The south tower of Chartres Cathedral, completed in 1160 during the transition period between Romanesque and Gothic, was the first of the two towers to be built.
At a time when it was rare for buildings to exceed 30 m in height, the south tower's 103 metres made it the second tallest building in the world, after the Egyptian Pyramids.

The tower quickly had to withstand the fire of 1194, which did great damage. Despite repairs, a huge blaze in 1836 destroyed the wooden beams from the ceiling of the nave upwards over a height equivalent to seven stories. The present ceiling dates from the subsequent reconstruction. We can see that the stone building evolves from its square base to an octagonal spire, and that today, it is accessible by a spiral wooden staircase.

A little below the amazing brick and metal ceiling of the lower tower, a wooden walkway, suspended on metal brackets, and unsafe by today's standards, follows the contours of the walls, emphasising the transition to their octagonal form.

Two more upward revolutions of the spiral stairway take us into the empty cone of the spire, fifty metres high, a favourite nesting place for kestrels that come and go by the single window.
The south tower is a technical miracle, still admired today for the achievement of its structure, rigour and style.




For security reasons, it is not possible to visit the south tower.
Click on "video" for a view of the interior.

Chartres Cathedral is one of the buildings affiliated to the Centre for National Monuments.