The article has as its main purpose the detailed investigation of the geometric methods of tracing historical structures, using a variety of examples. The design and construction of historic buildings has long been the subject of extensive research. However, the application of geometry to the constructional tracing of basic building elements is a relatively unknown field of science. The methodology is primarily concerned with presenting the broader scientific context and analysing the design and tracing of structures. Through examples covering a wide range of times - from ancient Egypt, ancient Greece, Roman times, Byzantium, Islamic architecture, to the western Middle Ages and the Renaissance - it is proven that two distinct methods are historically used in design and construction: the first relates to geometrical constructions based on the use of circles, squares and equilateral triangles (ad quadratum and ad triangulum), while the second relates to pure modular systems with the help of pythagorean triangles for the rectangular tracing of building elements. For the understanding of the two methods, basic tracing and construction control tools are presented and different historical metric systems are analysed. Through the analysis of the examples the basic design principles of historical architecture are revealed and the geometrical methods used by building guilds are inscribed. In this way, the importance of architectural models and the role of particular knowledge of geometry in the construction and the final form of historical structures are crystallised.