Wenzel Parler ( cs, Václav Parléř, 1404) was an architect and sculptor from the

Parler family The Parler family ( cs, Parléř ) was a family of German architects and sculptors from the 14th century. Founder of the dynasty, Heinrich Parler, but later lived and worked in Gmünd. His descendants were working in various parts of central Eur ...

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

Bohemia Bohemia ( ; cs, Čechy ; ; hsb, Čěska; szl, Czechy) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. Bohemia can also refer to a wider area consisting of the historical Lands of the Bohemian Crown ruled by the Bohem ...

n master builders and son of

Peter Parler Peter Parler (german: Peter von Gemünd, cs, Petr Parléř, la, Petrus de Gemunden in Suevia; 1333 – 13 July 1399) was a German-Bohemian architect and sculptor from the Parler family of master builders. Along with his father, Heinrich Parler, ...

. He worked on

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

churches in the Holy Roman cities of Prague, Nördlingen, and Vienna during the

Late Middle Ages The Late Middle Ages or Late Medieval Period was the Periodization, period of European history lasting from AD 1300 to 1500. The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern period (and in much of Eur ...

Life

The first work of Wenzel Parler can be found in the second half of the 1370s in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

, where he was instrumental in the construction of

St. Vitus Cathedral , native_name_lang = Czech , image = St Vitus Prague September 2016-21.jpg , imagesize = 300px , imagelink = , imagealt = , landscape = , caption ...

until at least 1392. His brother Johann Parler the younger took over construction of the cathedral in 1398, and they in turn were succeeded by a certain Master Petrik. Under these three masters, the transept and the great tower were finished, as was the gable which connects the tower with the southern transept. Nicknamed ''Golden Gate'', it became the portal through which

kings of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings beforehand, first gaining the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of the Holy Roman ...

entered the cathedral for coronation ceremonies. He left Prague in 1398 and his younger brother Johann Parler the younger took over construction of the cathedral. Although not clearly documented, Wenzel probably went on to oversee construction of St. Salvator's Church (german: St.-Salvator-Kirchein) in

Nördlingen Nördlingen (; Swabian: ''Nearle'' or ''Nearleng'') is a town in the Donau-Ries district, in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, with a population of approximately 20,674. It is located approximately east of Stuttgart, and northwest of Munich. It was bui ...

, a

free imperial city In the Holy Roman Empire, the collective term free and imperial cities (german: Freie und Reichsstädte), briefly worded free imperial city (', la, urbs imperialis libera), was used from the fifteenth century to denote a self-ruling city that ...

in the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. From 1400, he surfaced as a stonemason at St. Stephen's Cathedral in

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

, where he became (Master Builder of the Cathedral) from 1403. The original architectural idea for the southern tower was probably developed by Wenzel. The Italian Envoy there wanted to recruit him to Milan to oversee the building of

Milan Cathedral Milan Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Milano ; lmo, Domm de Milan ), or Metropolitan Cathedral-Basilica of the Nativity of Saint Mary ( it, Basilica cattedrale metropolitana di Santa Maria Nascente, links=no), is the cathedral church of Milan, Lombard ...

, but Parler died in 1404 before he could take on the project. Wenzel Parler's identity as the cathedral architect in Vienna is not fully confirmed. Wenceslas was a common name in Bohemia and southern Germany at that time, and Parler derives from ''Parlier'', which means "foreman" or "construction manager." However, the fame of his family along with the timing and significant stylistic parallels between St. Vitus Cathedral and St. Stephen's Cathedral make the common identity likely.

References

Gallery

File:Nördlingen, St. Salvator Kirche-004.jpg, St. Salvator's Church exterior,

, Germany File:NördlingenStSalvator.jpg, St. Salvator's Church nave,

, Germany File:Wien - Stephansdom (1).JPG, St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna, with its prominent South Tower originally developed by Wenzel Parler. {{Authority control 1360 births 1404 deaths 14th-century architects 14th-century sculptors Architects from Prague Gothic architects Gothic sculptors German architects Czech architects German Bohemian people Year of birth uncertain

Life

References

Further reading

Gallery