On the occasion of the exhibition "Archistories. Architecture in Art" curated by Kirsten Claudia Voigt, which is being shown to mark the reopening of the Orangery of the Staatliche Kunsthalle Karlsruhe, the lecture traces the history of architectural painting from the Middle Ages to the 17th century. From the frescoes of Giotto to the architectural paintings of the Dutch painters of the Golden Age, selected examples of European architectural painting will be discussed in terms of their symbolic, social and political meanings.