EXAMPLES OF GOTHIC ARCHITECTURAL

STRASBOURG CATHEDRAL – STRASBOURG, GRAND EST, FRANCE

STRASBOURG IS A CITY IN FRANCE
JUST OVER THE RHINE RIVER FROM
FRANCE’S BORDER WITH GERMANY.
BOTH NATIONS CONTROLLED
STRASBOURG AT VARIOUS POINTS
IN HISTORY, LEAVING BEHIND A
BLEND OF FRENCH AND GERMAN
CULTURE THAT REMAINS IN THE
REGION TO THIS DAY. THE
CATHEDRAL OF STRASBOURG
CONTAINS A FEW ELEMENTS
OF ROMANESQUE ARCHITECTURE, SUCH AS THE TRANSEPT AT THE SOUTH
END OF THE CHURCH WHICH WAS BUILT IN THE EARLY 13TH CENTURY. BUT
THE MAJORITY OF THE CHURCH IS COMPLETELY GOTHIC. THE ENTIRE FRONT
FACADE, THE BELL TOWER, THE NAVE, AND ALL OF THE STAINED GLASS
DATE TO THE LATE 13TH-15TH CENTURY. STRASBOURG EVEN HELD THE TITLE
OF “TALLEST BUILDING ON EARTH” FROM 1647 TO 1874, AFTER THE COLLAPSE
OF ANOTHER CHURCH’S BELLTOWER IN 1647.

ST. VITAS CATHEDRAL – PRAGUE, CZECH REPUBLIC

ST. VITUS CATHEDRAL IS ONE
OF THOSE CHURCHES IN
EUROPE THAT WAS STILL
BEING MODIFIED AFTER
HUNDREDS OF YEARS.
STARTING OUT AS A VERY
EARLY STONE CHURCH IN
THE 10TH CENTURY,
CONSTRUCTION ON THE
GOTHIC PORTION BEGAN
IN 1344. IT WASN’T
UNTIL 1929 THAT THE FINAL
ELEMENTS OF THE CHURCH WERE COMPLETED, INCLUDING SOME STAINED
GLASS WINDOWS DESIGNED BY THE RENOWNED CZECH PAINTER, ALPHONSE
MUCHA. THE IMAGES IN THE STAINED GLASS HAVE A DISTINCT ART
NOUVEAU INFLUENCE, AND THEY ARE A UNIQUE EXAMPLE OF THIS TYPE OF
ART WITHIN A GOTHIC BUILDING.

SEVILLE CATHEDRAL – SEVILLE, ANDALUSIA, SPAIN

SEVILLE CATHEDRAL IS
THE LARGEST CHURCH
BUILT DURING THE
GOTHIC AGE. AFTER THE
MOORISH CONQUEST OF
THE IBERIAN PENINSULA
IN THE EARLY 8TH
CENTURY, SEVILLE
REMAINED AN ISLAMIC
CITY UNTIL IT WAS
RECAPTURED BY THE
KINGDOM OF CASTILE IN 1248 DURING THE RECONQUISTA. WHEN SEVILLE
WAS CONTROLLED BY THE MOORS, THE RULERS CONSTRUCTED A
MAGNIFICENT MOSQUE, COMPLETE WITH A MINARET KNOWN TODAY AS THE
GIRALDA. WHEN THE CHRISTIANS RECAPTURED THE CITY THEY DEMOLISHED
THE MOSQUE, DESTROYING EVERYTHING EXCEPT FOR THE GIRALDA,
WHICH SURVIVED TO BECOME SEVILLE CATHEDRAL’S BELL TOWER.

GLOUCESTER CATHEDRAL – GLOUCESTER, ENGLAND, UNITED

KINGDOM
GLOUCESTER IS A CITY
FOUNDED BY THE ROMANS
ON THE BANKS OF THE
SEVERN RIVER IN SOUTH
WEST ENGLAND. THE
CATHEDRAL SITS NEAR THE
BANKS OF THE RIVER AND IS
THE CITY’S MOST WELL-
KNOWN SITE. THE ORIGINAL
STRUCTURE DATES TO
THE 11TH CENTURY DURING
THE TIME OF THE NORMANS.
ALTHOUGH SOME OF THE
INNER PORTIONS OF THE CHURCH WERE BUILT DURING THE ROMANESQUE
AGE, MOST OF THE ARCHITECTURE IS IN A DISTINCTLY GOTHIC STYLE.
NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS – PARIS, ÎLE-DE-FRANCE, FRANCE
NOTRE DAME WHICH TRANSLATES TO “OUR LADY” IS A POPULAR TITLE FOR FRENCH
CHURCHES DEDICATED TO THE VIRGIN
MARY. ALTHOUGH YOU WILL FIND
MANY DIFFERENT “NOTRE DAMES”
THROUGHOUT FRANCE, THE MOST
FAMOUS IS NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS,
LOCATED IN THE FRENCH CAPITAL
CITY. NOTRE DAME SITS ON THE BANKS
OF THE SEINE RIVER, ON THE LARGER
OF THE TWO PARISIAN ISLANDS KNOWN
AS ÎLE DE LA CITÉ. SADLY, THE CHURCH
WAS BADLY DAMAGED DURING A FIRE
IN APRIL 2019. MOST OF THE LEAD-COVERED WOOD ROOF, AS WELL AS THE
CHURCH’S ICONIC CENTRAL SPIRE, WERE COMPLETELY DESTROYED. (THE ABOVE
PHOTO WAS TAKEN BEFORE THE FIRE) TODAY THERE IS AN ONGOING RESTORATION
PROJECT TO REBUILD NOTRE-DAME DE PARIS IN ITS ORIGINAL FORM.

ST. STEPHEN’S CATHEDRAL – VIENNA, AUSTRIA  

VIENNA, THE FORMER CAPITAL OF THE ONCE-
MIGHTY HAPSBURG EMPIRE, WAS A LEADING
CITY IN CENTRAL EUROPE DURING THE
MIDDLE AGES. SAINT STEPHEN’S CATHEDRAL
IS VIENNA’S MOST IMPORTANT CHURCH AND
IS A TESTAMENT TO THE COMPLEX HISTORY
OF THE CITY. LIKE A LOT OF CATHEDRALS OF
THE ERA, THE CHURCH WAS BUILT OVER
CENTURIES, WITH CONSTRUCTION STARTING
AND STOPPING SPORADICALLY. THE
CATHEDRAL FEATURES
TWO ROMANESQUE TOWERS, WHICH WERE
BUILT PRIOR TO THE GOTHIC NAVE. THE
SOUTH TOWER WAS THE TALLEST
STRUCTURE IN THE CITY FOR HUNDREDS OF
YEARS, AND WORK WAS STARTED ON A
SIMILAR NORTH TOWER BUT WAS NEVER
COMPLETED. THE DECORATED ROOF TILES
HAVE BECOME A SYMBOL OF MODERN
VIENNA. THE ROOF OF THE CATHEDRAL HAD
TO BE COMPLETELY REDONE AFTER A FIRE DESTROYED THE EXISTING ROOF DURING
WWII. WORKERS USED MODERN TECHNIQUES LIKE STEEL REINFORCING TO SUPPORT
THE NEW ROOF, WHICH WAS THEN COVERED WITH 230,000 MULTI-COLORED GLAZED
TILES.
 EXAMPLES OF ENGLISH GOTHIC
ARCHITECTURAL
EARLY ENGLISH GOTHIC STRUCTURES:

THE EARLY ENGLISH GOTHIC PERIOD LASTED FROM THE LATE 12TH CENTURY
UNTIL MIDWAY THROUGH THE 13TH CENTURY, ACCORDING TO MOST
MODERN SCHOLARS. BY 1175, THE GOTHIC STYLE HAD BEEN FIRMLY
ESTABLISHED IN ENGLAND WITH THE COMPLETION OF THE CHOIR AT
CANTERBURY CATHEDRAL BY WILLIAM OF SENS. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT
CHARACTERISTIC DEVELOPMENT OF THE EARLY ENGLISH PERIOD WAS THE
POINTED ARCH KNOWN AS THE LANCET. COMPARED WITH THE ROUNDED
ROMANESQUE STYLE, THE POINTED ARCH OF THE EARLY ENGLISH GOTHIC IS
AESTHETICALLY MORE ELEGANT AND IS MORE EFFICIENT AT DISTRIBUTING
THE WEIGHT OF STONEWORK, MAKING IT POSSIBLE TO SPAN HIGHER AND
WIDER GAPS USING NARROWER COLUMNS. IT ALSO ALLOWS FOR MUCH
GREATER VARIATION IN PROPORTIONS.

LINCOLN CATHEDRAL
LINCOLN CATHEDRAL IS ONE OF THE
MOST SPECTACULAR GOTHIC BUILDINGS
THAT HELD THE RECORD FOR THE
WORLD'S TALLEST BUILDING FOR OVER
TWO CENTURIES. ENJOY EXPLORING THE
MAGNIFICENT EXTERIOR AND
INTERIORS, COLOURFUL STAINED GLASS
WINDOWS AND DISCOVERING THE
FAMOUS LINCOLN IMP.

SALISBURY CATHEDRAL
THERE ARE SO MANY SUPERLATIVES CONSORTING WITH THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH
OF THE BLESSED VIRGIN MARY IN SALISBURY:
IT HAS THE TALLEST SPIRE IN BRITAIN (404
FEET); IT HOUSES THE BEST PRESERVED OF THE
FOUR SURVIVING ORIGINAL COPIES OF THE
MAGNA CARTA (1215); IT HAS THE OLDEST
WORKING CLOCK IN EUROPE (1386); IT HAS THE
LARGEST CATHEDRAL CLOISTERS AND
CATHEDRAL CLOSE IN BRITAIN; THE CHOIR (OR
QUIRE) STALLS ARE THE LARGEST AND
EARLIEST COMPLETE SET IN BRITAIN.
 DECORATED GOTHIC STRUCTURES:

THE WEST FRONT OF YORK MINSTER IS FINE EXAMPLE OF DECORATED

ARCHITECTURE, IN PARTICULAR THE ELABORATE TRACERY ON THE MAIN
WINDOW. THIS PERIOD SAW DETAILED CARVING REACH ITS PEAK, WITH
ELABORATELY CARVED WINDOWS AND CAPITALS, OFTEN WITH FLORAL
PATTERNS. THE DECORATED PERIOD IN ARCHITECTURE IS ALSO KNOWN AS
THE DECORATED GOTHIC, OR SIMPLY "DECORATED". TRADITIONALLY, THIS
PERIOD IS BROKEN INTO TWO PERIODS: THE "GEOMET STYLE (1250-90) AND
THE "CURVILINEAR" STYLE (1290-1350). DECORATED ARCHITECTURE IS
CHARACTERIZED BY ITS WINDOW TRACERY. ELABORATE WINDOWS ARE
SUBDIVIDED BY CLOSELY SPACED PARALLEL MULLIONS (VERTICAL BARS OF
STONE), USUALLY UP TO THE LEVEL AT WHICH THE ARCHED TOP OF THE
WINDOW BEGINS. THE MULLIONS THEN BRANCH OUT AND CROSS,
INTERSECTING TO FILL THE TOP PART OF THE WINDOW WITH A MESH OF
ELABORATE PATTERNS CALLED TRACERY, TYPICALLY INCLUDING TREFOILS
AND QUATREFOILS. ⚫ THE STYLE WAS GEOMETRICAL AT FIRST AND
FLOWING IN THE LATER PERIOD, OWING TO THE OMISSION OF THE CIRCLES IN
THE WINDOW TRACERY. THIS FLOWING OR FLANTBOYANT TRACERY WAS
INTRODUCED IN THE FIRST QUARTER OF THE 14TH CENTURY AND LASTED
ABOUT FIFTY YEARS. THIS EVOLUTION OF DECORATED TRACERY IS OFTEN
USED TO SUBDIVIDE THE PERIOD INTO AN EARLIER "GEOMETRIC" AND LATER
"CURVILINEAR" PERIOD.

EXETER CATHEDRAL
THE BUILDING WAS SIGNIFICANTLY
DEVELOPED FROM THE 12TH TO 14TH
CENTURIES AND REMAINS THE MOST
COMPLETE EXAMPLE OF A FIRST
RANK CHURCH IN THE ENGLISH
DECORATED ARCHITECTURAL STYLE.

YORK MINISTER
YORK MINSTER IS THE SECOND-LARGEST
GOTHIC CATHEDRAL OF NORTHERN
EUROPE AND CLEARLY CHARTS THE
DEVELOPMENT OF ENGLISH GOTHIC
ARCHITECTURE FROM EARLY ENGLISH
THROUGH TO THE PERPENDICULAR
PERIOD. THE PRESENT BUILDING WAS
BEGUN IN ABOUT 1230 AND COMPLETED
IN 1472.
 PERPENDICULAR GOTHIC STRUCTURES:

THE INTERIOR OF GLOUCESTERCATHEDRAL CONVEYS AN IMPRESSION OF A

CAGE OF STONE AND GLASS, TYPICAL OF PERPENDICULAR ARCHITECTURE.
ELABORATE DECORATED STYLE TRACERY IS NO LONGER IN EVIDENCE, AND
THE LINES ON BOTH WALLS AND WINDOWS HAVE BECOME SHARPER AND
LESS FLAMBOYANT. IS SO-CALLED BECAUSE IT IS CHARACTERISED BY AN
EMPHASIS ON VERTICAL LINES, IT IS ALSO KNOWN AS INTERNATIONAL
GOTHIC, THE RECTILINEAR STYLE, OR LATE GOTHIC. THIS PERPENDICULAR
LINEARITY IS PARTICULARLY OBVIOUS IN THE DESIGN OF WINDOWS.
WINDOWS BECAME VERY LARGE, SOMETIMES OF IMMENSE SIZE, WITH
SLIMMER STONE MULLIONS THAN IN EARLIER PERIODS, ALLOWING GREATER
SCOPE FOR STAINED GLASS CRAFTSMEN. THE MULLIONS OF THE WINDOWS
ARE CARRIED VERTICALLY UP INTO THE ARCH MOULDING OF THE WINDOWS,
AND THE UPPER PORTION IS SUBDIVIDED BY ADDITIONAL MULLIONS AND
TRANSOMS, FORMING RECTANGULAR COMPARTMENTS, KNOWN AS PANEL
TRACERY. WALL SURFACES ARE LIKEWISE DIVIDED UP INTO VERTICAL
PANELS.

KING’S COLLEGE CHAPEL

KING'S COLLEGE CHAPEL IS THE

OLDEST SURVIVING BUILDING WITHIN
THE COLLEGE SITE AND PERHAPS THE
MOST ICONIC BUILDING IN
CAMBRIDGE. WORK ON THIS CHAPEL
ONLY STARTED FIVE YEARS AFTER
KING'S COLLEGE WAS FOUNDED BY
HENRY VI IN 1441.

LADY CHAPEL

THE LADY CHAPEL CONSTRUCTED

AT THE WISH OF HENRY VII AT
WESTMINSTER ABBEY IS THE LAST
GREAT MASTERPIECE OF ENGLISH
MEDIEVAL ARCHITECTURE, AND
THE CULMINATING ACHIEVEMENT
OF OVER THREE HUNDRED YEARS
OF DEVELOPMENT IN THE GOTHIC
STYLE, AT THE POINT WHERE IT
INTERSECTS WITH THE NEW
MOVEMENTS OF THE RENAISSANCE.