ClasséBridge · protected 1986Pont romain franchissant l'EscoutayPhoto: Christian Roustan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Évêché (ancien) · Photo: Coyau · CC BY-SA 3.014historic monuments
History of Viviers · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 1982, and 14 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in Viviers: 9 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level). That’s 39 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 98% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from Antiquity. We have photos of 13 of them.
Monuments historiques
14
39 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
9
the highest protection
Inscrit
5
the second level
Oldest part
Antiquity
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
24%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Viviers in 13 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Immeuble dit Lacombe, à la base du clocher de la cathédraleClassé
Chapelle Saint-OstianClassé
Hôtel de RoqueplaneClassé
Pont romain franchissant l'EscoutayClassé
Cathédrale Saint-VincentClassé+8See 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
Viviers has had a protected historic area since 1982
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR84-31 | Secteur sauvegardé January 12, 1982 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) May 30, 2007 |
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 Viviers’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Vincent
6 of 9classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Vincent, with 10 of the town’s 14 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
14 monuments by protection
9 Classé5 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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
Classé
9 classé monuments in Viviers
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 9 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
Classé
Classé
ClasséChapel · protected 1967Chapelle des Dominicains, dite aussi chapelle Notre-Dame-du-RhônePhoto: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséBuilding · protected 1920Immeuble dit Lacombe, à la base du clocher de la cathédralePart of the building is protectedPhoto: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site · protected 1994Église paléochrétienne
Inscrit
5 inscrit monuments in Viviers
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritTown house · protected 1986Hôtel de Fontanes dit de BeaulieuPhoto: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 1953Hôtel de TourvillePart of the building is protectedPhoto: MOSSOT · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritMonument · protected 1995Usine de chaux - cimenterie Lafarge, chapelle Saint-Victor de la cité BlanchePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Celeda · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritConvent · protected 2020Couvent Saint-RochPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Celeda · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritWhat’s protected
Most of Viviers’ monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes7
Religious buildings4
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 7 of 14 monuments (50%). 4 are religious buildings, 4 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Viviers’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.4
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution5
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
5 of 11 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Pont romain franchissant l'Escoutay (Antiquity). 3 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Viviers’ list has grown since 1906
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1906: Cathédrale Saint-Vincent. 2 were protected in 1986 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
24% of homes in Viviers were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
24%
Before 1919
9.1%
1919–45
18%
1946–70
26%
1971–90
14%
1991–2005
8.5%
2006 on
ViviersMedian compared French town
24% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1971 and 1990 than in any other period (26%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Towns its size
Viviers has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 3,600 to 3,700 residents, by historic monuments.
Viviers14
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (39 per 10,000). Most per resident: Viviers, Gouffern en Auge and Montrichard Val de Cher.
The median town of these has 1. 15 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Viviers
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viviers | 3,633 | 14 | 9 | Yes |
| Châteauneuf-du-Rhône Drôme | 2,917 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Donzère Drôme | 6,008 | 6 | 2 | — |
| Le Teil | 8,726 | 3 | 2 | — |
| Montélimar Drôme | 40,595 | 10 | 2 | Yes |
| Pierrelatte Drôme | 13,756 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Bourg-Saint-Andéol | 7,661 | 25 | 14 | — |
In brief
Viviers in brief
Viviers’s oldest monument, Pont romain franchissant l'Escoutay, dates from Antiquity. In all there are 14 historic monuments, 9 of them classé, including Évêché (ancien). Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 98% of compared French towns. Its old center has been a secteur sauvegardé since 1982.
No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population. Of its homes, 24% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Its classé monuments cluster together: 6 of them stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Vincent. Beyond that, Henri Pavin de Lafarge (1889) and Eugène Labaume (1783) were born here before 1900.
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 Viviers
How many historic monuments are there in Viviers?
The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in Viviers: 9 classé and 5 inscrit.
Which monuments in Viviers are classé?
9, among them Pont romain franchissant l'Escoutay, Église paléochrétienne, Cathédrale Saint-Vincent, Chapelle Saint-Ostian, maison des Chevaliers and Chapelle des Dominicains, dite aussi chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Rhône.
How old are the monuments of Viviers?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from Antiquity.
Is Viviers a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Viviers has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1982.
When were monuments in Viviers first protected?
The first in 1906, the latest in 2020.
How old are the homes in Viviers?
24% 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 8, 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.