Editing Chartres (section)

==Main sights==
===Cathedrals and churches===
[[File:Facade cathedral.jpg|thumb|Cathedral of Chartres]]
[[File:Chartres Vitrail2.jpg|thumb|The famous "Chartres blue"]]
[[File:Monografie de la Cathedrale de Chartres - 10 Facade Meridionale - Gravure.jpg|thumb|South elevation, lithography 1864]]
[[File:Loire Eure Chartres7 tango7174.jpg|thumb|The Church of Saint Aignan]]
Chartres is best known for its cathedral, the [[Chartres Cathedral|''Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres'']], which is considered one of the finest and best preserved [[Gothic architecture|Gothic cathedrals]] in France and in Europe. Its historical and cultural importance has been recognized by its inclusion on the [[UNESCO]] list of [[World Heritage Site]]s.

It was built on the site of the former Chartres cathedral of [[Romanesque architecture]], which was destroyed by fire in 1194 (that former cathedral had been built on the ruins of an ancient Celtic temple, later replaced by a Roman temple). Begun in 1205, the construction of ''Notre-Dame de Chartres'' was completed 66 years later.

The [[stained glass]] windows of the cathedral were financed by [[guilds]] of merchants and craftsmen, and by wealthy noblemen, whose names appear at the bottom.
 
It is not known how the famous and unique blue, ''bleu de Chartres'', of the glass was created, and it has been impossible to replicate it. The French author [[Michel Pastoureau]] says that it could also be called ''bleu de Saint-Denis''.<ref>Pastoureau, Michel, ''Bleu: histoire d'une couleur', Seuil, Paris, 2000.  {{ISBN|978-2757840016}}</ref>

The ''Église Saint-Pierre de Chartres'' was the church of the [[Benedictine]] ''[[Saint-Père-en-Vallée|Abbaye Saint-Père-en-Vallée]]'', founded in the 7th century by queen [[Balthild]]. At time of its construction, the abbey was outside the walls of the city. It contains fine stained glass and, formerly, twelve representations of the apostles in enamel, created about 1547 by [[Léonard Limousin|Léonard Limosin]],{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}} which now can be seen in the fine arts museum.

Other noteworthy churches of Chartres are ''Saint-Aignan'' (13th, 16th and 17th centuries), and ''Saint-Martin-au-Val'' (12th century), inside the Saint-Brice hospital.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

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===Museums===
* ''Musée des Beaux-Arts'', Fine arts museum, housed in the former episcopal palace adjacent to the cathedral.
* ''Le Centre international du vitrail'', a workshop-museum and cultural center devoted to [[stained glass]] art, located {{convert|50|m|ft|abbr=off}} from the cathedral.
* ''Conservatoire du machinisme et des pratiques agricoles'', an agricultural museum.
* ''Musée le grenier de l'histoire'', history museum specializing in [[military uniform]]s and [[Wiktionary:accoutrement|accoutrements]], in [[Lèves]], a suburb of Chartres.
* ''Muséum des sciences naturelles et de la préhistoire'', [[Natural science]] and Prehistory Museum (closed since 2015).

===Other sights===
[[File:L’Eure dans la ville de Chartres.jpg|thumb|The Eure river running through Chartres]]
[[File:Chartres Hotel Montescot 018 3468.jpg|thumb|The [[Hôtel de Ville, Chartres|Hôtel de Ville]]]]
The river Eure, which at this point divides into three branches, is crossed by several bridges, some of them ancient, and is fringed in places by remains of the old fortifications, of which the ''Porte Guillaume'' (14th century), a gateway flanked by towers, was the most complete specimen, until destroyed by the retreating [[Wehrmacht|German army]] in the night of 15 to 16 August 1944. The steep, narrow streets of the old town contrast with the wide, shady boulevards which encircle it and separate it from the suburbs. The "parc André-Gagnon" or "Clos St. Jean", a pleasant park, lies to the north-west, and squares and open spaces are numerous.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

Part of the ''[[Hôtel de Ville, Chartres|Hôtel de Ville]]'' (City Hall) is a building dating from the 17th century, called ''Hôtel Montescot''.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|PA00097002}}</ref> The ''Maison Canoniale'' dating back to the 13th century, and several medieval and Renaissance houses, are of interest.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911}}

There is a statue of [[François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers|General Marceau]] (1769–1796), a native of Chartres and a general during the [[French Revolution]].

The ''[[Maison Picassiette]]'', a house decorated inside and out with mosaics of shards of broken china and pottery, was built by Raymond Isidore.