Technical innovation and hegemonic politics accelerated the growth process in silver mining regions during the 16th century. This resulted in the founding of new, planned towns. In a comparative approach, the construction and expansion of the mining towns of Annaberg and Marienberg in the Erzgebirge and Potosí in the Viceroyalty of Peru are analyzed with reference to the architectural implications of regulatory policy measures. Particular attention is paid to the genesis and composition of the dynamically overlapping areas of state, religion, municipality and mining. Their appearance and structure are understood against the background of transcultural processes in architectural theory and practice, and the mining town is viewed as a setting for the negotiation of a hybrid architectural culture