ClasséChâteau · protected 1923Château, actuellement préfecture maritimePart of the building is protectedPhoto: S. DÉNIEL · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Bâtiment aux Lions · Photo: Michel Briand · CC BY 3.010historic monuments
History of Brest · Monuments historiques
10 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2001
The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Brest: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 13th century. That’s 0.7 for every 10,000 residents; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 7 of them.
Monuments historiques
10
0.7 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
2
the highest protection
Inscrit
8
the second level
Oldest part
13th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
2.5%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Brest in 7 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Château, actuellement préfecture maritimeClassé
gare ferroviaire de BrestInscrit
Naval Monument ou Mémorial américain de la Première Guerre mondialeInscrit
Auberge de jeunesse du Moulin BlancInscrit
Maison située 2-2bis rue Traverse et 20 rue de DenverInscrit+2See 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
Brest has had a protected historic area since 2001
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR53-20 | ZPPAUP June 11, 2001 | AVAP (heritage area rules) June 28, 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 Brest’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.
10 monuments by protection
2 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
2 classé monuments in Brest
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 2 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséMilitary building · protected 2011Bâtiment aux LionsPhoto: Michel Briand · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
8 inscrit monuments in Brest
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritHouse · protected 2023Maison située 2-2bis rue Traverse et 20 rue de DenverPart of the building is protectedPhoto: S. DÉNIEL · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritMonument · protected 2015Naval Monument ou Mémorial américain de la Première Guerre mondialePhoto: Llorenzi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritMonument · protected 2018Auberge de jeunesse du Moulin BlancPhoto: Gaëlle Fily · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritEngineering work · protected 2018gare ferroviaire de BrestPhoto: A.lloyd999ify · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Hospital · protected 1997Hôpital Augustin-Morvan, actuellement Centre hospitalier universitairePart of the building is protected
House · protected 1995Villa Mathon
Church · protected 2019Église Sainte-Thérèse-du-Landais
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Brest
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes3
Religious buildings2
Military & fortified1
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 3 of 10 monuments (30%). 2 are religious buildings.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
How old
How old Brest’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.1
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution0
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19014
1 of 6 dated monuments has parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Château, actuellement préfecture maritime (13th–16th c.). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
3 of Brest’s monuments were protected in 2018
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1923: Château, actuellement préfecture maritime. 3 were protected in 2018 alone. 7 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
2.5% of homes in Brest were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
2.5%
Before 1919
6.3%
1919–45
40%
1946–70
32%
1971–90
11%
1991–2005
8.8%
2006 on
BrestMedian compared French town
2.5% 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 (40%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
134 people born in Brest before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Étienne Perier
Sébastien-François Bigot de Morogues
Aymar Joseph de Roquefeuil et du Bousquet
Pierre-Claude Haudeneau, comte de Breugnon
François Marie d'Aboville
Jacques-Noël Sané
François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros
Éléonor Jacques Marie Stanislas Perier de Salvert
Joseph-Marie Nielly
Pierre Marec
César de Bourayne
Pierre-François Péron
Claire de Duras
Hyacinthe de Bougainville
Prosper Garnot
Théobald de Lacrosse
Charles-Eugène Pénaud
Onésime Joachim Troude
Étienne Fiacre Louis Raoul
Joseph Faron
1650170017501800185019001950
ÉP
Étienne Perier1686–1766 · (1686-1766) Colonial governor of French Louisiana
SF
Sébastien-François Bigot de Morogues1706–1781 · French admiral
AJ
Aymar Joseph de Roquefeuil et du Bousquet1714–1782 · French admiral
PC
Pierre-Claude Haudeneau, comte de Breugnon1717–1792 · French Navy officer and diplomat
FM
François Marie d'Aboville1730–1817 · French soldier, politician and officer
JN
Jacques-Noël Sané1740–1831 · French naval engineer
FÉ
François Étienne de Rosily-Mesros1748–1832 · French naval commander of the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleoni…
ÉJ
Éléonor Jacques Marie Stanislas Perier de Salvert1748–1783 · (1748-1783) French nobleman
Everyone born in Brest Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
How Brest compares with 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 100,700 to 185,100 residents, by historic monuments.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Brest
In brief
Brest in brief
Brest has 10 historic monuments, 2 of them classé, including Bâtiment aux Lions. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2001. Most of its dated monuments come from the 20th century or later: 4 of 6. The oldest, Château, actuellement préfecture maritime, dates from the 13th century.
3 of its monuments, Église Saint-Louis among them, carry the Architecture contemporaine remarquable label. Of the 134 people born here before 1900, the best known include Étienne Perier (1686), Sébastien-François Bigot de Morogues (1706) and Aymar Joseph de Roquefeuil et du Bousquet (1714). Its homes are mostly newer: 2.5% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Beyond that, 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 Brest
How many historic monuments are there in Brest?
The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Brest: 2 classé and 8 inscrit.
Which monuments in Brest are classé?
2, among them Château, actuellement préfecture maritime and Bâtiment aux Lions.
How old are the monuments of Brest?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 13th century.
Is Brest a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Brest has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2001.
When were monuments in Brest first protected?
The first in 1923, the latest in 2023.
How old are the homes in Brest?
2.5% 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.