ClasséAbbey · protected 1984Ancienne abbaye de Saint-GillesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Christian Ferrer · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église Saint-Gilles · Photo: Chris06 · CC BY-SA 4.012historic monuments
History of Saint-Gilles · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 2001, and 12 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 12 historic monuments in Saint-Gilles: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level). That’s 8.1 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 82% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 12th century. We have photos of 4 of them.
Monuments historiques
12
8.1 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
3
the highest protection
Inscrit
9
the second level
Oldest part
12th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
9.9%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Monuments of Saint-Gilles in pictures
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Protected area
Saint-Gilles 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SPR76-30 | Secteur sauvegardé December 31, 2001 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) June 22, 2017 |
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 Saint-Gilles’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Gilles
3 of 3classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Gilles, with 8 of the town’s 12 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
12 monuments by protection
3 Classé9 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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
Classé
3 classé monuments in Saint-Gilles
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 3 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséInscrit
9 inscrit monuments in Saint-Gilles
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritChâteau · protected 2009Domaine d'EspeyranPhoto: Nairolf FR Florian Robardet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chapel · protected 1949Chapelle Sainte-Colombe
Farm · protected 1935Mas de LiviersPart of the building is protected
House · protected 1963Maison, 4 rue BaudinPart of the building is protected
House · protected 1964Maison, 5 place Ernest-BlancPart of the building is protected
House · protected 1936Maison, 31 rue de l'Hôtel-de-VillePart of the building is protected
House · protected 1963Maison, 5 place de la LibertéPart of the building is protected
House · protected 1949Maison, place de la LibertéPart of the building is protected
House · protected 1949Maison, Grande-RuePart of the building is protected
What’s protected
Most of Saint-Gilles’ monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes9
Religious buildings3
Houses & homes: 9 of 12 monuments (75%). 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 Saint-Gilles’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.0
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.9
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution2
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
9 of 12 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Gilles (12th c.).
When protected
3 of Saint-Gilles’ monuments were protected in 1949
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Église Saint-Gilles. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 3 were protected in 1949 alone. None has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
3 people born in Saint-Gilles before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Clément IV
Jules de Calvière
Jean Granaud
120013501500165018001950
CI
Clément IV1190–1268 · Pope
JC
Jules de Calvière1762–1849 · French politician
JG
Jean Granaud1858–1934 · French politician
Everyone born in Saint-Gilles Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Saint-Gilles has the 7th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 14,400 to 15,100 residents, by historic monuments.
Saint-Gilles12
#7 of 41for monuments per resident (8.1 per 10,000). Most per resident: Dinan, Bar-le-Duc and Saint-Omer.
The median town of these has 2. 8 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Saint-Gilles
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Gilles | 14,734 | 12 | 3 | Yes |
| Générac | 4,046 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Beauvoisin | 6,066 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Garons | 5,381 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bellegarde | 8,035 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Vauvert | 11,671 | 2 | 0 | Yes |
| Caissargues | 4,079 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Saint-Gilles in brief
Saint-Gilles’s old center has been a secteur sauvegardé, the strictest protection France gives a historic town, since 2001. In all there are 12 historic monuments, 3 of them classé, including Église Saint-Gilles. Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Gilles and other monuments here are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 82% of compared French towns.
Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Gilles sits at the heart of it all, with 3 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Domaine d'Espeyran is one of the Maisons des Illustres, the homes of people who left their mark on France. Only 6 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. The rest is about typical: 9.9% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
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 Saint-Gilles
How many historic monuments are there in Saint-Gilles?
The Culture ministry lists 12 historic monuments in Saint-Gilles: 3 classé and 9 inscrit.
Which monuments in Saint-Gilles are classé?
3, among them Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Gilles, Église Saint-Gilles and Maison romane.
How old are the monuments of Saint-Gilles?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
Is Saint-Gilles a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Saint-Gilles has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2001.
When were monuments in Saint-Gilles first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2009.
How old are the homes in Saint-Gilles?
9.9% 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.