48°29N 1°30E, pop (2000e) 43 700. Capital city of Eure-et-Loire department, NC France, on left bank of R Eure, 100 km/62 mi SW of Paris; railway; bishopric; agricultural centre and wheat market; abbey church of St Pierre-en-Vallée (11th13th-c); Gothic cathedral (11951220), a world heritage site; students' pilgrimage (AprMay).
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Commune of Chartres Distant view of Chartres |
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| Location | |
| Longitude | 01° 29' 21" E |
| Latitude | 48° 26' 50" N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Région | Centre |
| Département |
Eure-et-Loir (préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Chartres |
| Canton | Chief town of 3 cantons |
| Intercommunality | Chartres Métropole |
| Mayor |
Jean-Pierre Gorges (UMP) (2001-2008) |
| Statistics | |
| Altitude |
121 m–161 m (avg. 142 m) |
| Land area¹ | 16.85 km² |
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Population² (1999) |
40,361 |
| - Density (1999) | 2,395/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 28085/ 28000 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. | |
Chartres is a town and commune of France, préfecture (capital) of the Eure-et-Loir département.
Geography
Chartres is built on the left bank of the Eure River, on a hill crowned by its famous cathedral, the spires of which are a landmark in the surrounding country.
Main sights
Cathedrals and churches
The town is best known for the Cathedral of Chartres (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), widely considered to be the finest gothic cathedral in France. Muséum de sciences naturelles et de la préhistoire, Natural Science and Prehistory Museum Conservatoire du Machinisme et des Pratiques Agricoles, an agricultural musuem
Others
The Eure River, 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, is the most complete specimen.
The hotel de ville, a building of the 17th century, containing a museum and library, an older hotel de ville of the 13th century, and several medieval and Renaissance houses, are of interest. Since the 1980s, the association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté (http://www.nd-chretiente.com), with offices in Versailles, has organized the annual 100-km pilgrimage on foot from the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris to the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres.
Bishops
Notable bishops of Chartres:
Fulbert of Chartres (1007-1029) St. Ivo of Chartres (1090-1115) John of Salisbury (1176-1180) Erard de la Marck (1472-1538)Births
Chartres was the birthplace of:
Fulcher of Chartres (born around 1059 in or near Chartres), chronicler of the First Crusade Philippe Desportes (1546-1606), poet Mathurin Régnier (1573-1613), satirist André Félibien (1619-1695), architect and historiographer Pierre Nicole (1625-1695), Jansenist theologian Philippe de Dangeau (1638-1720), officer and member of the Académie française Antoine François Desrues (1744-1777), poisoner Jacques Pierre Brissot (1754–1793), a leading member of the Girondist movement (French Revolution) Jérôme Pétion de Villeneuve (1756-1794), writer and politician François Séverin Marceau-Desgraviers (1769-1796), general Achille Guénée (1809-1880), lawyer and entomologist Pierre-Jules Hetzel (1814-1886), editor and publisher Jacqueline de Romilly (born 1913), philologist Nicolas Escudé (born 1976), professional tennis player,
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