ClasséAbbey · protected 1862Ancienne abbaye Notre-DamePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Allie Caulfield ( https://www.flickr.com/people/wm_archiv/ ) · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ancienne abbaye Notre-Dame · Photo: Allie Caulfield ( https://www.flickr.com/people/wm_archiv/ ) · CC BY 2.011historic monuments
History of Bernay · Monuments historiques
11 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2025
The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Bernay: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level). That’s 11 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 87% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 10 of them.
Monuments historiques
11
11 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
3
the highest protection
Inscrit
8
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
17%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Bernay in 10 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
ImmeubleClassé
Église Notre-Dame-de-la-CoutureClassé
MaisonInscrit
MaisonInscrit
Ancien hôtel de la GabelleInscrit+5See 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
Bernay has had a protected historic area since 2025
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| Not numbered yet | AVAP September 4, 2025 | AVAP (heritage area rules) September 4, 2025 |
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 Bernay’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.
11 monuments by protection
3 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
3 classé monuments in Bernay
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 3 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChurch · protected 1906Église Notre-Dame-de-la-CouturePhoto: Stanzilla · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBuilding · protected 1927Immeuble, 6 rue Auguste-LeprevostPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Sbgt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
8 inscrit monuments in Bernay
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritHouse · protected 1933Maison à pans de boisPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Sbgt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritTown house · protected 1928Ancien hôtel de la GabellePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Stanzilla · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
InscritBuilding · protected 1927Immeuble, 8 rue Auguste-LeprevostPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Sbgt · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1933Maison, 6 rue ThiersPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Davitof · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1932Maison, 9 rue ThiersPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Tagada27 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Funerary monument · protected 2022Monument aux morts de la guerre 1914-1918
What’s protected
Most of Bernay’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes7
Religious buildings3
Tombs & cemeteries1
Houses & homes: 7 of 11 monuments (64%). 3 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 Bernay’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 Revolution7
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19011
3 of 11 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne abbaye Notre-Dame (11th & 17th c.).
When protected
3 of Bernay’s monuments were protected in 1927
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1862: Ancienne abbaye Notre-Dame. 3 were protected in 1927 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
17% of homes in Bernay were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
17%
Before 1919
9.1%
1919–45
24%
1946–70
31%
1971–90
12%
1991–2005
7.2%
2006 on
BernayMedian compared French town
17% 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 (31%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
16 people born in Bernay before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Alexandre de Bernay
Nicolas Le Vavasseur
Augustin-Jean Malassis
Thomas Lindet
Robert Lindet
Jean-Baptiste Huché
André, Bazile Le Danois De La Soisière
Louis François Bernard Froudière
Alexis-Joseph Bouillerot-Demarsenne
Jean-Baptiste Philippe Harou
Auguste Le Prévost
Harou-Romain
Arsène Peauger
Georges Decaux
Émile Vaucanu
André Dupont
120013501500165018001950
AB
Alexandre de Bernay1150–1190 · French poet
RL
Robert Lindet1746–1825 · French revolutionary
AL
Auguste Le Prévost1787–1859 · French geologist, philologist, archaeologist and historian
NL
Nicolas Le Vavasseur1580–1658 · French composer
AJ
Augustin-Jean Malassis1743–1798 · French printer
TL
Thomas Lindet1743–1823 · French politician
JB
Jean-Baptiste Huché1749–1805 · French general
AB
André, Bazile Le Danois De La Soisière1750–1827 · French politician
Everyone born in Bernay Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Bernay has the 5th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 9,600 to 9,900 residents, by historic monuments.
Bernay11
#5 of 41for monuments per resident (11 per 10,000). Most per resident: Figeac, Aire-sur-la-Lys and Mézidon Vallée d'Auge.
The median town of these has 2. 13 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Bernay
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernay | 9,765 | 11 | 3 | Yes |
| Mesnil-en-Ouche | 4,414 | 11 | 4 | — |
| Beaumont-le-Roger | 2,769 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Brionne | 4,185 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Le Neubourg | 4,199 | 3 | 2 | — |
| Lisieux Calvados | 19,645 | 30 | 11 | — |
| La Ferté-en-Ouche Orne | 2,938 | 6 | 3 | — |
In brief
Bernay in brief
Bernay’s oldest monument, Ancienne abbaye Notre-Dame, dates from the 11th century. All told, the list holds 11 historic monuments, 3 of them classé. Of its homes, 17% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 87% of compared French towns.
Only 4 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2025. Most entries on the list, 64%, are houses and homes.
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 Bernay
How many historic monuments are there in Bernay?
The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Bernay: 3 classé and 8 inscrit.
Which monuments in Bernay are classé?
3, among them Ancienne abbaye Notre-Dame and Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Couture.
How old are the monuments of Bernay?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Bernay a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Bernay has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2025.
When were monuments in Bernay first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2022.
How old are the homes in Bernay?
17% 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.