important and successfully defended anti-Turkish fortress. The defensive character and wartime reality of the border region is also emphasized by the scene in the middle of the sheet: Turkish heads are displayed on a tree, serving as a deterrent symbol of victory and a warning to the enemy.

The "mysterious" message of the author of the original: In the foreground of the veduta is a figurative scene with a group of nobly dressed figures. This scene probably refers to a specific historical event, which, however, the author did not describe in the accompanying text, and therefore its exact meaning cannot be clearly determined. We can assume that it depicts a horseman who has just dismounted and is paying homage or delivering a message to a noble lady accompanied by a maid and an armed escort. Such an interpretation is iconographically very likely and corresponds to the gestures and social status of the persons depicted.