Thesaurus
Chartres is the capital of Eure-et-Loir département, located in northwestern France, southwest of Paris, on the left bank of the Eure River. It is noted for the important Gothic cathedral, Notre-Dame, dating from the mid-13th century; it replaced a 12th-century church. Also noted for the Church of Saint-Pierre, mainly built in the 13th century. Chartres was sold to the king of France in 1286, but the English occupied it for 15 years during the Hundred Years War. It was raised to the rank of a duchy in 1528. Thrived as one of the pilgrimage sites on route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, home of the shrine dedicated to Saint James, the patron saint of Spain; French pilgrimage routes to Compostela tended to follow old Roman roads, many of which continued to be utilized as primary roads of communication during the Middle Ages. Modern Chartres has agricultural industries which include fertilizers and farm equipment.
