Memory of the World; 2012 - unesdoc - Unesco

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Collection of Gothic
architectural drawings
Inscribed 2005
What is it
A unique collection of 425 drawings that are
indispensable for the study of buildings of the
Gothic period. These drawings date from 1400 to
1550 and are among the world’s oldest surviving
architectural drawings.
Why was it inscribed
These architectural drawings bear testimony to the epoch
in European history when major construction projects
began to be undertaken on the basis of the advance
planning of every detail.
Where is it
Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Vienna, Austria
The architecture of the Gothic period (c.1150–1550) belongs
to one of the most significant manifestations of European
culture. With 425 drawings (representing over 85 percent of
all architectural drawings from this period), this collection
is of central importance for the study of Gothic architecture
and is not confined to the national architectural heritage
of a single country. The genre of architectural drawings
on paper or parchment came into being only in the
Gothic period, but as nearly all the Gothic architectural
drawings in France and England are lost, those in the
Viennese collection are the only major collection before
the 16th century that document the emergence and
development of a planning mechanism without which
modern architecture would have been impossible.
With material related to cathedrals in Vienna
(Austria), Prague (Czech Republic), Regensburg, Ulm
and Augsburg (Germany) and Strasbourg (France), the
collection demonstrates the close interrelation and
exchange that existed in the late Middle Ages between
cathedral lodges of masons. Since important single
drawings were exchanged between different places, it
shows how a consistency and internationality of style
could develop and contribute to an emerging common
European architectural language.
A large portion of the drawings is attributable to some
of the most outstanding architects of the Middle Ages,
134 Collection of Gothic architectural drawings
� Gothic sculpture on Strasbourg Cathedral.
St Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna, one of the many Gothic
buildings featured in this collection of architectural drawings. �
including Jodocus Dotzinger (Strasbourg) and Laurenz
Spenning (Vienna), who organized the first conference of
architects and stonemasons held in 1459 in Regensburg.
The bulk of the drawings is devoted to ecclesiastical
architecture in all its variations. The more spectacular
drawings show the ground plans or the elevations
of Gothic cathedrals, notably tower projects of unsurpassed
height that attracted most interest at that time. Others
deal with Gothic designs for specific parts of buildings
such as window tracery, vaults, galleries and furnishings,
while by far the largest number of the drawings shows
details of many kinds, including geometrical devices of
a more theoretical nature, demonstrating the high level
of mathematical knowledge available. The rediscovery of
these drawings in the 19th century also had an important
impact on the development of the Neogothic architecture
that dominated the Western world in that period.