Abstract
The article follows basic trends of the conceptualisation of the artistic image of the city from the Middle Ages to the present day, documenting them using the examples of Prague and Vienna. From the earliest times, cities were characterised in various depictions by means of symbols reflecting their independence, wealth, their ability to protect their residents and their military strength.
From the end of the Middle Ages, printing played a major role in the spread of city images, supporting the specification and, stabilisation of the method of characterising important cities. What the development stages in the depiction of cities and technical approaches to this work had in common, was the staging and the selected viewing of the cities.
For that matter, manipulation of the city image didn't stop even in the 20th century. When using iconographic testimony on cities, it is necessary to undertake research of a broadly contextualised background of the origin and application of this type of source.