Chartres Cathedral

About this place

Much of Chartres Cathedral was built between 1194 and 1220, creating one of the clearest surviving expressions of French High Gothic architecture. Its extensive medieval stained glass and sculpted entrances make religious teaching visible in both light and stone. The two main spires belong to different architectural periods, offering a useful clue to the building's later development. Compare the exterior buttresses with the broad windows inside. This relationship helps explain how the builders supported the walls while creating an interior intended to feel expansive and luminous.