Located on a hill on the left bank of the Eure River, at 96km southwest of Paris, Chartres is best known for its cathedral (Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres), widely considered to be the finest Gothic cathedral in France, for which reason was included on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites in 1979. The current cathedral, mostly constructed between 1194 and 1250, is the last of at least five which have occupied the site since the town became a bishopric in the 4th century. While the city was heavy bombed in WWII, the cathedral was spared by an American Army officer who challenged the order to destroy it, so it is in an exceptional state of preservation. The majority of the original stained glass windows survive intact (during the WWII were removed), while the architecture has seen only minor changes since the early 13th century.
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