ClasséTown house · protected 1932Ancien Hôtel de Cheusse, dit Hôtel de l'Intendance maritimePhoto: Jarodbink · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Pont transbordeur du Martrou · Photo: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder . Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message . · CC BY-SA 3.019historic monuments
History of Rochefort · Monuments historiques
19 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2005
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Rochefort: 10 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level). That’s 8.1 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 81% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 17th century. We have photos of 16 of them.
Monuments historiques
19
8.1 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
10
the highest protection
Inscrit
9
the second level
Oldest part
17th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
25%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Rochefort in 16 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Corderie de l'ArsenalClassé
Ancien Hôtel de Cheusse, dit Hôtel de l'Intendance maritimeClassé
Formes de radoub de l'arsenalClassé
Hôpital maritimeClassé
Hôtel de la MarineClassé+11See 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
Rochefort has 2 protected historic areas
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR75-23 | ZPPAUP May 9, 2005 | ZPPAUP (heritage zone rules) May 9, 2005 |
| SPR75-24 | Secteur sauvegardé November 27, 2009 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) October 21, 2021 |
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 Rochefort’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Hôtel de la Marine
4 of 10classé monuments stand within 400 m of Hôtel de la Marine, with 8 of the town’s 19 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
19 monuments by protection
10 Classé9 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.
Classé
10 classé monuments in Rochefort
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 10 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséIndustrial building · protected 1967Corderie de l'ArsenalPhoto: Berrucomons · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 1988Formes de radoub de l'arsenalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséHospital · protected 1965Hôpital maritimePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Patrick Despoix · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1990Maison de Pierre LotiPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Jean-Marie Dumont · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Monument · protected 2022Pavillon de l’école de médecine navale, de l’hôpital de la MarinePhoto: Patrick Despoix · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBridge · protected 1976Pont transbordeur du MartrouPhoto: This Photo was taken by Wolfgang Moroder . Feel free to use my photos, but please mention me as the author and send me a message . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Home · protected 2021Hôtel d’Amblimont
Public building · protected 2014Loge maçonnique l'Accord Parfait
Inscrit
9 inscrit monuments in Rochefort
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritBarracks · protected 1967Caserne Latouche-TrévillePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Symac · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritTheater · protected 1969Théâtre municipal, dit de la Coupe d'OrPhoto: Patrick Despoix · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChurch · protected 2015Église Notre Dame du FaubourgPhoto: Patrick Despoix · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritFountain · protected 1925Fontaine, place ColbertPhoto: Patrick Despoix · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritMilitary building · protected 1928Arsenal, place de la GalissonnièrePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Joseph Vernet · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
InscritStation · protected 1984GarePhoto: Original téléversé par TouN sur Wikipédia français . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What’s protected
Public buildings are the largest group in Rochefort
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Public & civic5
Houses & homes3
Bridges & engineering3
Religious buildings2
Military & fortified2
Industrial1
Public & civic: 5 of 19 monuments (26%). 2 are religious buildings.
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 Rochefort’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.0
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution14
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19012
The oldest dated: Ancien Hôtel de Cheusse, dit Hôtel de l'Intendance maritime (17th c.).
When protected
Rochefort’s list has grown since 1925
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
192019401960198020002020
The first was protected in 1925. 2 were protected in 1967 alone. 5 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
25% of homes in Rochefort were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
25%
Before 1919
10%
1919–45
24%
1946–70
23%
1971–90
9.8%
1991–2005
7.2%
2006 on
RochefortMedian compared French town
25% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished before 1919 than in any other period (25%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
24 people born in Rochefort before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Louis-César de Campet
Rolland-Michel Barrin
Hippolyte Bernard Bidé de Maurville
Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil
Louis-René-Madeleine de Latouche-Tréville
Joseph Niou
Antoine Auguste Desherbiers de Létanduère
René Armand Le Vasseur de Villeblanche
Joseph Jean-Baptiste Levallois
Jacques Butraud
Jean-Pierre Alaux
Pierre-Constant Letorzec
Charles Rigault de Genouilly
Victor Fontorbe
Auguste Girardin
Gustave Viaud
Frédéric Garnier
Jean Moinet
Auguste-Hilaire Rodanet
Eva Durrleman
1650170017501800185019001950
RM
Rolland-Michel Barrin1693–1756 · French admiral
LP
Louis-Philippe de Vaudreuil1724–1802 · French Navy officer and statesman
LR
Louis-René-Madeleine de Latouche-Tréville1745–1804 · French naval commander
JN
Joseph Niou1749–1823 · French politician
CR
Charles Rigault de Genouilly1807–1873 · French admiral
GV
Gustave Viaud1836–1865 · French photographer
ED
Eva Durrleman1891–1993 · French nurse
LC
Louis-César de Campet1666–1722 · French military personnel
Everyone born in Rochefort Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Rochefort has the 9th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 22,300 to 24,700 residents, by historic monuments.
Rochefort19
#9 of 41for monuments per resident (8.1 per 10,000). Most per resident: Laon, Dole and Montbéliard.
The median town of these has 2. 6 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Rochefort
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rochefort | 23,460 | 19 | 10 | Yes |
| Soubise | 3,316 | 4 | 1 | — |
| Échillais | 3,765 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Tonnay-Charente | 8,289 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Saint-Agnant | 2,780 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Fouras | 4,148 | 5 | 1 | — |
| Marennes-Hiers-Brouage | 6,163 | 9 | 5 | Yes |
In brief
Rochefort in brief
Old houses are part of Rochefort’s character: 25% of its homes were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. In all there are 19 historic monuments, 10 of them classé, including Pont transbordeur du Martrou. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 81% of compared French towns. Its classé monuments cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Hôtel de la Marine. Maison de Pierre Loti is one of the Maisons des Illustres, the homes of people who left their mark on France.
Only 8 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Parts of it lie in 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first protected in 2005.
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 Rochefort
How many historic monuments are there in Rochefort?
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Rochefort: 10 classé and 9 inscrit.
Which monuments in Rochefort are classé?
10, among them Ancien Hôtel de Cheusse, dit Hôtel de l'Intendance maritime, Corderie de l'Arsenal, Formes de radoub de l'arsenal, Hôtel de la Marine, Hôpital maritime and Hôtel d’Amblimont.
How old are the monuments of Rochefort?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 17th century.
Is Rochefort a protected historic area?
Yes: Rochefort has 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first since 2005.
When were monuments in Rochefort first protected?
The first in 1925, the latest in 2023.
How old are the homes in Rochefort?
25% 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.