What is the approximate area of stained glass in Chartres Cathedral?

Chartres Cathedral has approximately 2,600 square metres of stained glass.

That immense area is distributed across 167 windows, making Chartres one of the best-preserved and most complete ensembles of medieval stained glass. The windows portray biblical narratives, saints, royal and religious figures, and scenes associated with the trade guilds that helped finance them.

Although Chartres is especially celebrated for its deep cobalt “Chartres blue,” its glass represents several periods. Three west-front lancets survive from about 1145–1155, while the famous Notre-Dame de la Belle Verrière dates from around 1180. Most of the present collection was produced between roughly 1205 and 1240.

The windows belong to the cathedral rebuilt after a fire in 1194. Their survival is remarkable: the glass remained in place through centuries of change and was removed during both world wars to protect it. The cathedral was consecrated in 1260, so the glass predates the finished building’s final medieval ceremonial milestone.