Chartres Cathedral and Town Chartres, France
10/26/02

Located a quick and picturesque 88 km (about 1 hour via train) southwest of Paris is the beautiful town of Chartres. Chartres lies at the tip of the Loire Valley and is home to the famous Chartres cathedral. The cathedral is renowned for its stained glass depicting stories from the Bible as well as its ornate Romanesque carvings on the tympanum and around the building. The architecture of the building itself is a mixture of Gothic and Romanesque styles. It has quite a history, dating back to before the 9th century with most parts of the building from the 12th century. The cathedral is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and in 876 was given the Virgin Mary's tunic to house. During medieval times (and even today) Chartres served as a significant place for pilgrims to stop and worship. In the crypt (which we toured) there is an ancient well that predates the actual cathedral and is believed to be a center of ancient Druid worship.

The city itself was an amazing adventure for us. Once we toured and spent time in the cathedral's interior soaking up the beauty of the stained glass, we wandered around the city to see what else we could discover. We were not the least bit disappointed wandering the narrow pedestrian streets and walking along the Eure river. We found two other great churches (St Pierre and St Aignan), which were 800+ years old and were intrigued by the 200-400 year old houses with private docks built on the water's edge. Towards the end of the day, we walked back to the cathedral to see it at night. The cathedral is flood lit at night and was an absolutely amazing site to behold.