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Home | World Heritage Site | Chartres Cathedral
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The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, ( ), a Latin Rite Catholic cathedral located in Chartres, about 80 km (49.7 mi) southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples in all France of the Gothic style of architecture. The current cathedral is one of at least four that have occupied the site. From a distance it seems to hover in mid-air above waving fields of wheat, and it is only when the visitor draws closer that the city comes into view, clustering around the hill on which the cathedral stands. Its two contrasting spires - one, a 105 metre (349 ft) plain pyramid dating from the 1140s, and the other a 113 metre (377 ft) tall early 16th century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower - soar upwards over the pale green roof, while all around the outside are complex flying buttresses. |
