Eure-et-Loir comprises the main part of the region of Beauce, politically it belongs to the current region of Centre (Val de Loire) and is surrounded by the deparments of Loir-et-Cher and Loiret, the region of Upper Normandy by the department of Eure, in the region of Ile-de-France by the deparments of Essonne and Yvelines, in the region of Lower Normandy by the department of Orne and in the region of Pays de la Loire by the deparment of Sarthe.

EURE-ET-LOIR History

Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from parts of Orléanais, Perche, and Chartrain.

EURE-ET-LOIR Demograhics

The inhabitants of the department are called Euréliens.

EURE-ET-LOIR Tourism

The most important tourist attraction is the cathedral of Chartres, with its magnificent stained-glass windows. The Cathedral of Our Lady of Chartres, (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Chartres), a Latin Rite Catholic cathedral located in Chartres, about 80 kilometres (50 mi) southwest of Paris, is considered one of the finest examples in all France of the Gothic style of architecture. The current cathedral is one of at least four that have occupied the site.

From a distance it seems to hover in mid-air above waving fields of wheat, and it is only when the visitor draws closer that the city comes into view, clustering around the hill on which the cathedral stands. Its two contrasting spires — one, a 105 metre (349 ft) plain pyramid dating from the 1140s, and the other a 113 metre (377 ft) tall early 16th century Flamboyant spire on top of an older tower — soar upwards over the pale green roof, while all around the outside are complex flying buttresses. The cathedral was the most important building in the town of Chartres. It was the centre of the economy, the most famous landmark and the focal point of almost every activity that is provided by civic buildings in towns today. In the Middle Ages, the cathedral functioned sometimes as a marketplace, with the different portals of the basilica selling different items: textiles at the northern end; fuel, vegetables and meat at the southern one. Sometimes the clergy would try to stop the life of the markets from entering into the cathedral. Wine sellers were forbidden to sell wine in the crypt, but were allowed to do business in the nave of the church and avoid the taxes which they would have to pay if they sold it outside. Workers of various professions, such as carpenters and masons, gathered in the cathedral seeking jobs.