Chartres and its cathedral

[bixaorellana]

Looking for some red, white, and blue on July the 4th, I set off with a fellow American to see the famous cathedral in Chartres. Many thanks to Htmb for going with me, not to mention getting us there and back on the train, even if she will probably have better photographs than mine.
This thread will be long on pictures, but lacking in scholarly commentary. Here is some internet-provided information to start off:

Chartres, a city in north-central France southwest of Paris, is famed for its massive Cathédrale Notre-Dame. The well-preserved Gothic cathedral, completed in 1220, features 2 towering spires, flying buttresses, Romanesque sculptures and elaborate rose windows.

Wikipedia's entries on both the town and the cathedral are well worth reading.

When you step off the train, there is no doubt you've come to the right place ~

The famous rose windows and labyrinth depicted on the window of an ice cream and pastry shop.
Alas, the real labyrinth was off limits because of renovation work.

It's not an overly solemn town ~

Even with the cathedral beckoning in the near distance, it was impossible not to be distracted by these glorious hydrangeas ~

[bixaorellana]

[bixaorellana]

I have many more pictures to show, but am traveling right now so may not get them up as quickly as I'd like.

[fumobici]

*cough* Hydrangea *cough* 

I've always wanted to see Chartres cathedral, it's the favorite cathedral of much of my family as well as a lot of others. Just not enough to go I guess. These photos thus far are helping explain why it's so loved, the stonework details on the exterior and the windows alone look worth the travel to see. The town must be to some degree special to merit such an outstanding church.  

[breeze]

bixa may be experiencing floral overload.

[bixaorellana]

*deep shame*
Did you see my picture in #4? I am the one on the right.
No idea what made me make that boo-boo except that they both start with the same sound and that it was after midnight & I was really sleepy. Thanks, Fumobici.

You hit on two of the reasons the cathedral is so highly regarded, and once I show more of the interior, you'll probably be knocked out by the details. As for the town, it's pleasant & interesting enough to overnight there if you wanted to make it more than a day trip from Paris. We had time constraints, so concentrated on the cathedral. That is definitely worth the day trip.

Breeze, I'll accept your explanation ~ thanks!

[bjd]

You got great detail shots of the statues around the door, as well as the stained-glass windows. No wonder the churches and cathedrals continue to draw visitors even after religion has lost so much influence in France.

Looking at the depictions of the various saints or biblical characters lined up around the entrance, I just had a sudden vision of locals going to church, looking up and saying, "Hey, that Josiah looks just like Joseph the baker!". Surely the artists used common people as their models and inspiration?

[bixaorellana]

Thank you, Bjd and eternal thanks for taking us to see the splendors in the south of France.
Great call on what surely must be portraits taken from life, warts and all.

[breeze]

THIS is the way to see a cathedral. These marvellous photos give me much more appreciation of Chartres cathedral than if I'd spent an hour there myself.

For some reason I can't appreciate churches or cathedrals. I want to, at least architecturally. For me they're too big to take in at one view, both inside and outside. There are too many details, the interior is too dim, the paintings and sculpture are often too mawkish. It's overwhelming. I stand inside and look up and around, trying to appreciate the volume and I'm happy if I achieve that much.

Seeing it piecemeal through your photos, bixa, is ideal for me. The details are there for me to absorb as I appreciate one photo at a time.

These closeups really highlight how much skilled labor went into the decoration.

[mich64]

Impressive. One of my favorite photos is the third in reply #7, I like the angle you chose. Another is the second in reply #1, you captured so much of the amazing detail.

Also wonderful to read that you and htmb shared this experience together!

[whatagain]

I love Chartres. Some good friends of us just moved there so we are on a plan of going once or twice a year.

[bixaorellana]

What a generous and thoughtful thing to say about the thread, Breeze -- thank you so much!
I do know what you mean about the overwhelming factor. Sometimes I wind up making a circuit at least twice before the interior dimensions make any sense to me, but I confess the exterior can confuse me.

Mich, it means so much to me that you take the time to really look. I agree that the detail is amazing. When I show the choir screen on the opposite side of the altar, you'll be stunned. That section has been partially cleaned by now.
And yes, getting to share this with Htmb made it extra special.

That will be a wonderful trip to share with friends, Whatagain.

Let's have some views of the altar ~

The garment painted on this object and depicted in wood below is the tunic of the Blessed Virgin ~

[bixaorellana]

This is what is on the other side of those round altar walls ~

[mich64]

Bixa are the pillars painted or are they marble in picture #1 of reply #11?

I am stunned! I keep going back and forth between the photos in reply #12. The amount of carving detail is superb. There is even so much to absorb just looking at the pillars separating the vignettes!

[questa]

I find myself just wallowing in all that grandeur. Your photos are superb, Bixa, catching the whole and then the detail. What craftsmen and women the people must have been.
Is it true that in WW2 all the combatants agreed not to bomb or damage this cathedral?

[fumobici]

I knew Chartres cathedral was a treasure, but what I didn't know was how precious a treasure. Words fail, really. Thank you Bixa for documenting this marvel with your excellent photos. The amount of work and artistic effort expended in this one building is almost incomprehensible. I hope there will be more!

[Deleted]

As I was not part of the Chartres expedition, I must thank Bixa for documenting everything so well, because there is so much to see in the cathedral that one tends to forget a lot of the details over time. In fact, when you mention Chartres cathedral to most people in France, the only thing that comes to mind immediately is the cobalt blue of the stained glass windows and generally nothing of the statuary or the other decorations.

And the problem with the windows, just like most stained glass anywhere, is that it is impossible to capture their true majesty in a photograph (although Bixaorellana made a truly valliant effort). The blue of the windows is so unique that it has its own term in French to describe it -- "bleu de Chartres." Add to that the fact that most of the windows date from the 13th century and that the 2600m² are considered to be the most complete ensemble of medieval windows in the world, and you have another mystery of Chartres -- why don't more tourists go there?

[bixaorellana]

Mich, I would say they are real marble. Here is a closeup of them: www.flickr.com/gp/17499332@N00/hr5954
Thank you for your attentive comments!

So kind, Questa -- thank you! This is from the Wikipedia cathedral link in the OP:
All the glass from the cathedral was removed in 1939 just before the Germans invaded France, and it was cleaned after the War and releaded before replacing. While the city suffered heavy damage by bombing in the course of World War II, the cathedral was spared by an American Army officer who challenged the order to destroy it.
Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. questioned the strategy of destroying the cathedral and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the German Army was occupying the cathedral and using it as an observation post. With a single enlisted soldier to assist, Griffith proceeded to the cathedral and confirmed that the Germans were not using it. After he returned from his reconnaissance, he reported that the cathedral was clear of enemy troops. The order to destroy the cathedral was withdrawn, and the Allies later liberated the area. Griffith was killed in action later that day on 16 August 1944, in the town of Leves, near Chartres.

Thank you so much, Fumobici. You are right in saying that the amount of work and artistic effort is almost incomprehensible. Even as you're gazing on it, you think you can't take it all in. There is so much more to see than what I show here. One reason to overnight in Chartres would be to visit the cathedral more than once.
I do have many more pictures to post to this thread, but am traveling right now. Please look back in here later for even more marvels.

Kerouac, so true that the stonework of the cathedral alone is reason enough to visit it. You are right that the windows in real life are generaly deeper and rather darker than what the photos capture. Only knowing Chartres previously from looking at art books & the like, I was surprised at how many of the windows are not blue at all, but mostly designed to let in more light.

[questa]

I hope there is a memorial to the brave Colonel near the Cathedral. Otherwise we would be looking at old photos and stone ruins of what had been.

[mossie]

Several years ago I went there on a day trip from Paris. The tour operator was Paris Vision and the driver took us on a guided tour round the cathedral.

[lagatta]

I do find it odd that more tourists don't visit, seeing as it is not very far from Paris.

[bixaorellana]

Questa, so true that Col. Griffith's insistence and brave reconnaissance should be acknowledged.

Mossie, feel free to jump in with facts on the cathedral, please!

[lagatta]

Looking quickly, there are some modest chains such as Ibis, and there is a youth hostel (all ages).

Splendid photos, bixa.

[bixaorellana]

Until you all mentioned it, I did not realize that Chartres wasn't visited much. In fact, I thought it was very famous and well visited.

~ There will be more! ~

[breeze]

My impression from reading travel guides and travel boards is that Chartres is an extremely popular place to visit. The cathedral is a World Heritage site, not to mention a place of pilgrimage.

I have to confess we went to Chartres and didn't visit the cathedral. Our friend wanted to see Maison Picassiette, so after lunch we drove her there and took a nap in our car because we really needed it. At the time I slightly regretted missing Picassiette but not the cathedral. Now, with these fantastic photos of Bixa's, I'm finally seeing Chartres in a manageable way.

[fumobici]

Maybe it was a more popular tourist destination some decades ago, I too thought it was right up there with Mont Saint Michel as a France must-see.

Anyway my favorite shots are the one with the patches of lawn and the one with the bit of a wooden door to relieve the gray stonework. Just beautiful.

[Deleted]

Well, Chartres is far from ignored, but it receives "only" a million visitors a year, which is still pretty good considering that France has more than 50,000 religious buildngs of which 10,000 are registered with UNESCO. I don't know its exact ranking in terms of visitor numbers, but I know that it is not in the "top 30" for France, so there is room for improvement.

Just as a couple of examples, Notre Dame de Paris receives about 15 million visitors, but of course it is in Paris and the majority of visitors automatically go to Paris anyway. The basilica in Lourdes receives 5 million visitors even though it is of little architectural interest, and Mont Saint Michel received 2.5 million visitors.

[bixaorellana]

Hi LaGatta ~ I missed seeing your second comment when I posted the last set of pictures, but thank you!

Breeze and Fumobici, I thought the same, as Chartres is included in art history courses and books, is a World Heritage site, etc. It just seems a famous enough place and close enough to Paris to be one of the most visited sites. There weren't tons of people there the day we went, but I assumed that was because it was on an overcast Monday.

Breeze, a big thank you for your open-minded attention and contributions to this thread, especially since you say that churches and cathedrals don't really grab you as places to visit. Despite the many I've snapped and foisted on you all here, there have been many others -- worthy others -- to which I didn't respond, so I know what you mean.

Thanks, Fumobici. I have a couple of dozen more pictures to show to wind up the thread. It sounds like overload, but I think you'll find the facade shots worth it.

The hard facts are interesting, Kerouac -- thanks. I had always assumed that the great cathedrals of Europe were visited mostly for their architectural and historic interest, rather than for religious reasons. That would put Lourdes in a different category from the others, as probably the bulk of its visitors are there on a pilgrimage, but doesn't explain Chartres' relative lack of popularity.

Here we are going behind the cathedral, into the Bishop's Gardens, and out again ~

[bixaorellana]

[bjd]

I haven't been to Chartres for years, so thanks for all these photos, Bixa.

Reading the comments above, I too thought it one of the main sights of France. Even if it isn't, a million people a year coming to a small town like that is a huge influx, so let's hope it doesn't become part of the "Paris-Versailles for a day trip-Mont St Michel itinerary". It doesn't need more tourists.