Théâtre municipal · Photo: Idward · CC BY-SA 3.024 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2003
The Culture ministry lists 24 historic monuments in Morlaix: 12 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 12 inscrit (the second level). That’s 16 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 93% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 10th century. We have photos of 23 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Morlaix in 23 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne abbaye des JacobinsClassé
Manoir de Kéroch'iouClassé
Manufacture des tabacs de MorlaixClassé
Couvent des UrsulinesClassé
Chapelle Saint-GenevièveClassé+18See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Morlaix has 2 protected historic areas
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR53-37 | ZPPAUP June 27, 2003 | AVAP (heritage area rules) November 11, 2017 |
| SPR53-38 | Secteur sauvegardé December 22, 2015 | 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.
Where Morlaix’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
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.
12 classé monuments in Morlaix
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 7 of the 12 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
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Classé12 inscrit monuments in Morlaix
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
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InscritMost of Morlaix’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 13 of 24 monuments (54%). 7 are religious buildings, 7 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old Morlaix’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
6 of 23 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Maison dite de la Reine-Anne (Middle Ages). 1 monument has no date on the list.
Morlaix’s list has grown since 1883
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1883: Maison dite de la Reine-Anne. 3 were protected in 1914 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
14% of homes in Morlaix were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
14% 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 (32%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
35 people born in Morlaix before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Morlaix Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Morlaix has the 6th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 14,700 to 15,600 residents, by historic monuments.
The median town of these has 4. 4 of the 41 have none.
Historic monuments in the towns around Morlaix
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Morlaix | 15,194 | 24 | 12 | Yes |
| Saint-Martin-des-Champs | 4,773 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Plourin-lès-Morlaix | 4,548 | 2 | 0 | Yes |
| Taulé | 2,914 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Plouigneau | 5,014 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Plougonven | 3,382 | 3 | 2 | Yes |
| Pleyber-Christ | 3,166 | 2 | 1 | — |
Morlaix in brief
For its size, Morlaix has more historic monuments than 93% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 24 historic monuments, 12 of them classé, including Théâtre municipal. Of its homes, 14% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Ancienne abbaye des Jacobins sits at the heart of it all, with 8 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. In 2018 the Mission Patrimoine picked Manufacture des tabacs de Morlaix as a monument in danger to save.
Only 5 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Parts of it lie in 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first protected in 2003.
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 Morlaix
How many historic monuments are there in Morlaix?
The Culture ministry lists 24 historic monuments in Morlaix: 12 classé and 12 inscrit.
Which monuments in Morlaix are classé?
12, among them Maison dite de la Reine-Anne, Ancienne abbaye des Jacobins, Église de Ploujean, Église Saint-Mélaine, Maison dite à lanterne and Église Saint-Mathieu.
How old are the monuments of Morlaix?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
Is Morlaix a protected historic area?
Yes: Morlaix has 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first since 2003.
When were monuments in Morlaix first protected?
The first in 1883, the latest in 2022.
How old are the homes in Morlaix?
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.