Construction of the current Chartres Cathedral began in 1194. A major fire on 10 June that year destroyed much of the earlier Romanesque cathedral, leaving the crypt, towers, and west façade. Reconstruction began almost immediately in the new Gothic style.
Chartres was already a major pilgrimage destination because it claimed to possess a relic associated with the Virgin Mary. Donations from ordinary townspeople, merchants, nobles, and royal patrons helped finance the rebuilding. The surviving western structures were incorporated into the new design rather than replaced.
The main body of the cathedral was built with remarkable speed. Its roof was in place by about 1220, and the cathedral was consecrated in 1260. The date is sometimes confused with earlier construction at the site: Romanesque work began in the 11th century, while the present Gothic building dates from the post-fire rebuilding of 1194.