The French town of Chartres had long been known for its bazaars, but the main adornment and its hallmark is the majestic Cathedral of Notre Dame. We were not mistaken, this is the name of the main church in Chartres. Do not be surprised, because many churches in France have this name, not just the famous temple in Paris.
Notre Dame of Chartres, built in the twelfth century, still continues to gladden local residents and thousands of travelers from all over the world by its magnificent architecture. It is truly amazing, because after eight hundred years, the cathedral continues to delight by its massive stone walls and beautiful stained glass windows. And the secret of this long-living architectural monument remains unsolved to this day.
Construction of the temple was started in 1194 at the place which had been considered sacred for many centuries before this event. This is confirmed by the fact that people, trying to use the earth energy, in prehistoric times created on the territory of modern Chartres the dolmen – a specific stone structure with a roof of a large flat boulder. The ancient inhabitants of the area believed that the incoming under the vaults of the dolmen person gets a new life from natural power of the Earth.
At the time of druids in this place there was a school where people had got knowledge and experience of the elders. The symbol of that era – a wooden statue of a young woman with a baby, called the Virgin under the Earth, was found by archaeologists here. Exactly this holy land became a place where the first church of the Virgin Mary was built.
According to the ancient legend, the architectural skills, used in the construction of a new church, had come from the East with the Knights Templar, participated in the Crusades. And the construction of the cathedral took stone masons, sculptors, glassmakers and other masters thirty years. The first sanctuary of the church was located between the second and third pillars, 37 meters below – the sacred well of the Druids, and on the same feet up – the highest point of the dome of this masterpiece of Gothic architecture.
Despite the fact that Notre Dame has amazing symmetry, none of the researchers cannot say with certainty whether the symmetry of the temple was originally conceived, or the builders got it accidentally. But, nevertheless cathedral gives indescribable experience. There is an opinion that the church at Chartres is able to provide a very strong effect on people, elevating his (her) spirit, using energy of the Earth.
So, is it real or not, you can see if visit this place yourself. Maybe Notre Dame in Chartres is not the most refined French cathedral in terms of architecture, but that it has an unforgettable charm – it is the fact.
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Wow! That’s a really neat asnwer!