ClasséChurch · protected 1840Église Saint-Pierre, ancienne cathédralePhoto: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Basilique Sainte-Thérèse · Photo: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.030historic monuments
History of Lisieux · Monuments historiques
30 historic monuments, the oldest from Antiquity
The Culture ministry lists 30 historic monuments in Lisieux: 11 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 19 inscrit (the second level). That’s 15 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 92% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 27 of them.
Monuments historiques
30
15 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
11
the highest protection
Inscrit
19
the second level
Oldest part
Antiquity
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
6.7%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Lisieux in 27 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancien doyennéClassé
Manoir du Lieu-BinetClassé
Maison en pans de bois d'AssemontClassé
Église Saint-JacquesClassé
Ancien palais épiscopal, actuellement palais de justiceClassé+22See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
How old
How old Lisieux’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.7
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution13
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19012
8 of 24 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ensemble des vestiges gallo-romains du Centre hospitalier (Antiquity). 6 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Lisieux’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Église Saint-Pierre, ancienne cathédrale
5 of 11classé monuments stand within 400 m of Église Saint-Pierre, ancienne cathédrale, with 17 of the town’s 30 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
30 monuments by protection
11 Classé19 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
11 classé monuments in Lisieux
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 11 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChurch · protected 1910Église Saint-JacquesPhoto: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséManor house · protected 1966Manoir d'AubichonPart of the building is protectedPhoto: AD14-LS · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHome · protected 1921Ancien palais épiscopal, actuellement palais de justicePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Giogo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséManor house · protected 1939Manoir du Lieu-BinetPhoto: Edouard Hue ( EdouardHue ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséPresbytery · protected 1979Ancien doyennéPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Edouard Hue ( EdouardHue ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFountain · protected 1919Fontaine publiquePhoto: Edouard Hue ( EdouardHue ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 2011Basilique Sainte-ThérèsePhoto: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1936Maison en pans de bois d'AssemontPhoto: Edouard Hue ( EdouardHue ) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Church · protected 2006Église Saint-Désir
House · protected 1930Maison, 40 rue de la Paix
Inscrit
19 inscrit monuments in Lisieux
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
Ensemble des vestiges gallo-romains du Centre hospitalierHôtel de villeHôtel Le MercierImmeuble, 8 rue Paul-BanastonMaison à pans de boisMaison, 112 rue Henri-ChéronMaison, 116 rue Henri-ChéronMaison, 118 rue Henri-ChéronMaison, 14 rue Henri-ChéronMaison, 16 rue Henri-ChéronMaison, 16, 18 rue du Docteur-DegrenneMaison, 38 boulevard PasteurMaison, 40, 42 boulevard PasteurManoir des MathurinsManoir des PavementsManoir DesmaresThéâtre municipalTour carréeTour Lambert
9 more, named only by their kind
9 more are named in the list only by their kind: 8 houses (maisons) and 1 building (immeuble), most from the 15th and 16th centuries. The 9 with an address are in the list above, by it.
15th c.2
16th c.1
17th c.1
18th c.1
undated4
What’s protected
Most of Lisieux’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes20
Religious buildings4
Military & fortified2
Public & civic2
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 20 of 30 monuments (67%). 4 are religious buildings, 4 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.
When protected
Lisieux’s list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Église Saint-Pierre, ancienne cathédrale. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 3 were protected in 1931 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
25 people born in Lisieux before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Jean de Belleau
Barthélemy Vimont
Zacharie de Lisieux
Philippe Morel
Jacques Mathurin Lafosse
Joseph de Bellemare
Louis Du Bois
Magloire Perinne
Louis-Alexandre Piel
Jacques Cordier
Lucien Fromage
Paul-Louis Target
Raymond Bordeaux
Jules Doesnard
Charles-Alexandre Coëssin de la Fosse
Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu
Paul Duchesne-Fournet
Auguste Nicolas
Henry Chéron
Robert Accard
155016001650170017501800185019001950
BV
Barthélemy Vimont1594–1667 · French missionary
CA
Charles-Alexandre Coëssin de la Fosse1829–1910 · French neoclassisist painter and engraver
AL
Anatole Leroy-Beaulieu1842–1912 · French publicist and historian
HC
Henry Chéron1867–1936 · French politician
RA
Robert Accard1897–1971 · French association football player
JB
Jean de Belleau1590–1637 · French Catholic bishop
ZL
Zacharie de Lisieux1596–1661 · French writer
PM
Philippe Morel1756–1837 · French politician
Everyone born in Lisieux Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Lisieux has the 9th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 18,800 to 20,500 residents, by historic monuments.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Lisieux
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lisieux | 19,645 | 30 | 11 | — |
| Livarot-Pays-d'Auge | 6,207 | 30 | 5 | — |
| Pont-l'Évêque | 5,145 | 17 | 1 | Yes |
| Mézidon Vallée d'Auge | 9,766 | 20 | 9 | — |
| Saint-Pierre-en-Auge | 7,100 | 18 | 6 | — |
| Beuzeville Eure | 4,704 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Vimoutiers Orne | 2,978 | 1 | 0 | — |
In brief
Lisieux in brief
The record in Lisieux starts with Ensemble des vestiges gallo-romains du Centre hospitalier, which dates from Antiquity. All told, the list holds 30 historic monuments, 11 of them classé, including Basilique Sainte-Thérèse. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 92% of compared French towns. Église Saint-Pierre, ancienne cathédrale sits at the heart of it all, with 5 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m.
Only 8 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the whole list, 67% are houses and homes. Of the 24 with a date, 13 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. Beyond that, 6.7% 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 Lisieux
How many historic monuments are there in Lisieux?
The Culture ministry lists 30 historic monuments in Lisieux: 11 classé and 19 inscrit.
Which monuments in Lisieux are classé?
11, among them Église Saint-Pierre, ancienne cathédrale, Église Saint-Jacques, Manoir d'Aubichon, Ancien palais épiscopal, actuellement palais de justice, Manoir du Lieu-Binet and Ancien doyenné.
How old are the monuments of Lisieux?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from Antiquity.
When were monuments in Lisieux first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2011.
How old are the homes in Lisieux?
6.7% 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.