Chartres

Chartres (shär`trə), city (1990 pop. 41,850), capital of Eure-et-Loir dept., NW France, in Orléanais, on the Eure River. Chartres is of great historic and artistic interest; it is also a regional market with many industries, including metallurgy, and the production of perfumes and electronic equipment. An ancient town, it was the probable site of the great assemblies of the druids. The Normans burned it in 858. During the Middle Ages Chartres was the seat of a countship; it became a possession of the French crown in 1286. Francis I made it a duchy in 1528. Chartres' fame today stems largely from its magnificent Gothic Cathedral of Notre Dame (12th to 13th cent.), remarkable for its two spires (375 ft/114 m and 350 ft/107 m), its stained glass windows, and its superb sculpture. It is widely considered to be the finest Gothic cathedral in the world. Henry Adams in Mont-Saint-Michel and Chartres made it a symbol of the medieval spirit. Inside the cathedral St. Bernhard of Clairvaux preached the Second Crusade (1146) and Henry IV was crowned king of France (1594).

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Chartres

City (pop., 1999: 40,361), northwestern France. Situated on the Eure River southwest of Paris, it was the capital and centre of Druidic worship for the Carnutes, a Celtic tribe. The Normans attacked and burned the city in 858. In the Middle Ages it was held by the counts of Blois and Champagne. The city was sold to France in 1286 and was occupied by the English from 1417 to 1432. Henry IV was crowned there in 1594. The Germans held it in 1870, and it was severely damaged in World War II. Landmarks include the Gothic Chartres Cathedral.