Albrecht Dürer and the Ideal City

Nuremberg artist Albrecht Dürer was a polymath of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. He is generally known as a painter, engraver, printmaker, mathematician, and art theorist; architect, social reformer, and utopian writer are not in the normal list of his achievements. In 1527, Dürer published Etliche Unterricht, zur Befestigung der Städte, Schlösser und Flecken (Instruction on the Fortification of Cities, Castles, and Towns). The book goes beyond being an instruction manual on the design of a fortified city. His plan was functional, pragmatic, and socially responsible, and the purpose of its design was to improve the status and lifestyle of German artisans. Dürer’s ideal city was not an isolated work; it was compatible with his other writings that were directed towards the improvement of artisans’ skills and conditions.