CHARTRES, France — For centuries, religious pilgrims and tourists have flocked to the Notre Dame de Chartres Cathedral. For the past four decades, guide and lecturer Malcom Miller has been there to greet them.
"I think what fascinates people is discovering that something can have new meaning," says Miller, 67, a Briton who first came to Chartres in 1956 while writing his graduate dissertation about the cathedral. "Something they already know, like the Bible stories, can have meanings they weren't aware of."
Throughout this Gothic masterpiece, the parables of the Bible are brought to life through a stunning collection of 172 stained glass windows and some 4,000 sculptures.
The cathedral as it stands today, 55 miles southwest of Paris, has emerged from the calamities of recent centuries nearly intact. It escaped the vandalism of the Reformation, the French Revolution and the bombings of the two World Wars.
As a result, Chartres has one of the world's largest collections of 12th- and 13th-century stained glass, more than 2,600 square yards (meters) of it.
"It's the best preserved of the great medieval cathedrals," Miller says. "You have to come to Chartres to find what's missing in the others."
Visitors continue to stream into this charming tourist town of 42,000 people for an opportunity to gaze through the cathedral's luminescent windows and their medieval hues.
The existing cathedral, which is actually the fifth to be built on the site, was constructed in just under 30 years following a devastating fire in June of 1194 that nearly ended the town's life as a major pilgrimage stop.
The cathedral's attraction in its early days was its "voile de la vierge," a relic received in the year 876 that was believed to be a nativity garment worn by the Virgin Mary.
"If that had burned, no more pilgrims would have come," Miller says.
Just three days after the fire, the townspeople of Chartres learned that the precious relic had been miraculously spared by the blaze, and took it as a sign from Mary that she wanted her cathedral rebuilt.
In rebuilding it, the Gothic architects were able to expand the cathedral upward, reducing the weight with flying buttresses and allowing the walls to be filled with the now-trademark stained glass windows.
Miller, who lives in a 15th-century home in Chartres, began guiding visitors in 1958. He says at the end of his twice-daily tours that he "shall be here until Judgment Day," interpreting the windows and sculptures that make up what he calls a medieval library.
His pupils sit quietly with their necks stiffly aimed at the windows above, eyes squinting to interpret the interweaving stories of sinners and saints.
"They're not just pretty windows," Miller says.
These stained glass windows served as medieval teaching aids at a time when paper did not yet exist in Europe and most people could not read or write, he explains. And thus, these symbolic interpretations of Biblical parables also document the religious faith of medieval Christians.
For example, he details how one window depicts both the Biblical tales of the Good Samaritan and of Adam and Eve. Thus, their parallel stories of sin and suffering are symbolically woven together.
Other windows depict village life in Chartres in the Middle Ages and have "signatures" from the windows' donors. These panes feature familial coats of arms and scenes depicting work of craftsmen who contributed to the rebuilding efforts.
Visitors today can view many of the lower-level windows as they would have originally appeared in the 13th century. Eleven of the windows blackened by pollution have been restored and several more remain to be completed during this phase. Nine of the cathedral's wooden doors and its 16th-century clock pavilion have also been renovated.
The cathedral is also famous for its well-preserved labyrinth, which is inlaid in the floor. Medieval pilgrims used the maze as a spiritual exercise, and modern visitors can also walk it during certain hours. Also worth visiting are the cathedral's underground 11th-century crypt and its North Tower, which provides a panoramic view of both Chartres and the Beauce region.
The Virgin Mary relic that originally made the cathedral a famous pilgrimage site is also on display in the cathedral's Saint-Sacrement chapel.
Chartres' towering cathedral may be the town's main tourist attraction, but there are other sights. The picturesque old town charms with its winding streets and old, gabled houses with suspended chain lanterns.
Near the cathedral on the Place de la Poissonnerie is the town's Maison du Saumon. The house, built in the early 16th century, is adorned with wooden sculptures.
Visitors can follow ramps and staircases leading from near the cathedral down to the banks of the town's Eure River. This area features humpback bridges, as well as several old mills and washhouses.
The lower town provides some particularly impressive views of the cathedral, especially the Bouju and Saint-Hilaire bridges.
While Chartres is very much a tourist town, it retains a vibrant, local flavor. On Saturday mornings it bustles with markets, including an open-air food market at the Place Billard. Visitors can shop among the basket-toting locals from the selection of fresh fruits and vegetables, local cheeses, meats and jams.
Tables line the market with salted fish, fresh eggs, and honey. There are local foie gras specialties to sample and fresh rabbits for sale.
Along the Place du Cygne, open-air flower markets line the inside of the pedestrian streets, selling everything from bouquets to vegetable seeds and tomato plantings.