Chartres Cathedral
Cathedral Notre-Dame de Chartres (The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres) is a Gothic style Cathedral dedicated to The Virgin Mary, located in the sleepy little town of Chartres just outside Paris. The Cathedral is easily the most important thing about the town. It rests on top of a long sloping hill, all roads leading up to it, the Cathedral dominating every other building surrounding it.
Our group arrived by train where after going up twisty hills and through back alleys we arrived at the Cathedral. Now the Chartres Cathedral is a little like the famous Notre Dame in Paris, in that it isn’t very impressive at a distance, but when seen close up and in profile it really hits you at what an impressive structure it is. Made up of impossible angles, jutting towers seeming to claw at the heavens, and dotted by statues of various religious figures and demonic gargoyles, it still manages to impress the viewer used to the giant skyscrapers of the big city. Indeed, there is something almost otherworldly about it.
When one goes into the Cathedral the first thing that catches your eye are the magnificent stained glass windows depicting various bible stories, such as the parable of The Good Samaritian, the story of creation from Genesis, and The Last Judgment. Being a dour, overcast day the windows are not very well lit so everythng appears to be in perpetual shadow. In the middle of the Cathedral sits the Altar and stretching around it are statues dedicated to the memories of various saints, and the holy relic of the Cathedral, the veil supposedly worn by Mary herself.
Andrew Lewis
