ClasséFort · protected 1977Fort Saint-Charles, Fort Richepance ou Fort Delgrès, puis laboratoire de vulcanologiePhoto: LPLT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, ancienne église Saint-François · Photo: Aristoi · CC BY-SA 3.019historic monuments
History of Basse-Terre · Monuments historiques
19 historic monuments, more per resident than 95% of compared French towns
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Basse-Terre: 7 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 11 inscrit (the second level). 1 has no protection level on the list. The oldest date from the 17th century. We have photos of 15 of them.
Monuments historiques
19
20 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
7
the highest protection
Inscrit
11
the second level
Oldest part
17th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
2.5%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Basse-Terre in 15 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne caserne d'artillerie dite l'ArsenalClassé
Maison Coquille ou maison TurletClassé
Fort Saint-Charles, Fort Richepance ou Fort Delgrès, puis laboratoire de vulcanologieClassé
Ancienne glacièreInscrit
Aqueduc et réservoir de Petite GuinéeInscrit+10See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Towns its size
Basse-Terre has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 9,300 to 9,600 residents, by historic monuments.
Basse-Terre19
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (20 per 10,000). Most per resident: Basse-Terre, Molsheim and Nogent-le-Rotrou.
The median town of these has 2. 9 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Basse-Terre’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritLevel not givenWithin 400 m of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, ancienne église Saint-François
3 of 7classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, ancienne église Saint-François, with 11 of the town’s 19 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
19 monuments by protection
7 Classé11 Inscrit1 Level not given
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
7 classé monuments in Basse-Terre
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 7 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséBarracks · protected 2007Ancienne caserne d'artillerie dite l'ArsenalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Aristoi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséCathedral · protected 1975Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, ancienne église Saint-FrançoisPhoto: Aristoi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1990Maison Coquille ou maison TurletPhoto: Aristoi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Town house · protected 1997Palais d'Orléans ou Palais du Gouverneur
Monument · protected 1997Palais de Justice
Public building · protected 1997Palais du Conseil Général
Inscrit
12 inscrit monuments in Basse-Terre
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared. 1 of them has no protection level on the list.
InscritChurch · protected 2006Église Notre-Dame du Mont-CarmelPhoto: Aristoi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritAqueduct · protected 2003Aqueduc et réservoir de Petite GuinéePhoto: Aristoi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
InscritSchool · protected 1979Lycée Gerville-RéachePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Aristoi · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 2024Maison BougenotPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Enrevseluj · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 2016Maison de l'historien Lacour
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Basse-Terre
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes7
Religious buildings3
Military & fortified2
Bridges & engineering2
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Houses & homes: 7 of 19 monuments (37%). 3 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 3 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Basse-Terre’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.0
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution11
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19013
The oldest dated: Église Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel (17th–20th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Basse-Terre’s list has grown since 1975
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1960198020002020
First protected, in 1975: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, ancienne église Saint-François. 3 were protected in 1997 alone. 3 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
2.5% of homes in Basse-Terre were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
2.5%
Before 1919
3.8%
1919–45
32%
1946–70
32%
1971–90
24%
1991–2005
6.1%
2006 on
Basse-TerreMedian 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 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.
Born before 1900
3 people born in Basse-Terre before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Ferdinand Joseph L'Herminier
Gabriel Terrail
André Pairault
1800182518501875190019251950
FJ
Ferdinand Joseph L'Herminier1802–1866 · French botanist
GT
Gabriel Terrail1859–1930 · French journalist and politician
AP
André Pairault1897–1971 · French politician
Everyone born in Basse-Terre Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Basse-Terre
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basse-Terre | 9,417 | 19 | 7 | — |
| Baillif | 5,096 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Gourbeyre | 7,307 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Claude | 10,177 | 6 | 1 | — |
| Vieux-Habitants | 7,077 | 6 | 2 | — |
| Trois-Rivières | 7,415 | 13 | 4 | — |
| Bouillante | 6,127 | 4 | 2 | — |
In brief
Basse-Terre in brief
For its size, Basse-Terre has more historic monuments than 95% of compared French towns. In all there are 19 historic monuments, 7 of them classé. No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population. Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, ancienne église Saint-François sits at the heart of it all, with 3 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. The Mission Patrimoine has picked 2 of its monuments as heritage in danger to save, Maison Liensol first, in 2020.
Of the 17 with a date, 11 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. The oldest is Église Notre-Dame du Mont-Carmel, from the 17th century.
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 Basse-Terre
How many historic monuments are there in Basse-Terre?
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Basse-Terre: 7 classé and 11 inscrit.
Which monuments in Basse-Terre are classé?
7, among them Fort Saint-Charles, Fort Richepance ou Fort Delgrès, puis laboratoire de vulcanologie, Ancienne caserne d'artillerie dite l'Arsenal, Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Guadeloupe, ancienne église Saint-François, Maison Coquille ou maison Turlet, Palais d'Orléans ou Palais du Gouverneur and Palais de Justice.
How old are the monuments of Basse-Terre?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 17th century.
When were monuments in Basse-Terre first protected?
The first in 1975, the latest in 2024.
How old are the homes in Basse-Terre?
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 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.