ClasséBuilding · protected 1984Immeuble, 3 rue TailladePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Jvillafruela · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Immeuble · Photo: Jvillafruela · CC BY-SA 4.04historic monuments
History of Sommières · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 2000, and 4 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in Sommières: 1 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 3 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 10th century. We have photos of 4 of them. Protection in Sommières began in 1926.
Monuments historiques
4
Classé
1
the highest protection
Inscrit
3
the second level
Oldest part
10th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
29%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Monuments of Sommières in pictures
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
Sommières has had a protected historic area since 2000
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR76-33 | Secteur sauvegardé March 9, 2000 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) April 16, 2015 |
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 Sommières’ 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.
4 monuments by protection
1 Classé3 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
One classé monument in Sommières
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 1 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Inscrit
3 inscrit monuments in Sommières
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritChâteau · protected 2010Château de SommièresPart of the building is protectedPhoto: EmDee · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritAge of homes
29% of homes in Sommières were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
29%
Before 1919
4.5%
1919–45
11%
1946–70
19%
1971–90
21%
1991–2005
17%
2006 on
SommièresMedian compared French town
29% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished before 1919 than in any other period (29%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
12 people born in Sommières before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Jean-Baptiste Fabre
Charles Pascalis de Martignac
Jacques Louis Vialla
Jean Pierre Joseph Bruguière
Guillaume Viger
Émilien Dumas
Gustave Dax
Eugène Rouché
Numa Gilly
Émile Penchinat
Frédéric Gaussorgues
Marthe Borély
170017501800185019001950
JP
Jean Pierre Joseph Bruguière1772–1813 · French soldier and officer
ÉD
Émilien Dumas1804–1870 · French scientist
ER
Eugène Rouché1832–1910 · French mathematician
JB
Jean-Baptiste Fabre1727–1783 · French Catholic priest and Occitan writer
CP
Charles Pascalis de Martignac1732–1793 · French general
JL
Jacques Louis Vialla1764–1849 · French jurist
GV
Guillaume Viger1792–1849 · French politician, lawyer and magistrate
GD
Gustave Dax1815–1893 · French physician
Everyone born in Sommières Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Sommières has the 7th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 5,000 to 5,100 residents, by historic monuments.
Sommières4
The median town of these has 1. 10 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Sommières
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sommières | 5,073 | 4 | 1 | Yes |
| Aubais | 2,925 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Restinclières Hérault | 2,612 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Calvisson | 6,486 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Aigues-Vives | 3,331 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Gallargues-le-Montueux | 3,659 | 7 | 2 | — |
| Sussargues Hérault | 2,840 | 1 | 0 | — |
In brief
Sommières in brief
Sommières’s old center has been a secteur sauvegardé, the strictest protection France gives a historic town, since 2000. All told, the list holds 4 historic monuments, 1 of them classé. Of its homes, 29% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Only 6 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the 12 people born here before 1900, the best known include Jean Pierre Joseph Bruguière (1772), Émilien Dumas (1804) and Eugène Rouché (1832). Beyond that, the list grew between 1926 and 2025.
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 Sommières
How many historic monuments are there in Sommières?
The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in Sommières: 1 classé and 3 inscrit.
Is Sommières a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Sommières has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2000.
How old are the homes in Sommières?
29% 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.