2015-09-06-Chartres, FR-Chartres Cathedral by...
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  1. ThomasCarroll235's Gallery
  2. 2015-09-06-Chartres, FR-Chartres Cathedral2015-09-06-Chartres, FR-Chartres Cathedral
  3. Chartes comes into view, dominated by its famous cathedralChartes comes into view, dominated by its famous cathedral

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Chartes comes into view, dominated by its famous cathedral
Our tour director Guillaume leads the way (Guillaume, a fine young fellow and native of Alsace, was an excellent  and enthusiastic director.)
Franco-Prussian War Memorial ("To the memory of the young men of the Eure et Loire who died for their country". Eure-et-Loir  is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.)
The spires of Chartres Cathedral loom over the town
The home of Jean Moulin, a hero of the Resistance against the Nazis (Jean Moulin (20 June 1899 – 8 July 1943) was a high-profile member of the Resistance in France during World War II. He is remembered today as an emblem of the Resistance, owing mainly to his role in unifying the French resistance under de Gaulle and his courage and death by torture at the hands of the Nazi Gestapo. Jean Moulin has become the most famous and honored French Resistance fighter. He is known by practically all French people thanks to his famous monochrome photo with the scarf and fedora hat. All the other martyrs of the clandestine fight, such as Pierre Brossolette, Jean Cavaillès or Jacques Bingen, all organizers of the underground army, are overshadowed by his legend.In 1993, a commemorative French two-franc coin was issued showing a partial image of Moulin against the Croix de Lorraine, drawn from the iconic fedora-and-scarf photograph.)
Guillaume Stehlin, our excellent tour director
Chartres Cathedral-a 113-metre (377 ft) early 16th-century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower
Chartres shops and residences near the Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-The flamboyant north tower in shrp contrast to the simple south tower pyramid
An an old curio shop on the Cathedral Square
An elegant wrought iron gate on the Cathedral  precincts
The west facade of Chartres Cathedral (Chartres Cathedral, also known as Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, is a medieval Catholic cathedral  located in Chartres, France, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris. It is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century.)
Shops fringe the Cathedral Square
A gentleman of Chartres strolling near the Cathedral with his big shaggy dog
A very fine looking sheepdog
A gentleman of Chartres strolling near the Cathedral with his big shaggy dog
The Sheep dog creates a sensation in the cathedral square. Who doesn't love a shaggy hound?
The sublime geometry of an ancient Chartres household
Central tympanum of the Royal portalhartres Cathedral: The simple pyramid of the south tower
Chartres Cathedral: The ornate, flamboyant north tower
Chartres Cathedral's west facade (The cathedral is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires – a 105-metre (349 ft) plain pyramid completed around 1160 and a 113-metre (377 ft) early 16th-century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.)
Vintage buildings facing the south side of the cathedral
A row of beautiful structures facing the cathedral's south side
Chartres Cathedral: The south tower (Chartres Cathedral is probably the finest example of French Gothic architecture and said by some to be the most beautiful cathedral in France.The cathedral is a milestone in the development of Western architecture because it employs all the structural elements of the new Gothic architecture: the pointed arch; the rib-and-panel vault; and, most significantly, the flying buttress. The cathedral is also celebrated for its many stained-glass windows and sculptures. Because most of its 12th-and 13th-century stained glass and sculpture survives, Chartres Cathedral is one of the most completely surviving medieval churches.)
Chartres
Old friends share beers and gossip at L'estaminet ("The Tavern")
Medieval building, Chartres
Carroll hones in on a biscuit shop.
A shop to overwhelm the senses
Chartres
A view of the cathedral's south trancept
The town's coat of arms
Medieval cross beam structure near the cathedral
Members of our travelling group heading in for lunch south of the Cathedral
Dave at our luncheon destination, Creperie La Picoterie
Dave, Tom and Marilyn waiting for their crepes in Creperie La Picoterie
Chris, Georgia, Carroll and Carey in Creperie La Picoterie
Georgia's eyes widen as her crepe arrives
A crepe bearing a vague resemblance to the Starship Enterprise
Enjoying lunch and laughs at Creperie La Picoterie
Carroll pays homage to his crepe
Jean beams at the prospect of enjoying her pineapple crepe
Sundial Angel, Chartres Cathedral (An angel holding a sundial on the south tower of the west front. This is a 20th-century reproduction of an original from c.1230, which is now stored in the crypt. The angel was probably originally on the Royal Portal. The sundial bears a date of 1528.)
Chartres Cathedral-North transept porch
Le Tripot-"The gambling den"
Saint Foy Chapel, Chartres (All that is left of this chapel is the apse from the 15th century and its Roman portal which was classified as a historic monument in 1937. Sainte-Foy Church was built in the 11th century. Extended in the 12th century, it was the main parish of the city.  Since 1970, Saint Foy has been used as the city’s auctions center under the name of “Galerie de Chartres”.)
Media Library, Chartres (Built from 1923 to 1927 by Raoul Brandon, architect of Chartres, assisted by Julius Godfrey, the library, known as  "the Apostrophe" is located in the old Post Chartres. Known for many years as a centerpiece of urban architecture Chartres, the building, with a neo-Gothic bell tower is composed of a clock with corbels overlooking the square.)
A walking street in Chartres
Chartres Cathedral (Chartres Cathedral, also known as Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres ), is a medieval Catholic cathedral located in Chartres, France, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris. It is considered one of the finest examples of French Gothic architecture and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century.)
Georgia and Chartres Cathedral
The Gardens in front of the Cathedral's west facade
Tom visits Chartres (The cathedral is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact, while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century. The building's exterior is dominated by heavy flying buttresses which allowed the architects to increase the window size significantly, while the west end is dominated by two contrasting spires – a 105-metre (349 ft) plain pyramid completed around 1160 and a 113-metre (377 ft) early 16th-century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower. Equally notable are the three great façades, each adorned with hundreds of sculpted figures illustrating key theological themes and narratives.)
Exterior view of Chartres Cathedral's Western facade rose window
Georgia in the gardens of Chartres
Chartres Cathedral-Central tympanum of the Royal portal
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral
Dave at Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-Detail of the central tympanum of the Royal portal
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-Jamb statues of Saints
Chartres Cathedral-Central tympanum of the Royal portal
Our knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide, Veronique, points to a feature on the cathedral's facade
Chartres Cathedral-West facade sculptures
Chartres Cathedral-Western facade: Virgin and child flanked by angels
Chartres Cathedral (Perhaps the most distinctive feature of Chartres Cathedral is the extent to which architectural structure has been adapted to meet the needs of stained glass. The use of a three-part elevation with external buttressing allowed for far larger windows than earlier designs, particularly at the clerestory level. Most cathedrals of the period had a mixture of windows containing plain or grisaille glass and windows containing dense stained glass panels, with the result that the brightness of the former tended to diminish the impact and legibility of the latter. At Chartres, nearly all of the 176 windows were filled with equally dense stained glass, creating a relatively dark but richly coloured interior in which the light filtering through the myriad narrative and symbolic windows was the main source of illumination.)
Chartres Cathedral-Western facade rose window (The cathedral has three large rose windows. The western rose, made c.1215 and 12 m in diameter shows the Last Judgement – a traditional theme for west façades. A central oculus showing Christ as the Judge is surrounded by an inner ring of 12 paired roundels containing angels and the Elders of the Apocalypse and an outer ring of 12 roundels showing the dead emerging from their tombs and the angels blowing trumpets to summon them to judgement.)
Chartres Cathedral (The cathedral's spiritual intensity is heightened by the fact that no direct light enters the building. All the light is filtered through stained glass, so that the whole experience of visiting the Chartres Cathedral seems out of this world.The interior of the cathedral is remarkable. The nave, wider than that of any other cathedral in France (52 feet, or 16 meters), is in the purest 13th-century ogival style. In its center is a maze, the only one still intact in France, with 320 yards (290 meters) of winding passages, which the faithful used to follow on their knees. The warm glow of the light inside the cathedral results from the incomparably beautiful stained-glass windows, which date mostly from the 14th century.)
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-Altar and apse
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-Looking up at the clerestory (The elevation of the nave is three-storied, with arcade, triforium and clerestory levels. By eschewing the gallery level that featured in many early Gothic cathedrals (normally between arcade and triforium), the designers were able to make the richly glazed arcade and clerestory levels larger and almost equal in height, with just a narrow dark triforium in between. Although not the first example of this three-part elevation, Chartres was perhaps the first of the great churches to make a success of it and to use the same design consistently throughout. The result was a far greater area of window openings. These windows were entirely glazed with densely colored glass, which resulted in a relatively dark interior – but one which accentuated the richness of the glass and the colored light that filtered through them.)
Chartres Cathedral-Detail of the north transept rose window (The north transept rose (10.5 m diameter, made c.1235), like much of the sculpture in the north porch beneath it, is dedicated to the Virgin.[30] The central oculus shows the Virgin and Child and is surrounded by 12 small petal-shaped windows, 4 with doves (the 'Four Gifts of the Spirit'), the rest with adoring angels carrying candlesticks. Beyond this is a ring of 12 diamond-shaped openings containing the Old Testament Kings of Judah, another ring of smaller lozenges containing the arms of France and Castille, and finally a ring of semicircles containing Old Testament Prophets holding scrolls. The presence of the arms of the French king (yellow fleurs-de-lis on a blue background) and of his mother, Blanche of Castile (yellow castles on a red background) are taken as a sign of royal patronage for this window. Beneath the rose itself are five tall lancet windows (7.5 m high) showing, in the centre, the Virgin as an infant held by her mother, St Anne – the same subject as the trumeau in the portal beneath it.)
Chartres Cathedral-south transept rose window (The south transept rose (10.5 m diameter, made c.1225–30) is dedicated to Christ, who is shown in the central oculus, right hand raised in benediction, surrounded by adoring angels. Two outer rings of twelve circles each contain the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse, crowned and carrying phials and musical instruments.)
Chartres Cathedral-Lancet windows below the south transept rose window (The central lancet beneath the rose shows the Virgin carrying the infant Christ. Either side of this are four lancets showing the four evangelists sitting on the shoulders of four Prophets – a rare literal illustration of the theological principle that the New Testament builds upon the Old Testament. This window was a donation of the Mauclerc family, the Counts of Dreux-Bretagne, who are depicted with their arms in the bases of the lancets)
Lectern-Chartres Cathedral. The winged Ox, symbol of St. Luke (St. Luke: Symbolized by the Winged Ox. The form of the ox, the beast of sacrifice whose blood was shed in  atonement for sin, a major theme in  Luke's gospel.)
Chartres Cathedral-The Virgin Mary and Christ Child (This polychrome statue, made of pear wood, was sculpted in the 16th century and placed upon a pillar from a 13th century rood screen. In the 18th century is was surrounded by a wooden structure in Neo-Gothic style. Mary's crown was added in the 1855 during the papacy of  Pius IX. In troubled times children would come here, kneeling, torch in hand, chanting a Slave Regina.)
Chartres Cathedral-Magnificent windows soar above the semicircular apse on the cathedral's east end (The nave and transepts are flanked by single aisles, broadening to a double-aisled ambulatory around the choir and apse. From the ambulatory radiate three deep semi-circular chapels.)
Chartres Cathedral: The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Chartres Cathedral: Detail-The Assumption of the Blessed Virgin
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-Ceiling detail in the ambulatory
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-Screen detail-The Visitation. Elizabeth greets Mary ("At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea,  where she entered Zechariah's home and greeted Elizabeth. When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.  In a loud voice she exclaimed: "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! (Luke 1:39-42))
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière window (A 12th-century window, perhaps the most famous at Chartres is the so-called " Notre-Dame de la Belle-Verrière ", found in the first bay of the choir after the south transept. This window is actually a composite; the upper part, showing the Virgin and child surrounded by adoring angels, dates from around 1180 and was probably positioned at the centre of the apse in the earlier building. The Virgin is depicted wearing a blue robe and sitting in a frontal pose on a throne, with the Christ Child seated on her lap raising his hand in blessing.)
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-The transept
Chartres Cathedral-A relatively modern window honoring the Society of American Architects ("Hommage des Architectes des Etats-Unis (In honor of the Architects of the United States). The American Institute of Architects  has, over the years, provided financial support to restoration work in the cathedral.)
Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral-The plaza outside the West Facade
Buildings just north of the cathedral
North transept porch, Chartres Cathedral
Chapel of Saint Piat, Chartres Cathedral (In 1323 a substantial two story construction was added at the eastern end of the choir in Chartres Cathedral, with a chapel dedicated to Saint Piat in the upper floor accessed by a staircase opening onto the ambulatory (the chapel of St Piat is normally closed to visitors, although it occasionally houses temporary exhibitions).)
Georgia behind the cathedral overlooking Chartres
Chartres Cathedral Gardens
Georgia in front of the Chapel of Saint Piat, on the east side of Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral Gardens
Chartres Cathedral Gardens
Chartres Cathedral Gardens
Chartres Cathedral-North transept facade (In northern Europe it is common for the iconography on the north side of a church to focus on Old Testament themes, with stories from the lives of the saints and the Gospels being more prominent on the physically (and hence, spiritually) brighter southern side. Chartres is no exception to this general principle and the north transept portals, with their deep sheltering porches, concentrate on the precursors of Christ, leading up to the moment of His incarnation, with a particular emphasis on the Virgin Mary. The overall iconographical themes are clearly laid-out; the glorification of Mary in the centre, the incarnation of her son on the left and Old Testament prefigurations and prophecies on the right. One major exception to this scheme is the presence of large statues of St Modesta (a local martyr) and St Potentian on the north west corner of the porch, close to a small doorway where pilgrims visiting the crypt (where their relics were stored) would once have emerged blinking into the light.)
Sundial-Chartres Cathedral
Chartres Cathedral Sundial
Media Library, Chartres
Chartres
Chartres spires
Country home
Dinner- La Cave aux Fouee Restaurant Troglodyte ("Cave Dwellers"), near the ancient town of Amboise (Fouees are like small pitas which are baked in the restaurant's subterranean ovens)
Our group of forty five entering the subterranean restaurant
Welcome dinner at La Cave aux Fouee Restaurant
Welcome dinner at La Cave aux Fouee Restaurant
Jean and Georgia examine the small bowl of pork pâté, a house specilaty
The ancient oven where "Fouee", small pita like breads, are baked
Baskets of "Fouee", small pita like breads, at  La Cave aux Fouee troglodyte restaurant
French country house near La Cave aux Fouee

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