Programming of the works
Since 2008, more than 24 million euros have been invested by the State (Direction régionale des affaires culturelles Centre-Val de Loire), owner of the building, in the conservation, restoration and enhancement of Chartres Cathedral and its furnishings.
In addition to the regular maintenance and safety work carried out on the monument, mainly by the Eure-et-Loir Departmental Unit for Architecture and Heritage, several restoration projects, undertaken by the Regional Conservation of Historic Monuments, are currently underway or will soon be launched, under the supervision of the chief architect of historic monuments in charge of the building:
Interior restoration (stained glass and medieval plaster)
Initiated in 2008, the spectacular interior restoration of the cathedral consists mainly in the removal of the colored plaster of the 13th century and in the cleaning and protection of the medieval stained glass windows by external lining. After the choir and the nave, it is the south and north arms of the transept that will be restored from the second half of 2021, for a duration of about 28 months of work. This project is the major operation of the Ministry of Culture’s recovery plan by its size and its financial amount, estimated at 6.7 million euros.
Reopening of the treasure
Expected since the early 2000s, the reopening of the cathedral’s treasure is one of the other major worksites underway on the building. This operation of more than 5 million euros began in 2019 with the exterior restoration of the Saint-Piat chapel, including the restoration of the medieval windows of the upper chapel and, for the chapter house, the creation of four contemporary windows by the Korean-born artist Bang Ai Ja and the Peters workshop of Paderborn. The project is currently underway with the restoration of the chapel’s interiors and will continue with the installation of the museographic furniture and the works of art that make up the treasure, with a view to opening to the public by the end of 2022.
Restoration of the choir enclosure
In parallel with these two major projects, the restoration of the choir enclosure of Notre-Dame has been underway since 2015 for a total amount of approximately 2.5 million euros, a large part of which (sculpture restoration) is being paid for by the Association of Friends of Chartres Cathedral. Since 2020, the project has entered a final phase of restoration corresponding to spans 27 to 40, which should be completed in 2022, once again bringing this exceptional group of monumental sculptures to the fore.
Restoration of the organ case and creation of a new instrument
The year 2020 saw the launch of another long-awaited operation: the reconstruction of the great organs of the cathedral and the restoration of the organ case. This operation is the subject of a competition whose first phase, for the selection of candidates, took place in December 2020. The selection of the final project and the winning organ builder is scheduled for July 2021, with the restoration of the organ case and the creation of the new instrument starting in September 2021. The cost of the operation is 2 million euros, including 400,000 euros of financial participation from the Region, the Department, the City of Chartres and the Association Chartres sanctuaire du monde, each contributing 100,000 euros.
Prospects…
In addition to these ongoing or planned operations, other projects are already being considered for the coming years: the completion of the cathedral’s interior restoration (aisles of the nave and Vendôme Chapel), the safety and restoration of the north tower, the belfries and the bells, and the restoration of the south portal…
Chartres remains the best endowed cathedral in the Centre-Val de Loire region in terms of financial investments by the State, investments that are commensurate with a prestigious monument in full renaissance.