ClasséCathedral · protected 1906cathédrale Saint-ÉtiennePhoto: jonathaneo · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Fontaine Saint-Brieuc, ou Notre-Dame · Photo: Yfig · CC BY-SA 3.033historic monuments
History of Saint-Brieuc · Monuments historiques
33 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2021
The Culture ministry lists 33 historic monuments in Saint-Brieuc: 7 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 23 inscrit (the second level). 3 have no protection level on the list. That’s 7.4 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 80% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 13th century. We have photos of 30 of them.
Monuments historiques
33
7.4 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
7
the highest protection
Inscrit
23
the second level
Oldest part
13th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
5.4%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Saint-Brieuc in 30 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
MaisonClassé
cathédrale Saint-ÉtienneClassé
Hôtel des Ducs de BretagneClassé
Ancien hôtel de BellecyseClassé
Maison dite Le RibeaultClassé+25See 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
Saint-Brieuc has had a protected historic area since 2021
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR53-14 | AVAP July 8, 2021 | AVAP (heritage area rules) July 8, 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.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Map
Where Saint-Brieuc’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-Étienne
5 of 7classé monuments stand within 400 m of cathédrale Saint-Étienne, with 18 of the town’s 33 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
33 monuments by protection
7 Classé23 Inscrit3 Level not given
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. 4 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
7 classé monuments in Saint-Brieuc
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 7 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséFountain · protected 1928Fontaine Saint-Brieuc, ou Notre-DamePhoto: Yfig · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséTown house · protected 1889Hôtel des Ducs de BretagnePhoto: Original téléversé par ²°¹°° sur Wikipédia français . · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1927Maison dite Le RibeaultPart of the building is protectedPhoto: GO69 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1928Maison, 16 rue du GouëtPart of the building is protectedPhoto: GO69 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site · protected 1925Tertre Aubé
Inscrit
26 inscrit monuments in Saint-Brieuc
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared. 3 of them have no protection level on the list.
All 26, A to Z
Ancien manoir de Qui-Qu'en-GrogneAncienne gare ferroviaire départementaleBoulevards Waldeck-Rousseau, La Chalotais, Sévigné et Harel de la NoëCaisse d'EpargneCroix MathiasÉglise Saint-MichelGrand SéminaireHôtel de RohanImmeuble, 23 rue du Maréchal-FochMaison d'angle à pans de boisMaison du 17e siècleMaison du 17e siècleMaison du 17e siècleMaison, 21 rue FardelMaison, 22 rue du GouëtMaison, 32 rue FardelMaison, 44 rue du GouëtMaison, 48 rue du GouëtMaison, 6 rue HouvenaglePont des CoursesThéâtre, 1 place de la RésistanceTour de CessonTour du Saint-EspritViaduc de DouvenantViaduc de Souzain (également sur commune de Plérin)Viaduc de Toupin
8 more, named only by their kind
8 more are named in the list only by their kind: 6 houses (maisons), 1 building (immeuble) and 1 other, most from the 16th and 17th centuries. The 8 with an address are in the list above, by it.
16th c.3
17th c.3
18th c.1
19th c.1
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Saint-Brieuc
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes16
Bridges & engineering4
Religious buildings3
Public & civic3
Military & fortified1
Houses & homes: 16 of 33 monuments (48%). 3 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 6 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Saint-Brieuc’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.5
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution13
19th century 1801–19002
20th century and later since 19016
5 of 26 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: cathédrale Saint-Étienne (13th & 15th c.). 7 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Saint-Brieuc’s list has grown since 1889
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1926 · 5
18801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1889: Hôtel des Ducs de Bretagne. 5 were protected in 1926 alone. 6 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
57 people born in Saint-Brieuc before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Marie-Jacques de Bréhant
Jean-Louis Bagot
Julien-François Palasne de Champeaux
Mathieu Jean Lemée
Bonaventure Le Saulnier du Vauhello
Emmanuel Alexandre Joseph d'Héral
Toussaint Marie Gautier-Lamotte
Toussaint Yves Catros
Pierre-Marie Catineau-Laroche
François Le Saulnier de Saint-Jouan
Pierre Le Tueux
Émile Durand
Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam
Louis Rossel
Pierre-Marie-François Ogé
Célestin Bouglé
Florent du Bois de La Villerabel
Francis Renaud
Émile Pelletier
Louis Guilloux
170017501800185019001950
ÉD
Émile Durand1830–1903 · French musical theorist, teacher and composer
AV
Auguste de Villiers de L'Isle-Adam1838–1889 · French writer
LR
Louis Rossel1844–1871 · sentenced to death in France
PM
Pierre-Marie-François Ogé1849–1913 · French sculptor
CB
Célestin Bouglé1870–1940 · French philosopher
FB
Florent du Bois de La Villerabel1877–1951 · French Roman-Catholic archbishop
FR
Francis Renaud1887–1973 · French sculptor
ÉP
Émile Pelletier1898–1975 · French civil servant, Minister of State of Monaco from 1959 to 1962
Everyone born in Saint-Brieuc Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Saint-Brieuc has the 10th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 41,800 to 47,100 residents, by historic monuments.
Saint-Brieuc33
#10 of 41for monuments per resident (7.4 per 10,000). Most per resident: Arras, Charleville-Mézières and Châlons-en-Champagne.
The median town of these has 9. 2 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Saint-Brieuc
In brief
Saint-Brieuc in brief
Per resident, Saint-Brieuc has more historic monuments than 80% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 33 historic monuments, 7 of them classé, including Fontaine Saint-Brieuc, ou Notre-Dame. cathédrale Saint-Étienne sits at the heart of it all, with 5 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Only 9 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2021. Of the 26 with a date, 13 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. The oldest is cathédrale Saint-Étienne, from the 13th century. The rest is about typical: 5.4% 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 Saint-Brieuc
How many historic monuments are there in Saint-Brieuc?
The Culture ministry lists 33 historic monuments in Saint-Brieuc: 7 classé and 23 inscrit.
Which monuments in Saint-Brieuc are classé?
7, among them cathédrale Saint-Étienne, Fontaine Saint-Brieuc, ou Notre-Dame, Ancien hôtel de Bellecyse, Hôtel des Ducs de Bretagne, Maison dite Le Ribeault and Tertre Aubé.
How old are the monuments of Saint-Brieuc?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 13th century.
Is Saint-Brieuc a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Saint-Brieuc has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2021.
When were monuments in Saint-Brieuc first protected?
The first in 1889, the latest in 2018.
How old are the homes in Saint-Brieuc?
5.4% 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.