Chartres cathedral

The place where the cathedral is located, since the time of the Roman Empire, was used for religious buildings. The building we see today is the sixth to be built on Chartres Hill to replace those destroyed by fires. Built in just 31 years (1194-1225), the cathedral was the embodiment of the complete triumph of Gothic architecture.

The cathedral is a three-nave basilica, to the western facade of which two towers adjoin. They were built at different times, so they are very different from each other. The main wealth and pride of the cathedral are unique stained glass windows, with a total area of almost 2700 square meters. Many of them date from the XII-XIII centuries and are made of glass surprisingly clean and saturated colors. They depict paintings of a variety of subjects, ranging from biblical scenes and ending with figures of patrons who donated money to create stained glass windows.

On the floor in the center of the cathedral there is a ring labyrinth. The length of the correct path is 258 meters and is equal to the path of Christ to Calvary. Believers moved through the labyrinth on their knees, reciting prayers, symbolizing the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. The cover of the Virgin Mary reliably protected the cathedral from destruction and fires, saved it from rash reconstructions, so that today it is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.