Notre-Dame de Chartres

Chartres Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres, lit. 'Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres') is a Catholic cathedral in Chartres, France, about 80 km (50 miles) southwest of Paris, and is the seat of the Bishop of Chartres. Dedicated in honour of the Virgin Mary ('Our Lady'), it was mostly constructed between 1194 and 1220. It stands on the site of at least five cathedrals that have occupied the site since the Diocese of Chartres was formed as an episcopal see in the 4th century. It is one of the best-known and most influential examples of High Gothic and Classic Gothic architecture. It was built above earlier Romanesque basements, while its north spire is more recent (1507–1513) and is built in the more ornate Flamboyant style.

"[O]ne of the most beautiful and historically significant cathedrals in all of Europe," it was designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979, which called it "the high point of French Gothic art" and a "masterpiece".