ClasséChurch · protected 1862Restes de l'ancienne église Notre-Dame-de-la-CouldrePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Serge Ottaviani · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Restes de l'ancienne église Notre-Dame-de-la-Couldre · Photo: Serge Ottaviani · CC BY-SA 3.019historic monuments
History of Parthenay · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 1991, and 19 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Parthenay: 9 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 10 inscrit (the second level). That’s 19 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 94% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 10th century. We have photos of 16 of them.
Monuments historiques
19
19 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
9
the highest protection
Inscrit
10
the second level
Oldest part
10th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
14%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Parthenay in 16 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Église Sainte-CroixClassé
Ancienne chapelle des CordeliersClassé
Ancienne église priorale Saint-Pierre de Parthenay-le-VieuxClassé
ChâteauClassé
Ancienne église Saint-PaulClassé+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
Parthenay has had a protected historic area since 1991
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR75-131 | Secteur sauvegardé November 5, 1991 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) February 18, 2002 |
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 Parthenay’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Église Sainte-Croix
7 of 9classé monuments stand within 400 m of Église Sainte-Croix, with 14 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
9 Classé10 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
9 classé monuments in Parthenay
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 9 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChurch · protected 1846Ancienne église priorale Saint-Pierre de Parthenay-le-VieuxPhoto: Amaury Bouchet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1923Ancienne église Saint-PaulPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséChapel · protected 1984Ancienne chapelle des CordeliersPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséTown walls · protected 1885RempartsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: GO69 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Priory · protected 1929Restes du prieuré de Parthenay-le-Vieux
Inscrit
10 inscrit monuments in Parthenay
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritChapel · protected 1992Chapelle du Rosaire ou des TempliersPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maison, 2 rue de la Vau-Saint-JacquesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maison, 4 rue de la Vau-Saint-JacquesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maison, 6 rue de la Vau-Saint-JacquesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maison, 54 rue de la Vau-Saint-JacquesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maison, 56 rue de la Vau-Saint-JacquesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maisons, 50, 52 rue de la Vau-Saint-JacquesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Papay · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Residence · protected 1948Propriété et parc du Marchioux
Home · protected 2020Ancienne faïencerie
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Parthenay
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings9
Houses & homes9
Military & fortified1
Religious buildings: 9 of 19 monuments (47%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old
How old Parthenay’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.16
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution0
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
16 of 17 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Restes de l'ancienne église Notre-Dame-de-la-Couldre (Middle Ages). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
6 of Parthenay’s monuments were protected in 1926
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1926 · 6
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1846: Ancienne église priorale Saint-Pierre de Parthenay-le-Vieux. 6 were protected in 1926 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
14% of homes in Parthenay were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
14%
Before 1919
8.4%
1919–45
30%
1946–70
29%
1971–90
11%
1991–2005
8.1%
2006 on
ParthenayMedian compared French town
14% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1946 and 1970 than in any other period (30%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
8 people born in Parthenay before 1900
Their lives on one line.
François Mimault
Pierre, Jean Andrieux
Nelzir Allard
Jules Failly
Jacques Paul Taudière
Louis Aguillon
Henry Taudière
André Ombredane
155016001650170017501800185019001950
FM
François Mimault1580–1652 · French painter
PJ
Pierre, Jean Andrieux1754–1820 · French politician
NA
Nelzir Allard1798–1877 · French politician
JF
Jules Failly1801–1894 · French politician
JP
Jacques Paul Taudière1834–1915 · French politician
LA
Louis Aguillon1851–1928 · French politician
HT
Henry Taudière1860–1914 · French politician
AO
André Ombredane1898–1958 · French physician & scholar
Everyone born in Parthenay Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Parthenay has the 2nd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 10,000 to 10,300 residents, by historic monuments.
Parthenay19
#2 of 41for monuments per resident (19 per 10,000). Most per resident: Ploërmel, Parthenay and Apt.
The median town of these has 1. 13 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Parthenay
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parthenay | 10,140 | 19 | 9 | Yes |
| Châtillon-sur-Thouet | 2,656 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Airvault | 3,306 | 5 | 3 | Yes |
| Saint-Maixent-l'École | 7,595 | 5 | 3 | — |
| Moncoutant-sur-Sèvre | 5,121 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Boivre-la-Vallée Vienne | 3,024 | 5 | 2 | — |
| Bressuire | 19,970 | 8 | 3 | — |
In brief
Parthenay in brief
Since 1991, the heart of Parthenay has been a secteur sauvegardé, France’s strictest protection for a historic town. All told, the list holds 19 historic monuments, 9 of them classé, including Restes de l'ancienne église Notre-Dame-de-la-Couldre. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 94% of compared French towns. Its housing is old: 14% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Église Sainte-Croix sits at the heart of it all, with 7 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Only one of the 41 towns nearest its size has more historic monuments. Most of its dated monuments come from the Middle Ages: 16 of 17.
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 Parthenay
How many historic monuments are there in Parthenay?
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Parthenay: 9 classé and 10 inscrit.
Which monuments in Parthenay are classé?
9, among them Restes de l'ancienne église Notre-Dame-de-la-Couldre, Ancienne église priorale Saint-Pierre de Parthenay-le-Vieux, Ancienne église Saint-Paul, Église Sainte-Croix, Restes du prieuré de Parthenay-le-Vieux and Ancienne chapelle des Cordeliers.
How old are the monuments of Parthenay?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
Is Parthenay a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Parthenay has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1991.
When were monuments in Parthenay first protected?
The first in 1846, the latest in 2020.
How old are the homes in Parthenay?
14% 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.