ClasséChurch · protected 1907Église Saint-MichelPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Mfrays · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église Saint-Michel · Photo: Mfrays · CC BY-SA 3.01historic monument
History of Nantua · Monuments historiques
1 historic monument, 1 classé
The ministry listed Nantua’s monument in 1907. It dates from the 12th century. A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up.
Monuments historiques
1
Classé
1
the highest protection
Inscrit
0
the second level
Oldest part
12th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
16%
median compared town 7.4%
Map
Where Nantua’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Classé
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
1 monuments by protection
1 Classé
Classé is the higher protection: any work on the building needs the State’s permission. Work on an inscrit building must be declared to the State in advance. Around both, building work in sight of the monument (usually within 500 m) needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
Points as the ministry gives them: a monument spread over several plots has one point.
Classé
One classé monument in Nantua
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 1 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Nantua
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR84-04 | ZPPAUP October 14, 1994 | Still being drawn up |
A site patrimonial remarquable protects a whole area rather than one building: inside it, building work follows the area’s own plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Age of homes
16% of homes in Nantua were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
16%
Before 1919
14%
1919–45
29%
1946–70
23%
1971–90
11%
1991–2005
6.5%
2006 on
NantuaMedian compared French town
16% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1946 and 1970 than in any other period (29%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
6 people born in Nantua before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Louis-Balthazar-Frédéric Prost
Jacques Maissiat
Alphonse Baudin
Jean Mercier
Albert Siffait de Moncourt
Delphine Arène
175017751800182518501875190019251950
AB
Alphonse Baudin1811–1851 · French politician
LB
Louis-Balthazar-Frédéric Prost1760–1816 · French politician and private banker
JM
Jacques Maissiat1805–1878 · French politician
JM
Jean Mercier1825–1899 · French politician and teacher
AS
Albert Siffait de Moncourt1858–1931 · French painter
DA
Delphine Arène1886–1975 · French writer
Everyone born in Nantua Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Nantua
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nantua | 3,416 | 1 | 1 | Yes |
| Montréal-la-Cluse | 3,568 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bellignat | 3,525 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Oyonnax | 22,480 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Arbent | 3,555 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Valserhône | 16,712 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Plateau d'Hauteville | 4,857 | 1 | 0 | — |
In brief
Nantua in brief
Nantua’s oldest monument, Église Saint-Michel, dates from the 12th century. All told, the list holds 1 historic monument, 1 of them classé, including Église Saint-Michel. Of its homes, 16% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Alphonse Baudin (1811), Louis-Balthazar-Frédéric Prost (1760) and Jacques Maissiat (1805) are among the 6 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: it has one historic monument, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 1); and its only entry went on the list in 1907.
How to read these numbers
What this data can and can’t tell you
- Monuments historiques. France protects buildings at two levels. Classé, the higher (about a third of the list), means any work needs the State’s permission; inscrit means work must be declared to the State in advance. The Culture ministry’s Mérimée base lists every protected building, and this page counts them.
- Partly protected. Many entries protect part of a building only (its façades and roofs, a staircase, a painted room). Each counts as one monument, like a fully protected one.
- Where a monument is counted. In the commune named on its protection, moved to today’s commune where communes have since merged. A monument listed for several communes counts in each.
- Sites patrimoniaux remarquables. Since 2016 France’s protected historic areas (the former secteurs sauvegardés, ZPPAUP and AVAP) share one name. Inside one, building work follows the area’s plan and needs the agreement of the architecte des Bâtiments de France.
- What isn’t here. Protected objects (furniture, organs, paintings), old buildings with no protection, UNESCO World Heritage listings and labels such as “Plus Beaux Villages de France” aren’t on this list, so this page doesn’t count them.
- No History Grade yet. Everything on this page is described, not graded: France’s History Grade isn’t built yet.
Questions about the history of Nantua
How many historic monuments are there in Nantua?
The Culture ministry lists 1 historic monument in Nantua: 1 classé and 0 inscrit.
Which monuments in Nantua are classé?
One: Église Saint-Michel.
Is Nantua a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Nantua is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
How old are the homes in Nantua?
16% of its main homes were built before 1919 (median compared French town: 7.4%).
France has no History Grade yet: this page describes, it doesn’t grade.
Sources: Ministère de la Culture, Mérimée base on POP (immeubles protégés au titre des monuments historiques), October 2026 · Ministère de la Culture, sites patrimoniaux remarquables, October 2026 · INSEE, census 2023 (main homes by build period) · Wikidata and Wikipedia (people born here) · Wikimedia Commons and Wikidata (photos of the monuments, each with its own credit and license) · IGN Admin Express (boundaries) · Medians and percentiles: TownRatings, over compared French towns, updated November 9, 2026. Under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab).
Contains public sector information under the Licence Ouverte / Open Licence 2.0 (Etalab): INSEE, DGFiP, the Interior Ministry’s statistics service (SSMSI), the Ministry of Education (DEPP), the Health Ministry’s statistics service (DREES) and the Housing Ministry (Carte des loyers). Commune boundaries: IGN Admin Express.