ClasséHospital · protected 1928Ancien Hôtel-Dieu ou ancienne Chambre des NotairesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Sokoljan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Porte de Soissons ou de Saint-Martin · Photo: Pline · CC BY-SA 3.072historic monuments
History of Laon · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 1968, and 72 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 72 historic monuments in Laon: 18 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 54 inscrit (the second level). That’s 30 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 97% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 10th century. We have photos of 61 of them.
Monuments historiques
72
30 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
18
the highest protection
Inscrit
54
the second level
Oldest part
10th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
9.6%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Laon in 61 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancien Hôtel-Dieu (marché couvert)Classé
Église de Vaux-sous-LaonClassé
Ancienne abbaye de Saint-JeanClassé
MaisonClassé
Ancien évéché et chapelleClassé+56See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Protected area
Laon has had a protected historic area since 1968
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR32-04 | Secteur sauvegardé May 29, 1968 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) May 6, 1995 |
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. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Map
Where Laon’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancienne cathédrale, actuellement église Notre-Dame, et cloître
12 of 18classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancienne cathédrale, actuellement église Notre-Dame, et cloître, with 41 of the town’s 72 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
72 monuments by protection
18 Classé54 Inscrit
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. 3 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
18 classé monuments in Laon
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 10 of the 18 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséCathedral · protected 1840Ancienne cathédrale, actuellement église Notre-Dame, et cloîtrePart of the building is protectedPhoto: PMRMaeyaert · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChapel · protected 1846Chapelle des TempliersPhoto: Claude Shoshany · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséChurch · protected 1862Église Saint-MartinPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséAbbey · protected 1911Ancienne abbaye de Saint-JeanPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Michel Germain / Achille Peigné-Delacourt · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséTown gate · protected 1875Porte de Soissons ou de Saint-MartinPhoto: Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséTown house · protected 1964Hôtel du Petit-Saint-VincentPhoto: Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHospital · protected 1928Ancien Hôtel-Dieu (marché couvert)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: G.Garitan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1975Ancienne église Saint-Remy-au-VeloursPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown hall · protected 1921Ancien Hôtel de villePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Droopy nico · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBishop’s palace · protected 1875Ancien évéché et chapellePhoto: Vanoot59 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1928Maison, 3 rue PourrierPart of the building is protectedPhoto: GFreihalter · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1928Maison, 53bis rue SérurierPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Droopy nico · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1930Maison, 21 rue Saint-JeanPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pline · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Farm building · protected 1928Ancien colombier des Evêques de Laon
Inscrit
54 inscrit monuments in Laon
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 54, A to Z
Ancien couvent des Dames de la Congrégation Notre-DameAncien couvent des MinimesAncien hôpital généralAncien prieuré du Val-des-EcoliersAncien séminaireAncienne abbaye de Saint-MartinAncienne abbaye Saint-VincentAncienne Bibliothèque MunicipaleAncienne caserne des Dragons de la ReineAncienne église Notre-Dame-la-ProfondeAncienne église Saint-Corneille et Saint-CyprienAncienne église Saint-Jean-du-BourgAncienne église Saint-Martin-au-ParvisAncienne église Saint-Pierre-au-MarchéAncienne Hôtellerie du Dauphin, dite Cour du ChangeAnciens rempartsChapelle Saint-GenebaudEcole de la ProvidenceÉglise de LeuillyHospice départemental de MontreuilMaison (ancienne direction des PTT)Maison dite le Petit-Saint-Nicolas, actuellement Direction départementale des Contributions indirectesMaison, , anciennement Echos (rue des) rue des ScotsMaison, 1, anciennement Echos (rue des) rue des ScotsMaison, 11, anciennement Chat (rue du) rue du Père-MarquetteMaison, 12 rue des CordeliersMaison, 13 rue de SignierMaison, 14 rue Saint-MartinMaison, 15 rue Saint-MartinMaison, 16 rue Saint-MartinMaison, 19 rue Saint-JeanMaison, 2 rue ClerjotMaison, 2 rue des FrèresMaison, 24 rue Saint-MartinMaison, 26 rue des CordeliersMaison, 31 rue de la ChâtelaineMaison, 36 rue VinchonMaison, 41 rue SérurierMaison, 45 rue de la ChâtelaineMaison, 47 rue SérurierMaison, 6 rue du CloîtreMaison, 6 rue Saint-CyrMaison, 60 rue de la ChâtelaineMaison, 7 rue de la HerseMaison, 7 rue de SignierMaison, 7 rue SérurierMaison, 9 rue Saint-MartinMaison, rempart Saint-RémiMaison, rue Carlier-HennecartMaison, rue SérurierPorte de la CitadelleRotonde et halle-atelier ferroviairesRotonde SNCFTour Penchée
28 more, named only by their kind
28 more are named in the list only by their kind: 28 houses (maisons), most from the 17th century. The 28 with an address are in the list above, by it.
14th c.1
15th c.4
16th c.3
17th c.15
18th c.3
undated2
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Laon
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes35
Religious buildings18
Military & fortified7
Public & civic5
Bridges & engineering2
Farm buildings1
Shops & trade1
Houses & homes: 35 of 72 monuments (49%). 18 are religious buildings, 6 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 3 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Laon’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.0
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.31
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution33
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19012
31 of 66 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancien séminaire (18th & 19th c.). 6 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Over half of Laon’s monuments were protected in 1927
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1927 · 40
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne cathédrale, actuellement église Notre-Dame, et cloître. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 40 were protected in 1927 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
55 people born in Laon before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Lothaire de France
Charles de Basse-Lotharingie
Jean Aubert
Crespin Carlier
Nicolas Lebègue
Jacques Marquette
Jean Rousset de Missy
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier
Pierre Méchain
Marie Jean François Philibert Le Carlier d'Ardon
Gabriel d'Hédouville
Louis Abel Beffroy de Reigny
Pierre Augustin Bourguignon d'Herbigny
Pierre Watier
Eugène Arnaudeau
Jules Champfleury
Edgard-Raoul Duval
Georges Contenau
André Devaux
Charles-Anthoine Gonnet
9001050120013501500165018001950
LF
Lothaire de France941–986 · King of West Francia from 954 to 986
CB
Charles de Basse-Lotharingie953–992 · 10th-century Duke of Lower Lorraine
CC
Crespin Carlier1560–1636 · French organbuilder
NL
Nicolas Lebègue1631–1702 · French organist, harpsichordist and composer
JM
Jacques Marquette1637–1675 · French Jesuit and explorer
JR
Jean Rousset de Missy1686–1762 · French historian
JM
Jean-Mathieu-Philibert Sérurier1742–1819 · French soldier and political figure who rose to the rank of Marshal o…
PM
Pierre Méchain1744–1804 · French mathematician and astronomer
Everyone born in Laon Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Laon has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 22,900 to 25,600 residents, by historic monuments.
Laon72
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (30 per 10,000). Most per resident: Laon, Dole and Vichy.
The median town of these has 4. 3 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Laon
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Laon | 24,220 | 72 | 18 | Yes |
| Athies-sous-Laon | 2,578 | 0 | 0 | — |
| La Fère | 2,796 | 4 | 2 | — |
| Beautor | 2,579 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Tergnier | 13,045 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Crouy | 3,049 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Villeneuve-Saint-Germain | 2,616 | 1 | 0 | — |
In brief
Laon in brief
Since 1968, the heart of Laon has been a secteur sauvegardé, France’s strictest protection for a historic town. All told, the list holds 72 historic monuments, 18 of them classé, including Porte de Soissons ou de Saint-Martin. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 97% of compared French towns. No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population.
Ancienne cathédrale, actuellement église Notre-Dame, et cloître sits at the heart of it all, with 12 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. In 2020 the Mission Patrimoine picked Chapelle des Templiers as a monument in danger to save. Most of its dated monuments come from the 16th to 18th centuries: 33 of 66. The rest is about typical: 9.6% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
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 Laon
How many historic monuments are there in Laon?
The Culture ministry lists 72 historic monuments in Laon: 18 classé and 54 inscrit.
Which monuments in Laon are classé?
18, among them Ancien Hôtel-Dieu ou ancienne Chambre des Notaires, Ancienne cathédrale, actuellement église Notre-Dame, et cloître, Chapelle des Templiers, Église de Vaux-sous-Laon, Église Saint-Martin and Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Jean.
How old are the monuments of Laon?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
Is Laon a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Laon has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1968.
When were monuments in Laon first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2015.
How old are the homes in Laon?
9.6% 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 4, 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.