ClasséChurch · protected 1903Église Saint-AndréPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Jack ma · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église Saint-André · Photo: Jack ma · CC BY-SA 3.03historic monuments
History of Ruffec · Monuments historiques
3 historic monuments, 1 classé
The ministry first listed a monument in Ruffec in 1903. Ruffec’s oldest monuments date from the 11th century. 3 of Ruffec’s monuments are in our photos.
Monuments historiques
3
Classé
1
the highest protection
Inscrit
2
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
18%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Monuments of Ruffec in pictures
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Map
Where Ruffec’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscrit
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
3 monuments by protection
1 Classé2 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
One classé monument in Ruffec
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 1 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Inscrit
2 inscrit monuments in Ruffec
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritChurch · protected 1973Vestiges de l'ancienne église Saint-BlaisePhoto: Rosier · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Age of homes
18% of homes in Ruffec were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
18%
Before 1919
15%
1919–45
23%
1946–70
28%
1971–90
9.3%
1991–2005
7.1%
2006 on
RuffecMedian compared French town
18% 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 (28%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
5 people born in Ruffec before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Pierre-Armand Pinoteau
François Laroche
André Jules Mimaud
Eugène Duportal
Ferdinand de Béhagle
175017751800182518501875190019251950
FL
François Laroche1775–1823 · French general
FB
Ferdinand de Béhagle1857–1899 · French explorer
PA
Pierre-Armand Pinoteau1769–1834 · French aristocrat
AJ
André Jules Mimaud1797–1853 · French politician
ED
Eugène Duportal1848–1910 · French politician
Everyone born in Ruffec Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Ruffec has the 8th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 3,400 to 3,500 residents, by historic monuments.
Ruffec3
The median town of these has 2. 12 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Ruffec
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ruffec | 3,449 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Civray Vienne | 2,522 | 3 | 1 | — |
In brief
Ruffec in brief
Ruffec’s oldest monument, Église de Saint-Sulpice, dates from the 11th century. All told, the list holds 3 historic monuments, 1 of them classé, including Église Saint-André. Its housing is old: 18% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Only 7 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. François Laroche (1775), Ferdinand de Béhagle (1857) and Pierre-Armand Pinoteau (1769) are among the 5 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: the list grew between 1903 and 1973.
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 Ruffec
How many historic monuments are there in Ruffec?
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Ruffec: 1 classé and 2 inscrit.
Which monuments in Ruffec are classé?
One: Église Saint-André.
How old are the homes in Ruffec?
18% 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 October 30, 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.