page_title: Peter Parler
section_title: Prague
hierarchical_section_title: Peter Parler / Prague
caption_attribution_description: English: Main nave of St. Vitus Cathedral, Prague
context_page_description: Peter Parler was a German-Bohemian architect and sculptor from the Parler family of master builders. Along with his father, Heinrich Parler, he is one of the most prominent and influential craftsmen of the Middle Ages. Born and apprenticed in the town of Schwäbisch Gmünd, Peter worked at several important late Medieval building sites, including Strasbourg, Cologne, and Nuremberg. After 1356 he lived in Prague, capital of the Kingdom of Bohemia and seat of the Holy Roman Empire, where he created his most famous works: St. Vitus Cathedral and the Charles Bridge.
context_section_description: Upon his ascension to the throne as King of Bohemia in 1347, Charles IV established his capital at Prague. At the time it consisted of two autonomous Medieval towns on each side of the Vltava river (German: Moldau): the Old Town on the right and the Malá Strana with Prague Castle above it on the left. In 1348 he ordered construction of the New Town adjacent to the existing Old Town, founded Charles University, began reconstruction of the castle, and restarted work on the cathedral. To accomplish this ambitious building program he recruited the best architects he could find. First was Matthias of Arras, who died in 1352. When elected Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, Charles determined to make Prague the showcase capital of Central Europe and recruited Peter Parler to execute this grand vision. The period would launch what became known as Prague's "golden era" and it soon was the largest European city after Constantinople, Paris, and Granada.
caption: Interior of St. Vitus Cathedral, clearly showing the Parler-style balustrade
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