IS THERE A EUROPEAN ARCHITECTURAL

HERITAGE?

Do Europeans share common features in their architecture?

Where is this city, this village ?In Europe ?

the third largest city in Finland

Crenellated towers

Are these Christian cult

centers in Europe ?

What makes Europe a coherent heritage place?

• Cities and trade built the European networks and spread the cultural trends

• Christianity was the driving force of morale and politics until the 19th c.

In both cases, urbanscapes reflect this double heritage

European urban heritage relies on Christian features, a long tradition of trade and old city centers, sometimes fortified.

e.g. Nuremberg’s city walls and defensive towers

Beaune Dijon

Toledo, SPAIN

The European Enlightenment was not limited to Western Europe

The European Enlightenment was not limited to Western Europe

Short tour of

Krakow, a typical European

city:

WAWEL ROYAL CASTLE

Aerial picture of Krakow (POLAND):

WAWEL ROYAL CASTLE, VISTULA RIVER AND CITY OUTSKIRTS

What makes this urbanscape a typically European one?

A typical European urbanscape

A remnant of the royal past

A city connected to natural passageways (here, the Vistula)

A modernized and contemporanean urban pattern

The city’s outskirts

Residential area

The Castle, a heritage center and a tourist spot

Architectural innovations echoed in many European cities

Here, Gothic styles paralleled the development of universities and libraries

Here, Gothic styles paralleled the development of universities and libraries

Renaissance style

The Renaissance architectural features in Wawel Castle, Krakow

Baroque style

Krakow, main street

Christian heritage

Shops, trading streets

Tourist facilities

Architectural diversity and unity

Europe has developed distinct urban and social features that makes it different from the other civilizations

Europeans, even if often divided, have been linked by trade, belief in Christian religion and the tradition of written knowledge

Europe has developed distinct urban and social features that makes it different from the other civilizations

Europeans, even if often divided, have been linked by trade, belief in Christian religion and the tradition of written knowledge