Gothic

Pointed arches, rib vaults and flying buttresses that dissolve the wall into light and glass.

Gothic was born in the Île-de-France in the 1140s. By concentrating the thrust of the vaults in ribs and carrying it outwards through flying buttresses, builders could make walls tall and open them up for stained glass. Everything pulls upwards: the piers, the vaults, the spires. The church was meant to be an image of the Heavenly Jerusalem.

Gothic was born in the kingdom of France as royal power and the towns grew. Cathedrals were the pride of their cities and were built by the whole community over generations. The techniques – pointed arch, rib vault and flying buttress – existed separately before, but were now combined into a system. The style spread across Europe with master builders and monastic orders and persisted in the north well into the 16th century.

In Sweden Gothic often became Brick Gothic, following models in northern Germany. Uppsala Cathedral, Strängnäs, Vadstena Abbey Church and a host of parish churches with star vaults and 15th-century wall paintings belong here.