ClasséStanding stone · protected 1964Menhir dit Pierrefitte ou Pierre FrittePhoto: Thor19 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église Saint-Basile · Photo: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 4.016historic monuments
History of Étampes · Monuments historiques
16 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Étampes: 8 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level). That’s 6 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 74% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 16 of them.
Monuments historiques
16
6 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
8
the highest protection
Inscrit
8
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
15%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Étampes in 16 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Église Saint-GillesClassé
Hôtel Anne de PisseleuClassé
Tour GuinetteClassé
Église Saint-MartinClassé
Église Notre-DameClassé+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.
How old
How old Étampes’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.9
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution1
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
10 of 12 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Menhir dit Pierrefitte ou Pierre Fritte (Prehistory). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Étampes’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Église Saint-Basile
5 of 8classé monuments stand within 400 m of Église Saint-Basile, with 10 of the town’s 16 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
16 monuments by protection
8 Classé8 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
8 classé monuments in Étampes
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 8 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséChurch · protected 1862Église Saint-BasilePhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1970Église Saint-GillesPhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséTown house · protected 1926Hôtel Anne de PisseleuPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Cyrilb1881 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTheater · protected 1982Théâtre municipalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Thor19 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséInscrit
8 inscrit monuments in Étampes
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritTown walls · protected 1968Remparts (anciens)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Thor19 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritPublic building · protected 1926Palais de JusticePhoto: Cyrilb1881 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown hall · protected 1982Hôtel de villePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritHospital · protected 1988Hôtel-Dieu, actuellement centre hospitalierPart of the building is protectedPhoto: GFreihalter · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maison dite de Diane de PoitiersPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pierre Poschadel · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1926Maisons à arcadesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: NickK · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritPriory · protected 1931Prieuré (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Grefeuille · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Étampes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings5
Houses & homes4
Public & civic4
Military & fortified1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Religious buildings: 5 of 16 monuments (31%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Étampes
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR11-38 | ZPPAUP November 24, 1998 | Still being drawn up |
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.
When protected
5 of Étampes’ monuments were protected in 1926
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1926 · 5
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Église Notre-Dame. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 5 were protected in 1926 alone. None has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
15% of homes in Étampes were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
15%
Before 1919
7.6%
1919–45
26%
1946–70
24%
1971–90
9%
1991–2005
18%
2006 on
ÉtampesMedian compared French town
15% 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 (26%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
18 people born in Étampes before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Basile Fleureau
Nicolas Legendre
Antoine Guenée
François-Alexis Davoust
Marc Antoine Moutier
Jacques Guillaume Simonneau
Charles-César Périer
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne François Simonneau
Auguste-Rodolphe Darblay
Abel Dufresne
Théodore Charpentier
Auguste-Joseph Magne
Rose Chéri
Paul Hautefeuille
Louise Abbéma
René Daveluy
Henri Manhès
16001650170017501800185019001950
AG
Antoine Guenée1717–1803 · French priest and Christian apologist
ÉG
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire1772–1844 · French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composit…
RC
Rose Chéri1824–1861 · French actress
PH
Paul Hautefeuille1836–1902 · French chemist and mineralogist
LA
Louise Abbéma1853–1927 · French painter, sculptor, and designer of the Belle Époque
BF
Basile Fleureau1612–1674 · French historian
NL
Nicolas Legendre1619–1671 · French sculptor
FA
François-Alexis Davoust1727–1801 · French politician
Everyone born in Étampes Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Étampes has the 5th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 25,800 to 27,900 residents, by historic monuments.
Étampes16
#5 of 41for monuments per resident (6 per 10,000). Most per resident: Paris 4e, Saumur and Sens.
The median town of these has 3. 5 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Étampes
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Étampes | 26,857 | 16 | 8 | Yes |
| Morigny-Champigny | 4,412 | 6 | 3 | — |
| Étréchy | 6,986 | 4 | 1 | Yes |
| Saint-Chéron | 5,132 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Lardy | 5,530 | 7 | 0 | — |
| Cerny | 3,531 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Boissy-sous-Saint-Yon | 3,882 | 2 | 1 | — |
In brief
Étampes in brief
The record in Étampes starts with Menhir dit Pierrefitte ou Pierre Fritte, which dates from prehistory. In all there are 16 historic monuments, 8 of them classé. Its housing is old: 15% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Église Saint-Basile sits at the heart of it all, with 5 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. In 2025 the Mission Patrimoine picked Tour Guinette as a monument in danger to save.
Only 4 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the 12 with a date, 9 come from the Middle Ages. The rest is about typical: per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns.
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 Étampes
How many historic monuments are there in Étampes?
The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Étampes: 8 classé and 8 inscrit.
Which monuments in Étampes are classé?
8, among them Menhir dit Pierrefitte ou Pierre Fritte, Église Notre-Dame, Église Saint-Basile, Église Saint-Gilles, Église Saint-Martin and Hôtel Anne de Pisseleu.
How old are the monuments of Étampes?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Étampes a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Étampes is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Étampes first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 1988.
How old are the homes in Étampes?
15% 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.