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==Geography== ==Geography==
Chartres is built on a hill on the left bank of the ]. Its renowned medieval ] is at the top of the hill, and its two spires are visible from miles away across the flat surrounding lands. To the southeast stretches the fruitful plain of ], the "granary of France", of which the town is the commercial centre. Chartres is built on a hill on the left bank of the ]. Its renowned medieval ] is at the top of the hill, and its two spires are visible from miles away across the flat surrounding lands. To the southeast stretches the fertile plain of ], the "granary of France", of which the town is the commercial centre.


==Main sights== ==Main sights==

Revision as of 16:51, 13 August 2015

This article is about the city in France. For the settlement in the Falkland Islands, see Chartres, Falkland Islands. For the ferry, see MV Chartres. For the cathedral, see Chartres Cathedral.
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Place in Centre-Val de Loire, France
Chartres
Coat of arms of ChartresCoat of arms
Location of Chartres
CountryFrance
RegionCentre-Val de Loire
DepartmentEure-et-Loir
ArrondissementChartres
IntercommunalityChartres Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2008-2020) Jean-Pierre Gorges
Area16.85 km (6.51 sq mi)
Population39,273
 • Density2,300/km (6,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code28085 /28000
Elevation121–161 m (397–528 ft)
(avg. 142 m or 466 ft)
French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Chartres (French pronunciation: [ʃaʁtʁ]) is a commune and capital of the Eure-et-Loir department in France. It is located 96 km (60 mi) southwest of Paris. This city is well known for its cathedral.

History

Chartres was in Gaul one of the principal towns of the Carnutes, a Celtic tribe. In the Gallo-Roman period, it was called Autricum, name derived from the river Autura (Eure), and afterwards civitas Carnutum, "city of the Carnutes", from which Chartres got its name. The city was burned by the Normans in 858, and unsuccessfully besieged by them in 911.

During the Middle Ages, it was the most important town of the Beauce. It gave its name to a countship which was held by the counts of Blois, and the counts of Champagne, and afterwards by the House of Châtillon, a member of which sold it to the Crown in 1286.

In 1417, during the Hundred Years' War, Chartres fell into the hands of the English, from whom it was recovered in 1432.

In 1528, it was raised to the rank of a duchy by Francis I.

In 1568, during the Wars of Religion, Chartres was unsuccessfully besieged by the Huguenot leader, the Prince of Condé. It was finally taken by the royal troops of Henry IV on 19 April 1591. On Sunday, 27 February 1594, the cathedral of Chartres was the site of the coronation of Henry IV after he converted to the Catholic faith, the only king of France whose coronation ceremony was not performed in Reims.

In 1674, Louis XIV raised Chartres from a duchy to a duchy peerage in favor of his nephew, Philippe II, Duke of Orléans. The title of Duke of Chartres was hereditary in the House of Orléans, and given to the eldest son of the Duke of Orléans.

In the 1870-1871 Franco-Prussian War, Chartres was seized by the Germans on 2 October 1870, and continued during the rest of the war to be an important centre of operations.

In World War II, the city suffered heavy damage by bombing and during the battle of Chartres in August 1944, but its cathedral was spared by an American Army officer who challenged the order to destroy it. On 16 August 1944, Colonel Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. questioned the necessity of destroying the cathedral and volunteered to go behind enemy lines to find out whether the Germans were using it as an observation post. With his driver, Griffith proceeded to the cathedral and, after searching it all the way up its bell tower, confirmed to Headquarters that it was empty of Germans. The order to destroy the cathedral was withdrawn. Colonel Griffith was killed in action later on that day in the town of Lèves, 3.5 kilometers north of Chartres.

On 21 October 1944, for his heroic action, Colonel Welborn B. Griffith, Jr. was awarded, posthumously, the Distinguished Service Cross. He was also awarded the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the Legion of Merit, the French Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur

Following deep reconnaissance missions in the region by the 3rd Cavalry Group and units of the 1139 Engineer Combat Group, and after heavy fighting in and around the city, Chartres was liberated, on 18 August 1944, by the U.S. 5th Infantry and the 7th Armored Divisions belonging to the XX Corps of the 3rd US Army commanded by General George S. Patton.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
179315,000—    
180013,794−8.0%
180613,809+0.1%
182113,714−0.7%
183114,439+5.3%
183614,750+2.2%
184116,383+11.1%
184617,353+5.9%
185118,234+5.1%
185618,925+3.8%
186119,531+3.2%
186619,442−0.5%
187219,580+0.7%
187620,468+4.5%
188121,080+3.0%
188621,903+3.9%
189123,108+5.5%
189623,182+0.3%
190123,431+1.1%
190623,219−0.9%
191124,103+3.8%
192123,349−3.1%
192624,630+5.5%
193125,357+3.0%
193627,077+6.8%
194626,422−2.4%
195428,740+8.8%
196231,495+9.6%
196834,469+9.4%
197538,928+12.9%
198237,119−4.6%
199039,595+6.7%
199940,361+1.9%
200839,159−3.0%
201139,273+0.3%

Geography

Chartres is built on a hill on the left bank of the Eure River. Its renowned medieval cathedral is at the top of the hill, and its two spires are visible from miles away across the flat surrounding lands. To the southeast stretches the fertile plain of Beauce, the "granary of France", of which the town is the commercial centre.

Main sights

Cathedrals and churches

Cathedral of Chartres.
The famous "Chartres blue".
South elevation, lithography 1864
The Church of Saint Aignan.

Chartres is best known for is cathedral, the Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, which is considered one of the finest and best preserved 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 Sites. 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.

The Église Saint-Pierre de Chartres, was the church of the Benedictine 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, twelve representations of the apostles in enamel, created about 1547 by Léonard Limosin.

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.

Museums

  • Musée des Beaux-Arts, fine arts museum (located near the Cathedral of Chartres) housed in the former episcopal palace.
  • Le Grenier de l'Histoire Musée, history museum specializing in military uniforms and accoutrements.
  • Le Centre International du Vitrail, a workshop-museum and cultural center devoted to stained glass art.
  • Muséum de sciences naturelles et de la préhistoire, Natural Science and Prehistory Museum
  • Conservatoire du Machinisme et des Pratiques Agricoles, an agricultural museum

Other sights

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 steep, narrow streets of the old town contrast with the wide, shady boulevards which encircle it and divide it from the suburbs. The Cbs St Jean, a pleasant park, lies to the north-west, and squares and open spaces are numerous.

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. There is a statue of General F. S. Marceau-Desgraviers (b. 1769), a native of the town.

  • La Maison Picassiette, a house decorated inside and out with mosaics of chards of broken china and pottery

Economy

Chartres is one of the most important market towns in the region of Beauce (known as "the granary of France").

The game pies and other delicacies of Chartres are well known, and the industries also include flour-milling, brewing, distilling, iron-founding, leather manufacture, perfumes, dyeing, and the manufacture of electronic equipment, car accessories, stained glass, billiard requisites and hosiery.

Since 1976 fashion and perfumes company Puig has a production plant in this commune.

Transport

The Gare de Chartres railway station offers frequent services to Paris, and a few daily connections to Le Mans, Nogent-le-Rotrou and Courtalain. The A11 motorway connects Chartres with Paris and Le Mans.

Sport

Chartres is home to two semi-professional association football clubs; FC Chartres, who play in the French sixth division, and HB Chartres, who play in the seventh tier.

Chartres has a table tennis club which is playing in the Pro A (French First division) and in the European Champions League. The club won the ETTU Cup on the season 2010 – 2011 and it finished at the second position in the French First division.

Chartres has the second most important squash club in France.

There is also a handball club and it is playing in the French second division.

In November 2012, Chartres organized the European Short Course Swimming Championships.

Diocese

Main article: Diocese of Chartres

The town is the seat of a bishop, a prefecture, and a court of assizes. It has tribunals of first instance and of commerce, a chamber of commerce, training colleges, a high school for boys, a communal college for girls, and a branch of the Bank of France.

Pilgrimages

Chartres has been a site of Christian pilgrimage since the Middle Ages. The poet Charles Péguy (1873–1914) revived the pilgrimage route between Paris and Chartres before the First World War. After the war, some students carried on the pilgrimage in his memory. Since the 1980s, the association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté <http://www.nd-chretiente.com>, with offices in Versailles, has organized the annual 100 km (62 mi) pilgrimage on foot from the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris to the cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres. About 15,000 pilgrims, mostly young families from all over France, participate every year.

Bishops

Notable bishops of Chartres:

Personalities

Chartres was the birthplace of:

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns – Sister cities

Chartres is twinned with:

Gallery

  • Chartres railway station Chartres railway station
  • 17th-Century engraving of Chartres "skyline" 17th-Century engraving of Chartres "skyline"
  • The Cathedral of Chartres The Cathedral of Chartres
  • The Apostles and Saint Sculptures of Chartres The Apostles and Saint Sculptures of Chartres
  • The Old Town – River Eure The Old Town – River Eure
  • Half-timbered house in the Old Town Half-timbered house in the Old Town
  • Hill of St. François Hill of St. François
  • View south from the Cathedral View south from the Cathedral
  • On the banks of the Eure River On the banks of the Eure River

See also

References

  1. ^ MilitaryTimes.com. "MilitaryTimes Hall of Valor". Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr. Military Times, a Gannett Company. Retrieved 10 May 2011. Note: The Distinguished Service Cross was awarded posthumously for saving the cathedral.
  2. Jay Nordlinger (2011). "A Colonel at Chartres". The Corner. NationalReview.com. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
  3. "Militarytimes Hall of Valor: Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr".
  4. Eugene G. Schulz, The Ghost in General Patton's Third Army, USA, 2002. ISBN 2012912528
  5. Winieska, Françoise, August 1944, The Liberation of Rambouillet, France, SHARY, 1999, pp. 19–23, ISBN 2-9514047-0-0
  6. Pastoureau, Michel, Bleu: histoire d'une couleur', Seuil, Paris, 2000. ISBN-10: 2757840010. ISBN-13: 978-2757840016
  7. "To be multinational in Spain costs a lot, because the domestic market is too small". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
  8. "British towns twinned with French towns [via WaybackMachine.com]". Archant Community Media Ltd. Archived from the original on 5 July 2013. Retrieved 20 July 2013.
  9. "Twinning with Palestine". 1998–2008 The Britain – Palestine Twinning Network. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
  10. "::Bethlehem Municipality::". bethlehem-city.org. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
  11. "Ciudades Hermanas (Sister Cities)" (in Spanish). Municipalidad del Cusco. Retrieved 23 September 2009.

External links

France Prefectures of the departments of France
Overseas departments
Communes of the Eure-et-Loir department of France
Categories: