Johann Wolfgang von Goethe has a vast art criticism production, among which there are three articles dedicated to Architecture, objects of this essay: the first one elaborates a poetic discourse on Strasbourg`s cathedral, the second one deals with objects of classical Antiquity, and the latter refers to another gothic cathedral, that of the city of Cologne. From an historiographical and philosophical interpretation, this article seeks to understand the meaning of Architecture within the three Goethian writings, but also in a broader sense, circumscribing them into the German poet’s literary works. It also wishes to comprehend the idea of Gothic style and other categories —such as nature, fiction, and ruin— inside the European artistic debate of mid-18th century.