Chartres Cathedral Research Paper

Chartres Cathedral is the cathedral church of Notre Dame (Our Lady) in the city of Chartres in northwestern France. It is one of the foremost examples of High Gothic French architecture, and is widely noted not only for its innovations in architecture, but also for its many sculptures and celebrated stained glass.
The oldest elements of the cathedral were taken from a Romanesque church, which was destroyed by a fire in 1194. In 1220 after twenty-six years of construction, the third and final state of the Chartres cathedral was completed. The main building component of the cathedral was limestone as it is durable against abrasion and freezing, it stands at about 112 feet high and 427 feet long. Chartres is the first Gothic cathedral for which the original plans included flying buttresses for structural support. These were used because the cathedral displayed tall arcades, unusually narrow triforium and huge clerestory.
The Chartres cathedral’s 176 stained glass windows, which date back from 1210 and 1260, also make

Completed in 1513, the northwest spire, the Clocher Neuf became the most famous of the later additions to the cathedral. Out of the many cathedrals surrounding France, the Chartres cathedral suffered the least damage during the political and religious wars during the sixteenth century and the French revolution. In the 19th after a fire damaged the roof, the church was restored to its former glory by the end of the century. In 1979, Chartres Cathedral was dubbed a UNESCO heritage site. During the late 20th century, preservation efforts were made to protect the cathedral’s stained glass from damage by air pollution. The patrons of the cathedral were not just the people attending mass; the cathedral was also a school, hospital, fairground, trade centre, marketplace, meeting hall, art gallery, sanctuary, shelter and tourist attraction; it was the heart as well as the soul of the