Chartes Cathedral
| Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres |
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Cathedral of Chartres
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 Shown within France
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| Basic information | |
| Location | 16 Cloître Notre Dame, 28000 Chartres, France |
| Geographic coordinates | 48°26′50″N 1°29′16″E / 48.44722°N 1.48778°ECoordinates: 48°26′50″N 1°29′16″E / 48.44722°N 1.48778°E |
| Affiliation | Roman Catholic Church |
| Rite | Roman Rite |
| Province | Diocese of Chartres |
| Country | France |
| Ecclesiastical or organizational status | Cathedral |
| Status | Active |
| Website | cathedrale-chartres |
| Architectural description | |
| Architectural type | Church |
| Architectural style | French Gothic, Romanesque, Late (Gothic) (Flamboyant) |
| Groundbreaking | 1145 (Romanesque) 1194 (Gothic) |
| Completed | 1220 |
| Official name: cathédrale Notre-Dame, Chartres | |
| Designated | 1862 |
| Reference no. | IA28000005 |
| UNESCO World Heritage Site | |
| Criteria | Cultural: i, ii, iv |
| Reference | 81 |
| Inscription | 1979 (3rd Session) |
Chartres Cathedral, also known as the Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), is a Gothic Catholic cathedral of the Latin Church located in Chartres, France, about 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Paris. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century.
It is designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO, which calls it "the high point of French Gothic art" and a "masterpiece".
The cathedral has been well preserved. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires – a 105-metre (349 ft) plain pyramid completed around 1160 and a 113-metre (377 ft) early 16th-century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.
Since at least the 12th century the cathedral has been an important destination for travellers – and remains so to the present, attracting large numbers of Christian pilgrims, many of whom come to venerate its famous relic, the Sancta Camisa, said to be the tunic worn by the Virgin Mary at Christ's birth, as well as large numbers of secular tourists who come to admire the cathedral's architecture and historical merit.
As with any medieval bishopric, Chartres Cathedral was the most important building in the town – the centre of its economy, its most famous landmark and the focal point of many activities that in modern towns are provided for by specialised civic buildings. In the Middle Ages, the cathedral functioned as a kind of marketplace, with different commercial activities centred on the different portals, particularly during the regular fairs. Textiles were sold around the north transept, while meat, vegetable and fuel sellers congregated around the south porch. Money-changers (an essential service at a time when each town or region had its own currency) had their benches, or banques, near the west portals and also in the nave itself. Wine sellers plied their trade in the nave, although occasional 13th-century ordinances survive which record their being temporarily banished to the crypt to minimise disturbances. Workers of various professions gathered in particular locations around the cathedral awaiting offers of work.
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Wikipedia