The ca­the­dral at Char­tres, France, has be­come one of the most fa­mous Got­hic struc­tu­res in the world, due in large part to the ar­tis­try of the sculp­tu­ral de­tailing and win­dows. Con­struc­tion began on the main buil­ding in 1194 after a fire de­s­troyed an older ca­the­dral on the same site. The two towers on the west fa­cade were built 300 years apart and have dif­fe­rent de­signs and heights due to chan­ges in ar­chi­tec­tu­ral sty­les. The late Ro­ma­nes­que south spire, fo­re­ground, dates from the 13th cen­tury, and the late Got­hic north spire, back­ground, dates from the early 16th cen­tury.