Chartres cathedral : the rose of the south portal

What if all the sunlight captured by the stained glass windows of Chartres cathedral came out at nightfall? Don't imagine it anymore! Go to the south portal to admire this phenomenon.

Come closer to discover a flower like no other.

All day long, the stained glass rose of the south portal catches the light and illuminates the interior of the cathedral. But it is in the evening that it will reveal all its brightness. Playing with the twilight, the rose is reborn and blossoms again on the facade of the cathedral. The energy of the day is diffused to better reveal the stone that surrounds it and its architectural wonders.

Fragments of light and shimmering colors are inscribed on the walls and spread, in a tribute to the master glassworkers of Notre-Dame de Chartres, who have left us the most beautiful set of stained glass windows of the 13th century.

Artistic design : Spectaculaires, Les Allumeurs d’images – Franck Marty and Benoît Quero

A little history

The cathedral of Notre-Dame de Chartres is one of the largest in France and one of the first French sites to be listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1979. Since its first construction, 5 versions followed one another, until the cathedral we know today, which dates from the 13th century. An accidental fire in 1836 destroyed the old wooden frame. The entirely rebuilt roof in cast iron with a copper covering is now one of its particularities. Chartres Cathedral also has the richest and most complete collection of ancient stained glass windows in the world with 172 windows spread over 2600m2.