On a technical level, the Gothic style of architecture is characterized by ribbed vaults, arches and high vaults. These elements were present in the buildings of the Romanesque style of the late 12th and early 13th centuries, thanks to the advances in the development of engineering at that time, it became possible to build taller and wider structures. Changes in appearance are easy to trace if you compare the architecture of Reims Cathedral in France, 13th century, as well as Durham Cathedral of the late 11th century, in England. A general comparison of this kind also reveals a number of artistic features, in the implementation of which new engineering techniques were applied. in which new engineering tools were used.
The innovative use of vaulted arches and ribbed vaults made it possible to realize much more complex structures that were not possible at the technical level of previous times. Special supports and devices for strengthening the structure, especially flying buttresses, made it possible to build tall buildings without internal intermediate walls with large window openings. In the 12th century, large windows produced amazing lighting effects. The use of lintels, stained glass and stained glass was used in the same way as in previous periods, for example at the Cathedral of Chartres in the 13th century.
The main feature of the Gothic style of architecture is the transition from the old, heavy forms of Romanesque architecture, based on monolithic and heavy structures, into the light and sublime forms of the Gothic style of architecture.
One of the first buildings in which new construction techniques were applied was the Abbey of Saint-Denis, Paris. The eastern part was rebuilt in 1135-1144, but the chapel is a divided example of the Gothic style of architecture. The proportions are not great, but skill and precision, vaulting and a special effect in the arrangement of a wave-like chain of windows around the perimeter gave the abbey the right to claim the title of the first building of the Gothic style of architecture.
The spread of Gothic architecture from northern France to other regions was partly due to the migration of architects, master masons and sculptors to new construction projects, as well as due to competition between bishops, monasteries and cathedrals. The Gothic style was rapidly developing in England, owing to close political relations with France. The main breakthrough in changing styles in England came in the 1170s with the construction of Canterbury Cathedral, Lincoln, and later in Salisbury. The first Gothic cathedral was soon erected in the Iberian Peninsula, beginning in the 1190s in Evora, Portugal, in 1220 in Leon, Burgos, and Toledo in Spain.
Influence on the Gothic style of architecture in the territory of modern Germany, the Netherlands and Italy began a little later around 1230-50, although some buildings already had the original elements of the Gothic style of architecture. If Gothic architecture had certain difficulties with development in Italy, with its artistic traditions executed in the classical style, then in Germany it was accepted with enthusiasm, moreover, in the end, Germany took on a leading role as an innovative center for the development of the Gothic tradition.