to download the brochure. - Office de tourisme de Chartres

thE CathEDraL
The sublime pinnacle of 12th and 13th centuries
art, Notre-Dame Cathedral symbolises the
power of Chartres’ bishops and the fervor
of its population in the Middle Ages. Built
and decorated between 1134 and 1260, now
registered on the uneSco World heritage
List, it is the most complete and well-preserved
example of gothic cathedrals. After the fire of
1194, which destroyed the edifice, leaving only
the crypt and part of the western façade intact,
it took just thirty years for the hard-working
teams of some 300 workmen to rebuild the
Cathedral.
The main frontage of the cathedral (West)
has kept the Royal Portal and its large bays
from the 12th century together with the south
steeple (right: 103 m) and the lower parts of the
North Tower. The rose window dates back to
the 13th century, whereas the new flamboyant
style steeple (left: 12 m) was built in the 16th A
century. These two steeples - one of which is
accessible to visitors from the inside - capture
our attention from the plain and continue to
guide pilgrims nowadays.
The three portals of the Cathedral - to the West,
the Royal Portal ( 145- 170), to the North, the
so-called Alliance Portal (1220-1230) and to the
South, the so-called Church Portal (1220-1230)
– allow the visitor to admire the precision and
delicacy of Chartres' sculptors' work, achieving
near-perfection in their details.
rEstoratIon Works
owner of the Cathedral, the state-ministry
of Culture and Communication ensures its
preservation, maintenance and promotion. In
the framework of the "plan cathédrales pour la
région Centre (2009-2014)", introduced by the
DraC Centre, nearly €14m will be dedicated
to this building with the help of the region, of
European funds
and of sponsorship.
A
www.culturecommunication.
gouv.fr/regions/Drac-Centre
The Cathedral
8
The scenes portrayed reflect contemporary
Christian thoughts. They acted as “pictorial
catechism”. On the Royal Portal, you will
observe the delicacy of the virgin and child
(right-hand bay) and the purity of the Christ’s
face in majesty (central bay). On the left-hand
bay, the works of each month offer a vision of
daily life in the 12th century.
Once inside the cathedral, you will be surprised
by its proportions, some of the most impressive
of French cathedrals: 130.20 m long, 16. 40 m
wide and a 37.50 m high nave, the scale of the
chancel and the transept (64 m wide). As you
move closer to the chancel that has kept its
finely chiselled Renaissance railings, you will
walk over the black stones of the labyrinth. A
piece of the famous relic called the “virgin
mary’s veil” is exhibited in the “Saint-cœur
de Marie” chapel (absidal chapel). Beneath the
Cathedral, the largest crypt in France is open
to visitors (access from the outside). As a place
of pilgrimage and meditation, a cathedral of
light and a stone bible, Chartres is an unique
introduction to the art and expression of
Western Christendom between the 12th and 13th century.