# Exterior view [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [ARCHITECT, German]() - Date: 1351-1400 - Technique: Photo ## Commentary During the reign of Charles IV \(king of Bohemia from 1346, emperor 1355--78\) Prague was effectively a fixed capital of the German Empire. The foundation stone for the St. Vitus's Cathedral was laid in 1344. The first architect was Mathieu d'Arras \(1290-1352\) who designed the ground plan for the choir and built part of the ambulatory and the radiating chapels. After his death the young Peter Parler \(1330-1399\) introduced truly modern architecture into the construction. The photo shows the east end of the cathedral. The lower sections \(1344-52\) are by Mathieu d'Arras, the clerestory and buttressing by Peter Parler. View the <a href="\#" onClick="w=window.open \('/support/plans/zzzarchi/14c/1/vitus.html', 'newWin', 'scrollbars=yes,status=no,dependent=yes,screenX=0,screenY=0,width=400,height=600'\);w.opener=this;w.focus\(\);return false">ground plan</a> of St. Vitus's Cathedral, Prague. ## Related artworks - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Aerial view]() - [Baumburg Tower]() - [East view \(detail\)]() - [Exterior view \(detail\)]() - [Exterior view from the east]() - [Exterior view from the east]() - [Exterior view from the north-east]() - [Exterior view from the north-east]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()