Chartres Cathedral was largely rebuilt after a fire on June 10, 1194, which left only the crypt, the towers and the new west facade standing. Reconstruction began almost at once, and major parts were finished within twenty-five years, with the roof in place by 1220. The cathedral was reconsecrated in October 1260 in the presence of Louis IX. No master architect is named for the rebuilding.
The style is High Gothic, built above earlier Romanesque foundations. Flying buttresses support the upper walls, allowing thinner walls and larger windows, and the vaults have four compartments instead of six. The nave is 121 feet (37 m) high and 54 feet (16.4 m) wide. About 152 of the original 176 stained-glass windows survive. The south tower is 344 feet (105 m) tall, and the more ornate north spire, a Flamboyant design by Jean Texier, rises 371 feet (113 m).
A labyrinth is set into the nave floor. UNESCO listed the cathedral in 1979.
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