Our Lady of Chartres Cathedral — Attraction in Chartres

Really, the only completely intact Gothic cathedral in the world! Original windows preserved for the world to see! Windows restored and re-leaded right after World War Two. This cathedral was slated for destruction by Allies during World War Two because it was thought to be command and control center for Nazis during occupation. Allies reversed decision due to American Intel from one soldier. Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith was the American soldier who singlehandedly saved Chartres Cathedral from absolute destruction. He was later killed in action by German troops in a small village outside of Chartres in 1944. The world owes him and his surviving relatives big time! What is now the village of Chartres, was Autricum in Gallo-Roman days and the very spot the cathedral stands on has been a Pagan focal point since the Late Neolithic. This cathedral stands atop a holy spring- fed well that Christians have been using for baptisms since the early Romanesque period. Whether the church wants to admit it or not, Celtic pagan ceremonies were performed here many centuries before Julius Caesar (another pagan) arrived a good fifty years before Jesus was born. Read Caesar's Bellum Gallicum or Gallic Wars for a first hand account of his encounters with the Celtic people of Gaul. It is absolutely the greatest first hand account of one technologically superior culture invading a tribal/clan based culture. In one form or another, Bellum Gallicum has been in continuous publication for almost 2000 years! That's a few decades longer than the New Testament has been circulating! Okay, so Chartres Cathedral is a world heritage site and certainly is one of the top ten most important buildings in the world! It is of equal importance to the Great Pyramid and Stonehenge in that it represents a paradigm shift in humanity's approach to architecture as an expression of esoteric ideas connected to the Sacred. All three structures express those aspects of the Sacred venerated by the cultures that built them. Sacred Geometry is the common thread that runs through all three structures, and it runs through modern church, synagogue, and mosque architecture down to this day, but only as mimicry of past motifs. Mathematics, specifically Geometry, serves time and time again as a signpost to the Sacred! Ratio and proportion, time and time again, regardless of Age,...

A Masterpiece of Gothic Art and Spiritual Heritage

Chartres Cathedral is simply breathtaking Even if youve visited many churches in Europe this one stands out for its size beauty and sense of history The exterior is striking with its mismatched spiresone Romanesque one Gothicand the detailed sculptures on the three grand portals

Inside youll find some of the finest stained glass anywhere in the worldover 150 windows that have survived mostly intact since the 12th and 13th centuries The deep blues and reds create an almost mystical light especially on sunny days Make sure to look closely at the famous Blue Virgin window and the intricate scenes around the choir

The carved choir screen surrounding the altar is extraordinary Made of creamy stone that almost looks like marble its covered in hundreds of finely detailed biblical sceneseach figure carved with such delicate precision they resemble lacework Angels prophets and saints seem to come alive in the swirling folds of their robes and expressive faces Behind it the high altar itself is surrounded by polished marble columns and sculpted reliefs that give the sanctuary an elegant almost ethereal atmosphere

If you have time walk the labyrinth in the nave floor open to visitors on Fridays and explore the crypt which is one of the largest in France Guided tours and audio guides are available and are worth it for all the context they provide

The cathedral sits in the heart of the old town with plenty of cafs and shops nearby Its an easy day trip from Paris by trainabout an hour and well worth the journey Whether youre interested in history architecture or faith Chartres Cathedral is...

Chartres center is an unfriendly car visitors city. So if you are unfamiliar with how street entrance system works ( big block in the middle of the street) in France, don't be surprised to get a scream from local resident instead of helpful hands, even insane people can see your car number doesn't begin with F -letter. So read first how to get to the Cathedral (assuming you go with car) before waking up hateful local French lions. Then once you arrived at the Cathedral, you came to the fact this Cathedral is a perfect disappointment closure to NEVER return to Chartres. We came to the city to bewonder the Cathedral and all the premises advertised. From 10km distance approaching the city, it looked really pomising. The light show is nothing exciting (compared to cathedral light shows I've seen in France) would leave in 10min, not worthed to see in the cold windy night! On the day light, you could see how bad the maintenance of the cathedral from the outside, and when you entered inside, you'd understand how low the rate people gave (1* ) on the restoration work🙈 Still nice to see the old/original side though. Heartbreaking and waste of time to ride all the way here. In conclusion I'd rather return to Rouen or Tours where the Cathedral and the city bid 10x much better things to discover and with 10x much better mentality/treatment of local people towards non-to-learning speaking French tourists. Prefer visit places where the locals gives a F-don't care look towards tourists than resentful leaning to...