Compositionally, Klee based the work on a horizontal pattern of lines, which he further subdivided into smaller details that, taken together, characterize the city's architecture: a leaning tower on the left, medieval battlements, and a multitude of facade niches and window openings form the cityscape, dimly illuminated by the moon. The flags placed above the rooftops seem to reach out towards the waxing moon and another celestial body that appears inextricably linked to it. Legible only with special conservator's light, Klee inscribed "S.Cl" in the lower left corner, thereby including the work in his so-called "special class." This class comprised works that were personally significant to Klee and which he thus marked as unsaleable. He removed approximately 300 works from sale in this way. This particular piece remained in the possession of Paul and Lily Klee until their deaths and only officially entered the art market in 1992.