Chartres and Bethlehem

Country:France
Date of Agreement:10 Septemebr 1994
Name of Mayor: Jean Louis Guillan
Tel: 0033 2 37234178
Fax: 0033 2 37364036
Address: Hotel de ville, Place Francois Mitterand , 28019 Chartres Cedex, France.

Chartres (ancient Carnutes, Autricum, civitas Carnutum), a city in north central France, is the capital of Eure-et-Loir Department, on the Eure River, in Orléanais. It is a farm-trade and manufacturing center; products include machinery, electronic equipment, fertilizers, and leather goods. Chartres consists of an upper and a lower town connected by steep streets. The highest point of the city is crowned by the world-famous Cathedral of Notre Dame (12th and 13th century), noted for the beauty of its south spire, its status, its magnificent 13th-century stained-glass windows, and its Renaissance choir screen.

An ancient settlement, Chartres was burned by the Normans in AD 858 and passed to the French crown in 1286. In 1594 Henry IV was crowned king of France at Chartres. Population (1990) 41,850.

The cathedral at Chartres, officially known as the Cathedral of Notre Dame, is one of the most famous Gothic structures in the world. Construction began on the main building in 1194 after a fire destroyed an older cathedral on the same site. The late Romanesque south spire, foreground, dates from the 13th century, while the late Gothic north spire, background, dates from the early 16th century. The cathedral's spectacular stained-glass windows still have much of their original glass.

Visiting Chartres

Each visit to Chartres begins with the cathedral. It is the most complete and the richest medieval monument in Europe classified by UNESCO on the world heritage list. You can discover and rediscover it and worship there. The old steeple (on the right, the south side) dates from the 12th century, the new steeple (on the left) called Jehan de Beauce steeple is from the 16th century. On the Royal Portal, almost all the sculpture (around 1150) and, in particular, the statue columns have been preserved. The nave, the transept and the choir date from the 13th century. The stained glass windows, most of which date from the 12th and 13th centuries, cover more than 2,000 square meters. This is a world unique collection of glass. The 10th and llth century crypts can be visited (entrance from the outside) as well as the towers (entrance from the inside). Behind the cathedral, on the left, is the Fine Arts Museum in the former Bishops Palace. It has important collection of paintings (Zurbaran, Chardin, Viarninck ... ), sculptures, enamels... and documents relating the town's history and iconography. Not far from the museum (rue du Cardinal Pie), the International Stained Glass Center holds exhibitions of this art form and houses a documentation and research center. The old town, one of the first protected sectors in France, goes from the cathedral down to the banks of the River Eure with its attractive walkways. You can discover timber frame houses, like 'L'Escalier do la Reine Bertha', old stone bridges, washhouses, gardens, town houses and some important monuments like St Andrd',s,12th century: St Pierre's and St Aignan's which still have stained glass windows from the 14th and 16th centuries. La Maison do I'Archdologia houses remains discovered during archeological excavations in Chartres. Near the station, the COMPA (the Agricultural Museum) brings together an extraordinary collection of agricultural machines and tools. Not far from the center is the Maison Picassiette completely decorated, inside and out, with pieces of crockery and china. It is a classified historical monument and an unusual example of Naive Art.