Église Saint-Paul · Photo: User:Otourly · CC BY-SA 3.023 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1990
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Montluçon: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 19 inscrit (the second level). That’s 6.9 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 78% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 12th century. We have photos of 22 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Montluçon in 22 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Église Saint-PierreClassé
Église Notre-DameClassé
Maison AlexandreClassé
Château de Bien AssisInscrit
Ancienne maison du doyennéInscrit+17See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Montluçon has had a protected historic area since 1990
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR84-13 | ZPPAUP August 9, 1990 | ZPPAUP (heritage zone rules) August 9, 1990 |
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.
Where Montluçon’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
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.
4 classé monuments in Montluçon
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 4 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé19 inscrit monuments in Montluçon
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 19, A to Z
Most of Montluçon’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 16 of 23 monuments (70%). 4 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
How old Montluçon’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
17 of 22 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Église Saint-Pierre (12th–17th c.). 1 monument has no date on the list.
5 of Montluçon’s monuments were protected in 1935
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1926: Ancienne maison du doyenné, Château des ducs de Bourbon and Passage du Doyenné. 5 were protected in 1935 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
39 people born in Montluçon before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Montluçon Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Historic monuments in the towns around Montluçon
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montluçon | 33,147 | 23 | 4 | Yes |
| Désertines | 4,259 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Prémilhat | 2,540 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Domérat | 8,622 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Huriel | 2,536 | 2 | 2 | Yes |
| Commentry | 6,017 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Éloy-les-Mines Puy-de-Dôme | 3,480 | 0 | 0 | — |
Montluçon in brief
The record in Montluçon starts with Église Saint-Pierre, which dates from the 12th century. In all there are 23 historic monuments, 4 of them classé, including Église Saint-Paul. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 78% of compared French towns. Its classé monuments cluster together: 3 of them stand within 400 m of Église Notre-Dame.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1990. Most entries on the list, 70%, are houses and homes. Most of its dated monuments come from the Middle Ages: 17 of 22. Beyond that, it has 23 historic monuments, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 5); and 6.4% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
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 Montluçon
How many historic monuments are there in Montluçon?
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Montluçon: 4 classé and 19 inscrit.
Which monuments in Montluçon are classé?
4, among them Église Saint-Pierre, Église Notre-Dame, Maison Alexandre and Église Saint-Paul.
How old are the monuments of Montluçon?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
Is Montluçon a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Montluçon has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1990.
When were monuments in Montluçon first protected?
The first in 1926, the latest in 2016.
How old are the homes in Montluçon?
6.4% 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.