Sometimes you want to lend a medieval look to your designs, for example, when printing posters for a medieval festival or historical theatre play. All these fonts are effective attention-grabbers. Continue reading to learn which free Gothic fonts are ideal to create that WOW effect.

Based on early manuscript lettering, blackletter typefaces (also referred to as Gothic, Fraktur or Old English) are characterised by broken up font lines. Having evolved in Western Europe from the mid-12th century, they remained popular in Germany until the early 20th century. However, these fonts are also laden with nationalist connotations because they were heavily used by the Nazis (and are still popular with nationalists today). Therefore, blackletter typefaces should be used with care and only if they fit in with the overall context.

Blackletter fonts are difficult for modern eyes to read. Many are excessively ornate and have special text layout requirements (such as alternating the two different “s”). So these typefaces are not the right choice for body text but are best used for headings and titles to convey a sense of nostalgia. Our roundup of blackletter typefaces includes old Fraktur typefaces such as Schwabacher and Rotunda as well as modern interpretations like American Text.

Tip: We have checked the commercial availability of all fonts, but we cannot warrant this. So please check out the license information and notes on the website you are downloading your font from.

Blackletter fonts – free for commercial use

Gothic font Alte SchwabacherAlte Schwabacher

 

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Gothic font Rotunda PommeraniaRotunda Pommerania

  • License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org), readme file in the .zip folder
  • Download: .zip file
  • Font format: TTF
  • Design 2010 by Peter Wiegel (peter-wiegel.de)

 

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Gothic font Gotisch WeissGotisch Weiss UNZ1A

  • License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org), readme file in the .zip folder
  • Download: .zip file
  • Font format: TTF
  • Design by Peter Wiegel (peter-wiegel.de), based on a design by Emil Rudolf Weiß (1936)

 

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Gothic font Manuskript GotischManuskript Gotisch

  • License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org), readme file in the .zip folder
  • Download: .zip file
  • Font format: TTF
  • Design 2013 by Peter Wiegel (peter-wiegel.de)

 

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Gothic font Gotische MissalschriftGotische Missalschrift

  • License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org)
  • Download: .zip file
  • Font format: TTF
  • Design by: Peter Wiegel (www.peter-wiegel.de) based on a 1941 design

 

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Gothic font FriedolinFriedolin

  • License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org)
  • Download: .zip file
  • Font format: TTF
  • Design by Peter Wiegel (peter-wiegel.de) based on a Pelikan manual (1930s)

 

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Gothic font Hand TexturHand Textur

  • License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org)
  • Download: .zip file
  • Font format: TTF
  • Design by Peter Wiegel (www.peter-wiegel.de) based on a teacher’s manual from 1941

 

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Gothic font Cöntgen KanzleyCöntgen Kanzley

  • License: SIL Open Font License (http://scripts.sil.org), readme file in the .zip folder
  • Download: .zip file
  • Font format: TTF
  • Design by Peter Wiegel (peter-wiegel.de) based on a template of Heinrich Hugo Cöntgen (1727 – 1792), a copper engraver from Mainz

 

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Gothic font Anglican TextAnglican Text

 

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Gothic font American TextAmerican Text

 

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