CHARTRES, a city of north-western France, capital of the department of Eure-et-Loir, 55 m. south-west of Paris on the rail way to Le Mans. Pop. (1931) 21,440. Chartres is on the left bank of the Eure, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark on the plain of Beauce, "the granary of France." The Eure, which divides into three branches, is crossed by several bridges, some ancient, and is fringed by remains of fortifications, notably the Porte Guillaume (14th century) flanked by towers. The steep, narrow streets of the old town contrast with the boulevards which encircle it and divide it from the suburbs. The cathedral of Notre-Dame (see ARCHITECTURE : Romanesque, and Gothic Architecture; and CATHEDRAL), was founded by Bishop Fulbert (I 1 th century) on the site of a church which had been destroyed by fire. In 1194 another fire made new building necessary and the present church was finished by 1240; there have been minor additions and alterations since that time. A fire in 1836 destroyed the upper woodwork. The statuary of the portals, the stained glass of the 13th century, and the choir-screen of the Renaissance are all unique. The south spire, the Clocher Vieux (351 ft. high), dates from the 12th cen tury; the Clocher Neuf (377 ft.) was not completed till the 16th century. The cathedral is 44o ft. long, its choir measures 15o ft. across, and the vaulting is 121 ft. high. The abbey church of St. Pierre, chiefly i3th century, contains fine stained glass and twelve representations of the apostles in enamel (1547) by Leonard Limosin. St. Martin-au-Val is a 12th century church. The hotel de ville (17th century) contains a museum and library, an older hotel de ville is of the i3th century, and there are mediaeval and Renaissance houses.
Chartres was one of the principal towns of the Carnutes, and by the Romans was called Autricum, from the river Autura (Eure), and afterwards civitas Carnutum. It was burnt by the Normans in 858, and unsuccessfully besieged by them in 911. It was in English hands 1417-32. It was attacked unsuccessfully by the Protestants in 1568, and was taken in 1591 by Henry IV., who was crowned there three years afterwards. It was seized by the Germans on Oct. 21, 1870, and used as a centre of operations. During the middle ages it gave its name to a countship held by the counts of Blois and Champagne and afterwards by the house of Chatillon, a member of which in 1286 sold it to the crown. It was raised to the rank of a duchy in 1528 by Francis I.
The town is the seat of a bishop, a prefecture, a court of assizes, and has tribunals of first instance and of commerce and a cham ber of commerce. It is a market-town for Beauce. Game-pies of Chartres are well known, and industries include flour-milling, timber-sawing, brewing, distilling, iron-founding, leather manu facture, dyeing, and the manufacture of stained glass, billiard requisites, hosiery, machinery, etc.
See M. T. Bulteau, Monographie de la cathedrale de Chartres (1887) . A. Plerval, Chartres, sa cathedrale, ses monuments (1896) ; H. J. L. J. Masse, Chartres: its Cathedral and Churches (19oo) ; E. Houvet, Cathedrale de Chartres (1922).