Notre Dame de Chartres Cathedral

29 Jun 2025

We returned to Chartres to see its beautiful cathedral again. We had visited there in 2016 (Chartres, 2016) and were awed at its beauty. Then, some of a planned exterior cleaning and restoration was done, as was a fair portion of an interior restoration. We knew that the interior and exterior restorations had advanced over the nine years since we’d been there and wanted to see the Cathedral in its newly-refound beauty.

Many people more knowledgeable than me about Gothic cathedrals say that Notre Dame de Chartres is the most beautiful one of them all. We certainly haven’t seen a fraction of the cathedrals those folks have, but I’ll go out on a limb and say, “We agree!” Chartres Cathedral is breath-takingly beautiful.

Some quick facts: the Chartres Cathedral is a touch larger than Paris’ Notre Dame: about 6 feet longer, and the nave is 15 feet wider and 18 feet taller. Among Gothic cathedrals it has two unique construction aspects:

It was built extraordinarily quickly. Started in 1194 — 30 years after Notre dame de Paris was started — Chartres was essentially completed in 1252, only 58 years later. Paris’ Notre Dame took 182 years before it was opened for services, and some construction continued after that. The short construction time of Chartres means that its architecture is more coherent, as few mid-build changes occurred.
In its 800-year history few structural or decorative changes have been made, so it reflects what a Gothic cathedral looked like in the 13th century; the vision of its architects remains completely visible.

So Chartres Cathedral, unlike most in the world, shows itself to the world as it was when built: a pure Gothic work of art.

Additionally, Chartres was built to hold more and larger stained-glass windows. There are 167 stained glass windows here! The stained-glass artisans of Chartres developed a deep blue color not found in other cathedrals being built at the time; many of the windows contain that rich deep blue, often contrasting it with a bright red that makes the windows “pop.”

Okay, enough blather; here are some pictures.

Interior

First impression: Yikes! I’d read that the interior restoration was done, so I thought the interior would be clear. Obviously not; I was dismayed when I stepped into the Cathedral through a portal and had this as a first sight:

Fortunately, this was (almost) all the work in progress, and it covers just one wall of one transept arm.

*Looking toward the altar from the nave.*

*The Rose Window in the south transept.*

*The difference between cleaned and not cleaned.*

I’ll save you the agony of seeing the rest of my stained-glass pictures; remember, there are 167 stained-glass windows in the cathedral, so you can guess how many more pictures I have.

Some restoration experts rail against the work done in the Chartres cathedral, saying that it isn’t an authentic color, but during the restoration this cream color was found at the bottom of multiple layers of paint laid down over the 800 years of the Cathedral’s life and then covered with soot from thousands upon thousands of candles burned here. Another complaint is that the almost-white color detracts from the stained-glass windows; my response is, “Say what?!?” Maybe the contrast between the glass and the walls is less than when the walls were dark with smoke and soot, but the interior of the cathedral now is calm and peaceful and just beautiful and I sure didn’t see anyone disappointed when looking at the stained-glass.

Exterior

Notre Dame de Chartres dominates the town of Chartres and, because this is a flat region, the Cathedral can be seen from 30 miles away.

*There are over 4,000 carvings on the Cathedral and many of them are said to be of real people. I have no idea who this is, but I like its kind of whimsical body language.*

A look up into the tympanum of the center portal on the north transept. The cathedral has three doors on each of three sides, so there are lots of these, each with dozens of figures in each.

Have I worn you out with pictures of Notre Dame de Chartres? Let me know if you want more and I’ll email them to you…

Although I spent some time snapping pictures, Laurie and I spent much of our two hours inside Chartres Cathedral standing or sitting in front of stained-glass windows or sitting toward the back of the nave looking down to the altar and apse and just taking in the beauty of the place.

There are lots of areas that still need cleaning, and I wonder where the money will come from to do that. Many restoration projects have been starved of funds that were diverted to the restoration of Notre Dame de Paris. Maybe more funds will be available now that the biggest part of Notre Dame Paris has been restored. We hope so, but we were awed by Notre Dame de Chartres as it is today.

After the crowds at Notre Dame de Paris, the beauty and tranquility of Chartres was good for our souls. We could have sat there all day.