ClasséArchaeological site · protected 2014Aqueduc gallo-romain de SaintesPhoto: Llann Wé² · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Aqueduc gallo-romain de Saintes · Photo: Llann Wé² · CC BY-SA 3.026historic monuments
History of Saintes · Monuments historiques
26 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2002. The Culture ministry lists 26 historic monuments in Saintes: 17 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level). That’s 10 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 86% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 18 of them.
Monuments historiques
26
10 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
17
the highest protection
Inscrit
9
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
17%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Saintes in 18 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Restes de l'amphithéâtre gallo-romainClassé
Ancien couvent des Jacobins et ancienne maison de Maurice Martineau, actuellement bibliothèque municipaleClassé
Arc de TriompheClassé
Maison dite du PrésidialClassé
Thermes de Saint-SaloineClassé+13See 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 Saintes’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.8
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.5
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution6
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19011
13 of 23 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Aqueduc gallo-romain de Saintes (Antiquity). 3 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Saintes’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancien couvent des Jacobins et ancienne maison de Maurice Martineau, actuellement bibliothèque municipale
7 of 17classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancien couvent des Jacobins et ancienne maison de Maurice Martineau, actuellement bibliothèque municipale, with 12 of the town’s 26 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
26 monuments by protection
17 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
17 classé monuments in Saintes
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 17 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséPublic building · protected 1840Restes de l'amphithéâtre gallo-romainPhoto: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséPublic building · protected 1904Thermes de Saint-SaloinePhoto: Cobber17 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1905Arc de TriomphePhoto: Propre travail · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1846Église Sainte-Marie-aux-DamesPhoto: G.Garitan · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséPublic building · protected 1919Maison dite du PrésidialPhoto: Cobber17 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséConvent · protected 1987Ancien couvent des Jacobins et ancienne maison de Maurice Martineau, actuellement bibliothèque municipalePart of the building is protectedPhoto: M.Strīķis · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site · protected 1915Mur de soutènement gallo-romain
Funerary monument · protected 2023Colonne de la Liberté
Archaeological site · protected 1932Terrain appartenant à M. Pitard situé en face de l'amphithéâtre
Archaeological site · protected 1933Terrain appartenant à M. Robin, limitrophe de l'amphithéâtre
Archaeological site · protected 1937Terrain sur lequel est édifié l'immeuble Guinguenaud
Monument · protected 1964Polissoir, 140 avenue Gambetta
Military building · protected 1969CastrumPart of the building is protected
Inscrit
9 inscrit monuments in Saintes
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritAbbey · protected 1948Ancienne abbaye des DamesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritTown house · protected 1967Hôtel de Brémond d'ArsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: G.Garitan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritPublic building · protected 1939Maison de l'EchevinagePart of the building is protectedPhoto: G.Garitan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 2009Hôtel Monconseil, actuellement musée d'art régionalPhoto: Juliofsanguino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritPublic building · protected 1993Haras nationalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: M.Strīķis · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritPublic building · protected 1931Maison de la Juridiction ConsulairePart of the building is protected
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Saintes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings7
Public & civic6
Houses & homes3
Tombs & cemeteries2
Military & fortified1
Religious buildings: 7 of 26 monuments (27%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 7 have no domain on the list.
Protected area
Saintes 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SPR75-34 | ZPPAUP November 4, 2002 | ZPPAUP (heritage zone rules) November 4, 2002 |
| SPR75-35 | Secteur sauvegardé January 26, 1990 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) July 20, 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.
When protected
Saintes’ list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Restes de l'amphithéâtre gallo-romain. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 2 were protected in 1846 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
17% of homes in Saintes were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
17%
Before 1919
10%
1919–45
24%
1946–70
27%
1971–90
12%
1991–2005
9.1%
2006 on
SaintesMedian compared French town
17% 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 (27%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
35 people born in Saintes before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Élie Merlat
Charles Angibaud
Louis Grénon
Joseph Ignace Guillotin
Pierre François Héard du Taillis
Jacques Garnier dit Garnier de Saintes
Louis-Nicolas Lemercier
Pierre-René-Auguste de Brémond d'Ars
Jacques-Louis Doussin-Dubreuil
Charles Vanderbourg
Gabriel Richard
Alexis Eymery
Jérôme de Laage de Meux
Augustin Lemercier
Emmanuel Gonzalès
Jules-Antoine Castagnary
Théodore Duret
Maurice Ordonneau
Jean Vignaud
Robert Jacquinot de Besange
16001650170017501800185019001950
CA
Charles Angibaud1650– · French apothecary
JI
Joseph Ignace Guillotin1738–1814 · French physician
JG
Jacques Garnier dit Garnier de Saintes1755–1818 · French politician
GR
Gabriel Richard1767–1832 · French priest and American politician
EG
Emmanuel Gonzalès1815–1887 · French writer
JA
Jules-Antoine Castagnary1830–1888 · French art critic
TD
Théodore Duret1838–1927 · French journalist, author and art critic
MO
Maurice Ordonneau1854–1916 · French playwright and composer
Everyone born in Saintes Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Saintes has the 7th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 24,000 to 26,700 residents, by historic monuments.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Saintes
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saintes | 25,363 | 26 | 17 | Yes |
| Chaniers | 3,651 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Saint-Georges-des-Coteaux | 2,843 | 2 | 2 | — |
| Pons | 4,343 | 10 | 5 | Yes |
| Gémozac | 3,052 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Val-de-Cognac Charente | 3,471 | 7 | 2 | — |
| Saint-Jean-d'Angély | 6,784 | 10 | 3 | Yes |
In brief
Saintes in brief
Saintes has 26 historic monuments, 17 of them classé, including Aqueduc gallo-romain de Saintes. Église Saint-Eutrope is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Of its homes, 17% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 86% of compared French towns.
Its classé monuments cluster together: 7 of them stand within 400 m of Ancien couvent des Jacobins et ancienne maison de Maurice Martineau, actuellement bibliothèque municipale. In 2019 the Mission Patrimoine picked Restes de l'amphithéâtre gallo-romain as a monument in danger to save. Only 6 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
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 Saintes
How many historic monuments are there in Saintes?
The Culture ministry lists 26 historic monuments in Saintes: 17 classé and 9 inscrit.
Which monuments in Saintes are classé?
17, among them Aqueduc gallo-romain de Saintes, Mur de soutènement gallo-romain, Rempart gallo-romain, Restes de l'amphithéâtre gallo-romain, Thermes de Saint-Saloine and Arc de Triomphe.
How old are the monuments of Saintes?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Saintes a protected historic area?
Yes: Saintes has 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first since 2002.
When were monuments in Saintes first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2023.
How old are the homes in Saintes?
17% 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.