Chartres Cathedral is about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris. We travelled by French regional rail taking approx. 1 hour from Montpanasse, Paris. It is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the 4th century.
The cathedral is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century.
The west end (the 2 pix to the left) 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.
Similarly the choir screen contains hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives. They are a work of a number of sculptors working under the direction of a single architect, after he completed the 16th C tower.
It also contains a clock that has not worked since the French Revolution.
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