Chartres Cathedral
A High Gothic cathedral famed for its medieval stained glass.
Notre-Dame de Chartres is one of the finest and best-preserved Gothic cathedrals in Europe. After a fire in 1194 destroyed most of the earlier Romanesque church, the present building rose in roughly a quarter of a century, which gives it an unusually unified design. It was consecrated in 1260 in the presence of Louis IX and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1979.
The cathedral is famous for its remarkable ensemble of medieval stained glass, including three great rose windows, and for the sculpted Royal Portal that survived the fire from the 12th-century church. Its two contrasting spires, a plain Romanesque one and a Flamboyant Gothic one, dominate the town, and it has drawn pilgrims for centuries to venerate the Sancta Camisa, a relic said to be the Virgin's tunic.
Highlights
- Medieval stained glass and rose windows
- Royal Portal sculptures
- Nave pavement labyrinth
- Two contrasting spires and the crypt