Petr Parler

The name Petr Parléř is innately associated with the personality of Charles IV in the general consciousness. and St. Vitus Cathedral. Less well known is that this builder, stonemason, sculptor and carver was an exceptional personality among the architects of Central European Gothic, a brilliant and courageous innovator. With his work, he opened the way to the next, highest stage of Central European Gothic architecture, sometimes even called Parléry Gothic after him.
He was born in 1332 or 1333 in Gmünd or Cologne. His father, the builder Heinrich Parler from a well-established and famous German building family, worked in these areas at the time. Czech King and Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV. appointed Petr Parléř to head the construction company as a young man of twenty-three. Under his leadership, the factory built the Charles Bridge with the Old Town Bridge Tower, the choir of the Church of St. Bartholomew in Kolín, parts of the Old Town Church of Our Lady before Týn, and others.