Cathédrale de Chartres

Chartres Cathedral

This witness of civilization, objective of pilgrimage, rises as a landmark on the skyline.

With its proud spire this vessel anchored on an ocean of wheat overhangs the town and reveals its architecture, one of the most famous in the middle-age.

Etablished on a well known pre-christian site, today's edifice has absorbed the previous ones : most part of the foundation of bishop Fulbert roman cathedral, from 1020, has been re-used to support the present cathedral built on casement of ribbed vaults after the 1194 fire. During the XVI th century Jehan de Beauce launched the finely wrought second bell-tower next to the XII th century magnificent roman spire celebrated by the poet Charles Péguy.

Next to the architecture let's not forget the high quality of the cathedral's sculptures : the statues of porches and portals, the Royal portal's column-statues. One can note that it took almost two centuries to create the figures of the choir circuit.

But above all the cathedral of Chartres is famous for its extraordinary collection of stain-glasses of the XIII th century and among the XII th century's ones the internationally praised "Notre Dame de la Belle Verrière.

Chartres leaves an imperishable souvenir to every visitor.