ClasséCathedral · protected 1862Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipalPhoto: Vassil · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Préfecture de Tulle · Photo: F. Lavie · CC BY-SA 3.019historic monuments
History of Tulle · Monuments historiques
19 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2003
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Tulle: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 15 inscrit (the second level). That’s 14 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 91% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 12th century. We have photos of 6 of them.
Monuments historiques
19
14 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
4
the highest protection
Inscrit
15
the second level
Oldest part
12th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
8.8%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Tulle in 6 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Immeuble dit LauthonieClassé
Maison de Loyac ou de l'AbbéClassé
Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipalClassé
Théâtre municipal L'EdenInscrit
Lycée Edmond-PerrierInscrit+1See 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
Tulle has had a protected historic area since 2003
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR75-43 | ZPPAUP November 17, 2003 | AVAP (heritage area rules) February 12, 2019 |
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.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Map
Where Tulle’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipal
4 of 4classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipal, with 16 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
4 Classé15 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
4 classé monuments in Tulle
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 4 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséBuilding · protected 1991Immeuble dit LauthoniePhoto: Juliofsanguino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1927Maison de Loyac ou de l'AbbéPart of the building is protectedPhoto: GO69 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Church · protected 1987Ancienne église Saint-Pierre ou ancienne église des Carmes déchaussés
Inscrit
15 inscrit monuments in Tulle
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 15, A to Z
Ancien couvent des BernardinesAncienne chapelle Saint-JacquesBains-Douches du Pont de la BarrièreChapelle de l'Hôpital ou ancienne chapelle de la VisitationImmeuble, 10 place GambettaImmeuble, 6 rue des Portes-ChanacLycée Edmond-PerrierMaison des 15e et 16e sièclesMaison des SeilhacMaison du 16e siècleMaison, 117 rue de la BarrièreMaison, 6 place Emile-ZolaPréfecture de TulleThéâtre municipal L'EdenTour d'Alverge
4 more, named only by their kind
4 more are named in the list only by their kind: 2 buildings (immeubles) and 2 houses (maisons), most from the 16th century. The 4 with an address are in the list above, by it.
13th c.1
16th c.2
undated1
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Tulle
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes9
Religious buildings5
Public & civic4
Military & fortified1
Houses & homes: 9 of 19 monuments (47%). 5 are religious buildings, 2 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old
How old Tulle’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.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution11
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19011
3 of 18 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipal (12th–19th c.). 1 monument has no date on the list.
When protected
5 of Tulle’s monuments were protected in 1927
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1927 · 5
186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1862: Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipal. 5 were protected in 1927 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
39 people born in Tulle before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Étienne Baluze
Jean-Joseph Dumons
Étienne-François-Charles Jaucen de Poissac
Martial Melon de Pradou
Jean-Louis de Fénis de Lacombe
Pierre Ludière
Antoine Melon
Jean-Pierre Lacombe
Antoine-Joseph Lanot
Léonard Bardon
Augustin Duclaux
Antoine Léger Sartelon
Edmond Perrier
Léon Eyrolles
Rémy Perrier
Marcelle Tinayre
Albert de Geouffre de la Pradelle
Marie Cuttoli
Jacques de Chammard
Charles Silvestre
16001650170017501800185019001950
ÉB
Étienne Baluze1630–1718 · French scholar
EP
Edmond Perrier1844–1921 · French zoologist
LE
Léon Eyrolles1861–1945 · French civil engineer, businessman and politician
RP
Rémy Perrier1861–1936 · French zoologist
MT
Marcelle Tinayre1870–1948 · French writer and journalist
AG
Albert de Geouffre de la Pradelle1871–1955 · French jurisconsult
MC
Marie Cuttoli1879–1973 · French businesswoman
JC
Jacques de Chammard1888–1983 · French politician
Everyone born in Tulle Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Tulle has the 3rd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 13,000 to 13,800 residents, by historic monuments.
Tulle19
#3 of 41for monuments per resident (14 per 10,000). Most per resident: Autun, Villeneuve-lès-Avignon and Tulle.
The median town of these has 2. 10 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Tulle
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tulle | 13,401 | 19 | 4 | Yes |
| Malemort | 8,239 | 6 | 2 | — |
| Donzenac | 2,733 | 5 | 1 | — |
| Cosnac | 3,044 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Ussac | 4,322 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Brive-la-Gaillarde | 47,095 | 20 | 4 | Yes |
| Argentat-sur-Dordogne | 2,881 | 4 | 1 | — |
In brief
Tulle in brief
Few towns are as rich in historic monuments as Tulle: per resident it has more than 91% of compared French towns. In all there are 19 historic monuments, 4 of them classé, including Immeuble dit Lauthonie. Its classé monuments cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipal. Only 2 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2003. Most of its dated monuments come from the 16th to 18th centuries: 11 of 18. The oldest, Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipal, dates from the 12th century. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: 8.8% 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 Tulle
How many historic monuments are there in Tulle?
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Tulle: 4 classé and 15 inscrit.
Which monuments in Tulle are classé?
4, among them Cathédrale Saint-Martin, actuellement Notre-Dame et cloître, actuellement Musée municipal, Immeuble dit Lauthonie, Maison de Loyac ou de l'Abbé and Ancienne église Saint-Pierre ou ancienne église des Carmes déchaussés.
How old are the monuments of Tulle?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
Is Tulle a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Tulle has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2003.
When were monuments in Tulle first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2013.
How old are the homes in Tulle?
8.8% 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.