ClasséReligious building · protected 1889Ermitage ou Chapelle de la TrinitéPhoto: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ancien Palais des Archevêques ou Palais Cardinal · Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.023historic monuments
History of Saint-Émilion · Monuments historiques
23 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2007
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Saint-Émilion: 12 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 11 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 5th century. That’s 143 for every 10,000 residents; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 17 of them.
Monuments historiques
23
143 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
12
the highest protection
Inscrit
11
the second level
Oldest part
5th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
33%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Saint-Émilion in 17 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne église Saint-Martin de MazeratClassé
Donjon fortifié, dit Château du RoiClassé
Ancien DoyennéClassé
CatacombesClassé
Ancien couvent des CordeliersClassé+12See 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
Saint-Émilion 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SPR75-86 | ZPPAUP October 4, 2007 | AVAP (heritage area rules) June 16, 2016 |
| SPR75-95 | Secteur sauvegardé August 4, 1986 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) July 18, 2023 |
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-Émilion’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Donjon fortifié, dit Château du Roi
10 of 12classé monuments stand within 400 m of Donjon fortifié, dit Château du Roi, with 14 of the town’s 23 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
23 monuments by protection
12 Classé11 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
12 classé monuments in Saint-Émilion
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 12 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChurch · protected 1886Église souterraine monolithe (ancienne église paroissiale Saint-Emilion)Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséPresbytery · protected 1964Ancien DoyennéPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Juliofsanguino · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBishop’s palace · protected 1886Ancien Palais des Archevêques ou Palais CardinalPhoto: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1920Ancienne église Saint-Martin de MazeratPhoto: William Ellison · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1840Église collégiale Saint-EmilionPhoto: Kassander der Minoer sur Wikipédia allemand · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséConvent · protected 2005Ancien couvent des CordeliersPhoto: Webmasterlescordeliers · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFortified house · protected 1886Donjon fortifié, dit Château du RoiPhoto: Guiguilacagouille · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown gate · protected 1920Porte, dite de la Cadène, et maison à pans de bois attenantePhoto: RodolpheD · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 2023CatacombesPhoto: Henry Guillier · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChapel · protected 1964Ancienne chapelle du Chapître
Inscrit
11 inscrit monuments in Saint-Émilion
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritChapel · protected 1965Chapelle de la MadeleinePhoto: Henry Guillier · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChurch · protected 1957Ancienne église du couvent des Dominicains, dit des JacobinsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: JLPC · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritBuilding · protected 1966Bâtiment accolé à la porte de la CadènePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Guiguilacagouille · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritHouse · protected 2025Villa gallo-romaine du Palat
House · protected 1988Maison, dite maison gothiquePart of the building is protected
Château · protected 2015Château Grand Mayne
Château · protected 2015Château Pindefleurs
Château · protected 2015Château Coutet
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Saint-Émilion
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes10
Religious buildings7
Tombs & cemeteries1
Archaeological sites1
Houses & homes: 10 of 23 monuments (43%). 7 are religious buildings, 5 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 4 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Saint-Émilion’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.18
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution4
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
18 of 23 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Villa gallo-romaine du Palat (5th c.).
When protected
5 of Saint-Émilion’s monuments were protected in 2015
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
2015 · 5
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Église collégiale Saint-Emilion. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 5 were protected in 2015 alone. 8 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
33% of homes in Saint-Émilion were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
33%
Before 1919
13%
1919–45
16%
1946–70
19%
1971–90
8.6%
1991–2005
10%
2006 on
Saint-ÉmilionMedian compared French town
33% 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 (33%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
5 people born in Saint-Émilion before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Paul-Victor de Sèze
Élie Guadet
Joseph Guadet
Jean Vincent
Maurice Goudichaud
175017751800182518501875190019251950
ÉG
Élie Guadet1758–1794 · French politician
PV
Paul-Victor de Sèze1754–1830 · French politician
JG
Joseph Guadet1795–1880 · French historian
JV
Jean Vincent1883–1958 · French military personnel
MG
Maurice Goudichaud1889–1952 · French manufacturer and engineer
Everyone born in Saint-Émilion Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Saint-Émilion
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Émilion | 1,608 | 23 | 12 | Yes |
| Libourne | 25,036 | 11 | 3 | Yes |
| Saint-Denis-de-Pile | 5,955 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Vayres | 4,615 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Castillon-la-Bataille | 3,344 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Quentin-de-Baron | 2,713 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Galgon | 3,144 | 2 | 0 | — |
In brief
Saint-Émilion in brief
Saint-Émilion’s oldest monument, Villa gallo-romaine du Palat, dates from the 5th century. All told, the list holds 23 historic monuments, 12 of them classé, including Ancien Palais des Archevêques ou Palais Cardinal. Its housing is old: 33% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Its classé monuments cluster together: 10 of them stand within 400 m of Donjon fortifié, dit Château du Roi.
Parts of it lie in 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first protected in 2007. Of the 23 with a date, 18 come from the Middle Ages. Élie Guadet (1758), Paul-Victor de Sèze (1754) and Joseph Guadet (1795) are among the 5 people born here before 1900.
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-Émilion
How many historic monuments are there in Saint-Émilion?
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Saint-Émilion: 12 classé and 11 inscrit.
Which monuments in Saint-Émilion are classé?
12, among them Ermitage ou Chapelle de la Trinité, Église souterraine monolithe (ancienne église paroissiale Saint-Emilion), Ancien Doyenné, Ancien Palais des Archevêques ou Palais Cardinal, Ancienne église Saint-Martin de Mazerat and Église collégiale Saint-Emilion.
How old are the monuments of Saint-Émilion?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 5th century.
Is Saint-Émilion a protected historic area?
Yes: Saint-Émilion has 2 sites patrimoniaux remarquables, the first since 2007.
When were monuments in Saint-Émilion first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2025.
How old are the homes in Saint-Émilion?
33% 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.