Strasbourg implemented specific craft methods from western England in the late 1200s, which points to knowledge of English Gothic architectural methods in the Rhineland. Since Peter Parler spent time working at Strasbourg, it is much more likely his knowledge of these methods came from there. In particular, the vaults he later designed at St. Vitus Cathedral were most probably modeled after the St. Catherine Chapel of Strasbourg Cathedral. Nuremberg Sometime after 1352 Peter joined the construction works at the Frauenkirche in Nuremberg as the parlier, or chief site assistant alongside his father. The exact date and his precise role are unclear. The foundations of the church had already been laid in 1351 on the initiative of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor, who envisioned it as a center for holding imperial ceremonies. This is reflected in the carved coats of arms of the Emperor, the seven Prince-electors, and the city of Rome where the Holy Roman Emperors were crowned. Here the first sculptures can be directly ascribed to Peter, among them a prominent figure of Zacharias. Charles also commissioned the building of Wenzelsburg Castle at Lauf an der Pegnitz, near Nuremberg. Built on the ruins of an older castle, its ambitious architecture can be directly connected to the Parlers and Peter probably worked there as a sculptor. By 1355 their sophisticated style had come to the attention of Charles IV and Peter was called to work in Prague, the capitol of the new Kingdom of Bohemia and seat of the Emperor. The year of this appointment is not entirely clear since the documentary inscription in Prague was partially painted over in the 15th century. Today research usually sets the date to 1356, which accounts for a pause in construction in both Nuremberg and Prague, as well as information that he was at least 23 years old at the time of his appointment. Prague Upon his ascension to the throne as King of Bohemia in 1347, Charles IV established his capital at Prague. At the time it consisted of two autonomous Medieval towns on each side of the Vltava river (): the Old Town on the right and the Lesser Town with Prague Castle above it on the left. In 1348 he ordered construction of the New Town adjacent to the existing Old Town, founded Charles University, began reconstruction of the castle, and restarted work on the cathedral. To accomplish this ambitious