Chartres Cathedral: West or Royal Portal

The central tympanum shows Christ triumphant at the end of time, surrounded by the symbols of the Four Evangelists.\u000a\u000aDedicated to Notre-Dame, Chartres Cathedral acquired strong associations with the cult of the Virgin. Most of the 12th- and 13th-century sculpture and stained glass survive, to make the cathedral one of the most 'complete' medieval buildings in existence. The present cathedral was built after a fire in 1194; of the earlier church only the 11th-century crypt and the 12th-century western block survive. The cathedral, built of limestone, is about 34 m high and 130 m long internally. It has a four-bay choir with double aisles and a double ambulatory with six radiating chapels, of which three are shallow and three, reflecting the surviving crypt chapels, are deeper. [A UNESCO World Heritage Site]