Little is known about the earliest youth of Peter Parler. His father, Heinrich Parler the Elder, was a stonemason at Cologne Cathedral. Around 1333, when Peter was born, Heinrich was invited by the free imperial city of Schwäbisch Gmünd to take over construction of a large new parish church, Holy Cross Minster. Peter was already working alongside his father on the church when the cornerstone of the choir was laid in 1351. This is presumably also where his apprenticeship was completed. The division of the choir by a continuous balustrade demonstrates what would become his trademark style. The arched section at the southern portal of the church can also be attributed to Peter. The designs developed by the father and son team at Holy Cross were unique and mark an important milestone in late Gothic architecture and sculpture.