Religious architecture had been a major topic of conversation throughout history, but it grew between the fourteen-hundreds and the seventeen-hundreds. Though religious architecture had not directly shifted the course of history, it was revolutionized by the course of history through various architectural styles and places of worship. These architectural styles reveal the impact of significant events during the time period and how religious architecture was shaped because of said events. Ultimately, religious architecture reveals the impact of the major events of early modern Europe through the appearance of clandestine churches during the Dutch Revolution, the architectural makeover of Catholic churches during the Counter-Reformation, and the establishment of Renaissance architecture through the construction of the Cattedrale di Santa Maria del Foire as a result of tragic historical events. The Protestant Reformation (1517-1648) was regarded as one of the largest movements of widespread Christianity across Europe during 1517 when Martin Luther supposedly nailed his 1 Horton: Heavenly Places on Earth: Religion and Architecture in Early Modern Europe Published by Digital Commons@Georgia Southern, 2019 95 Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church. 1 The Reformation did not go without resistance, as the Counter-Reformation (1545-1781), with its beginnings being birthed from the Council of Trent, was created as a Catholic force to counter the Protestantism across Europe. 2 The Reformation was not driven by one singular battle but instead consisted of multiple smaller conflicts that lasted the duration of the Reformation-an example of this would be the Dutch Revolt, otherwise known as the Eighty Years' War (1568-1648). 3 The battle between the Dutch Republic and Spain impeded on the variety of religions and beliefs that were set in the Netherlands. Though the Netherlands was primarily Protestant, the country also had Mennonites, Lutherans, and Jewish citizens as well. Each of these groups had their own places of worshipthe Jewish people had places like the Portuguese Synagogue in Amsterdam, the Mennonites had a renovated brewery named Singelkerk, and the Lutherans had the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Haarlem. 6 Places of worship like the Portuguese Synagogue were built with gable roofs, wooden pilasters and flying buttresses for both the congregation and the church attendees. 7 These characteristics of architectural design were a result of the impact that Gothic architecture had during early modern Europe-Gothic architecture was the major form of architecture from the end of medieval Europe till the late sixteen-hundreds. 8 Author John Fitchen expressed Gothic
