CHARTRES, shiir'tr' (Med. Lat. (iarnotum, Lat. Carnutum civitas, Gall. Autricum). A city of France. capital of the Department of Eure-et Loir, and seat of a bishopric, 47 miles southwest of Paris (Map: France, II 3). It is built partly at the base, and partly on the declivity of a hill overlooking the river Eure, here divided into two channels, one flowing within and the other with nut the former ramparts, which have been con verted into agreeable promenades. Chartres con sists of an upper and a lower town connected by streets almost inaccessible to carriages. The upper town has some good streets, but the lower is ill-huilt. Many of the houses are quaintly gabled. timbered buildings. The cathedral, one of the largest and most imposing ecclesiastical structures in Europe, with its lofty spires. one of them towering to a height of 413 feet. crowns the top of the It has numerous stained windows, the workmanship of which is unsur passed, if indeed equaled. elsewhere in France, and many of them date from the Thirteenth Cen tury. It is also famous for its sculptures. This splendid edifice was the source of inspiration for James Russell Lowell's poem "The Cathedral." The Church of Saint Pierre and the obelisk to the memory of General Marceau are also ob jects of interest. Chartres has manufactures
of woolens, hosiery, and leather, and is the great cattle and grain market of the depart ment. It has two teachers' colleges, a lyceum. a library of 80.000 printed volumes and 1796 a museum, and a botanical garden. Popu lation, in 1901, of town, 19,•:32; of commune, 23,431. Chartres, founded by the Ca•nutes and the scat of the College of Druids, is one of the most ancient cities of France. lit mediaeval times it was the capital of the fertile Province of Beauce, and on several occasions was besieged by Normans and Burgundian:. Francis 1. vonferred upon it the dignity of a duchy, and the title since 16(11 has been connected with the Orleans family. Chartres suffered during the religious wars, was captured by llenry IV. in 1591, and witnessed his coronation in 150-1. Tn 1870 it was occupied by the Germans, and formed their base of operations against the Army of the Loire. Consult: Doyen. Ilistoire dr' Chartres (2 vols., Chartres, 17813) : Duval. La eatlu'drale de Char tres (Paris, 1Sti7 ) Joanne, Chartres (Paris, 1887).