Grands combles de la cathédrale de Chartres

Enjoy a guided tour that will take you along the overhanging glass roof. Above the buttressed arches to arrive at the exceptional cast iron frame!

On June 4, 1836, the Cathedral's frame, nicknamed the forest because of the number of trees that were needed to design it, caught fire. For some time, the vault of the cathedral was exposed completely naked, but work quickly got underway. The huge steel structure is one of the first to be built. Conceived as an inverted ship's nave, it gives the impression of an immense zeppelin with its tangle of steel beams. Built under the direction of the architect Baron, it was a subject of admiration at the time of its construction, because at that time, only a few rare structures, including Parisian theatres were designed in this way, to resist fire. From the inside, the structure is reminiscent of the legendary Zepellines. On June 4, 1836, the Cathedral's frame, nicknamed the forest because of the number of trees that were needed to design it, caught fire. For some time, the vault of the cathedral was exposed completely naked, but work quickly got underway. The huge steel structure is one of the first to be built. Conceived as an inverted ship's nave, it gives the impression of an immense zeppelin with its tangle of steel beams. Built under the direction of the architect Baron, it was a subject of admiration at the time of its construction, because at that time, only a few rare structures, including Parisian theatres were designed in this way, to resist fire. From the inside, the structure is reminiscent of the legendary Zepellines. On June 4, 1836, the Cathedral's frame, nicknamed the forest because of the number of trees that were needed to design it, caught fire. For some time, the vault of the cathedral was exposed completely naked, but work quickly got underway. The huge steel structure is one of the first to be built. Conceived as an inverted ship's nave, it gives the impression of an immense zeppelin with its tangle of steel beams. Built under the direction of the architect Baron, it was a subject of admiration at the time of its construction, because at that time, only a few rare structures, including Parisian theatres were designed in this way, to resist fire. From the inside, the structure is reminiscent of the legendary Zepellines.