Peter Parler
Encyclopedia
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd is a town in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 62,000, the town is the second largest in the Ostalbkreis and the whole region of East Württemberg after Aalen...
– July 13, 1399, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
) was a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
architect, best known for building Saint Vitus Cathedral and Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century...
in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, where he lived from about 1356.
His father, master builder Heinrich Parler (the name deriving from "parlerius", speaker and head of the masons), had moved to Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd
Schwäbisch Gmünd is a town in the eastern part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. With a population of around 62,000, the town is the second largest in the Ostalbkreis and the whole region of East Württemberg after Aalen...
from Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, to lead the reconstruction works of the Holy Cross parish church. Members of the large Parler family
Parler family
Parler was a surname of a family of German architects and builders from the 14 century. The family came from Schwäbisch Gmünd, but descendants of Heinrich Parler, the founder of the dynasty, were working in various parts of central Europe, especially in Bohemia.The family name was derived from the...
worked in construction works around all of Europe.
Peter Parler became the master mason of Saint Vitus Cathedral in 1352, after the death of its original architect, Matthias of Arras
Matthias of Arras
Matthias of Arras was a French architect, famed for his work on St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague....
. Apart from the cathedral, he was the main designer of the New Town of Prague
New Town, Prague
The New Town is a quarter in the city of Prague in the Czech Republic. New Town is the youngest and largest of the five independent towns that today comprise the historic center of modern Prague...
and built Charles Bridge
Charles Bridge
The Charles Bridge is a famous historic bridge that crosses the Vltava river in Prague, Czech Republic. Its construction started in 1357 under the auspices of King Charles IV, and finished in the beginning of the 15th century...
and its towers. In the Royal Palace of Prague Castle
Prague Castle
Prague Castle is a castle in Prague where the Kings of Bohemia, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here...
, Parler built the All Saints' Chapel. After the fire of 1541 it was redecorated in the Baroque style.
He was apparently the architect of the Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche
Nuremberg Frauenkirche
The Frauenkirche is a church in Nuremberg, Germany. It stands on the eastern side of the main market. An example of brick Gothic architecture, it was built on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor between 1352 and 1362. The church contains many sculptures, some of them heavily restored...
) built in the market square of Nuremberg
Nuremberg
Nuremberg[p] is a city in the German state of Bavaria, in the administrative region of Middle Franconia. Situated on the Pegnitz river and the Rhine–Main–Danube Canal, it is located about north of Munich and is Franconia's largest city. The population is 505,664...
, to replace the synagogue
Synagogue
A synagogue is a Jewish house of prayer. This use of the Greek term synagogue originates in the Septuagint where it sometimes translates the Hebrew word for assembly, kahal...
torn down in the pogrom
Pogrom
A pogrom is a form of violent riot, a mob attack directed against a minority group, and characterized by killings and destruction of their homes and properties, businesses, and religious centres...
of 1349 following the plague. Between 1360-78 Parler built the chancel of the St. Bartholomew church in Kolín
Kolín
Kolín is a town in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic some east from Prague, lying on the Elbe river.-History:Kolín was founded by king Přemysl Otakar II in the 13th century, first mentioned in 1261. Later on, 1437, a castle was founded here...
. He died in Prague in 1399, and was buried in the St. Vitus cathedral. His work was continued by his sons Wenzel and Johann
Johann Parler
Johann Parler the Younger , was a Bohemian architect of German origin.Johann Parler comes from the Parler family, whose members were architects in whole Europe...
.
Asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
6550 Parléř
6550 Parlér
6550 Parléř is a main belt asteroid with an orbital period of 1365.8085165 days . The asteroid was discovered on November 4, 1988 by Antonín Mrkos, who named the asteroid after Peter Parler.-References:...
, discovered in 1988 by Antonín Mrkos
Antonín Mrkos
Antonín Mrkos was a Czech astronomer, born in Střemchoví, Czechoslovakia.- Biography :Mrkos entered the University in Brno in 1938. His studies were interrupted by the onset of World War II, and in 1945 he became a staff member at the Skalnaté Pleso Observatory in Slovakia...
, was named in his honour.