Chartres: Difference between revisions
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In 1528, it was raised to the rank of a duchy by [[Francis I of France|Francis I]]. |
In 1528, it was raised to the rank of a duchy by [[Francis I of France|Francis I]]. |
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In 1568, during the [[French Wars of Religion|Wars |
In 1568, during the [[French Wars of Religion|Wars 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 [[Coronation of the French monarch|Reims]]. |
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In 1674, [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] raised Chartres from a duchy to a [[Peerage of France|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 1674, [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] raised Chartres from a duchy to a [[Peerage of France|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. |
Revision as of 14:22, 14 August 2015
This article needs additional citations for verification. (February 2014) |
Chartres | |
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![]() | |
Country | France |
Region | Centre-Val de Loire |
Department | Eure-et-Loir |
Arrondissement | Chartres |
Intercommunality | Chartres Métropole |
Government | |
• Mayor (2008-2020) | Jean-Pierre Gorges |
Area 1 | 16.85 km2 (6.51 sq mi) |
Population (2011) | 39,273 |
• Density | 2,300/km2 (6,000/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 28085 /28000 |
Elevation | 121–161 m (397–528 ft) (avg. 142 m or 466 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (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 [[French Wars of Religion|Wars 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.[1] 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.[1][2]
On 21 October 1944, for his heroic action, Colonel Welborn B. Griffith, Jr. was awarded, posthumously, the Distinguished Service Cross.[3] He was also awarded the Silver Star, the Purple Heart, the Legion of Merit, the French Croix de Guerre and the Légion d'Honneur[4]
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.[5]
Population
Year | Pop. | ±% |
---|---|---|
1793 | 15,000 | — |
1800 | 13,794 | −8.0% |
1806 | 13,809 | +0.1% |
1821 | 13,714 | −0.7% |
1831 | 14,439 | +5.3% |
1836 | 14,750 | +2.2% |
1841 | 16,383 | +11.1% |
1846 | 17,353 | +5.9% |
1851 | 18,234 | +5.1% |
1856 | 18,925 | +3.8% |
1861 | 19,531 | +3.2% |
1866 | 19,442 | −0.5% |
1872 | 19,580 | +0.7% |
1876 | 20,468 | +4.5% |
1881 | 21,080 | +3.0% |
1886 | 21,903 | +3.9% |
1891 | 23,108 | +5.5% |
1896 | 23,182 | +0.3% |
1901 | 23,431 | +1.1% |
1906 | 23,219 | −0.9% |
1911 | 24,103 | +3.8% |
1921 | 23,349 | −3.1% |
1926 | 24,630 | +5.5% |
1931 | 25,357 | +3.0% |
1936 | 27,077 | +6.8% |
1946 | 26,422 | −2.4% |
1954 | 28,740 | +8.8% |
1962 | 31,495 | +9.6% |
1968 | 34,469 | +9.4% |
1975 | 38,928 | +12.9% |
1982 | 37,119 | −4.6% |
1990 | 39,595 | +6.7% |
1999 | 40,361 | +1.9% |
2008 | 39,159 | −3.0% |
2011 | 39,273 | +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
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8e/Chartres_1.jpg/180px-Chartres_1.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0d/Chartres_Vitrail2.jpg/180px-Chartres_Vitrail2.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8f/Monografie_de_la_Cathedrale_de_Chartres_-_10_Facade_Meridionale_-_Gravure.jpg/220px-Monografie_de_la_Cathedrale_de_Chartres_-_10_Facade_Meridionale_-_Gravure.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e6/Loire_Eure_Chartres7_tango7174.jpg/180px-Loire_Eure_Chartres7_tango7174.jpg)
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.[6]
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, housed in the former episcopal palace adjacent to the cathedral.
- Musée le grenier de l'histoire, history museum specializing in military uniforms and accoutrements, in Lèves.
- Le Centre international du vitrail, a workshop-museum and cultural center devoted to stained glass art, located 50 meters from the cathedral.
- Muséum des 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, was the most complete specimen, until destroyed by the retreating German army in the night of 15 to 16 August 1944. The steep, narrow streets of the old town contrast with the wide, shady boulevards which encircle it and separate it from the suburbs. The Cbs St Jean, a pleasant park, lies to the north-west, and squares and open spaces are numerous.
The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall), a building of the 17th century, houses a museum and a library. The Maison Canoniale dating back to the 13th century, and several medieval and Renaissance houses, are of interest.
There is a statue of General Marceau (1769-1796), a native of Charres and a general during the French Revolution.
- 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.[7]
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
The town is the seat of a diocese (bishopric), a prefecture, and a cour d'assises. 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 Banque de France.
Pilgrimages
Chartres has been a site of Catholic pilgrimages since the Middle Ages. The poet Charles Péguy (1873–1914) revived the pilgrimage route between Paris and Chartres before World War I. After the war, some students carried on the pilgrimage in his memory. Since 1982, the association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté [8], with offices in Versailles, organizes the annual 100 km (62 mi) pilgrimage on foot from Notre-Dame de Paris to Notre-Dame de Chartres. About 15,000 pilgrims, from France and countries outside of France, participate every year.
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)
Personalities
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
- Julien Escudé (born 1979), professional footballer for Sevilla FC and the France national football team
- Loïc Duval (born 12 June 1982), professional racingdriver; currently A1 Team France, Formula Nippon and Super GT
- Julien Cetout footballer
- Laura Kamdop, handball player
- Allison Pineau handball player
- Eric Lada footballer
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Chartres is twinned with:
Ravenna in Italy (since 1957)
Speyer in Germany (since 1959)
Chichester in the United Kingdom (since 1959)[9]
Bethlehem in Palestinian Authority (since 1995)[10][11]
Évora in Portugal (since 2003)
Cusco in Peru (since 1989)[12]
Sakurai, Nara in Japan (since 1989)
Gallery
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Chartres railway station
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17th-century engraving of Chartres "skyline"
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The cathedral of Chartres
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The Apostles and Saint sculptures of Chartres
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The Old Town – Eure River
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Half-timbered house in the Old Town
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Hill of Saint François
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View south from the cathedral
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On the banks of the Eure River
See also
References
- INSEE
- public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
{{cite encyclopedia}}
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(help)
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the - Chartres and the Chartres Cathedral – Visitor Guide
- La Maison Picassiette in Chartres
- ^ a b 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.
- ^ Jay Nordlinger (2011). "A Colonel at Chartres". The Corner. NationalReview.com. Retrieved 11 May 2011.
- ^ "Militarytimes Hall of Valor: Welborn Barton Griffith, Jr".
- ^ Eugene G. Schulz, The Ghost in General Patton's Third Army, USA, 2002. ISBN 2012912528
- ^ Winieska, Françoise, August 1944, The Liberation of Rambouillet, France, SHARY, 1999, pp. 19–23, ISBN 2-9514047-0-0
- ^ Pastoureau, Michel, Bleu: histoire d'une couleur', Seuil, Paris, 2000. ISBN-10: 2757840010. ISBN-13: 978-2757840016
- ^ "To be multinational in Spain costs a lot, because the domestic market is too small". La Vanguardia. Retrieved 9 May 2012.
- ^ Association Notre-Dame de Chrétienté [1]
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Twinning with Palestine". 1998–2008 The Britain – Palestine Twinning Network. Retrieved 29 November 2008.
- ^ "::Bethlehem Municipality::". bethlehem-city.org. Retrieved 10 October 2009.
- ^ "Ciudades Hermanas (Sister Cities)" (in Spanish). Municipalidad del Cusco. Retrieved 23 September 2009. [dead link]
External links
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Tourist office website
- City council website (in French)
- Chartres' archeology service website (in French)
- Website about archaeological excavations (in French)
- Visiting Chartres (English)
- Photo of the abbey church of St.Pierre
- Music recorded in Chartres Cathedral in the resonant space of the labyrinth
- Chartres World Heritage Site in panographies – 360 degree interactive imaging