ClasséBridge · protected 1996Pont sur l'Hérault, dit Pont du Diable (également sur commune de Saint-Jean-de-Fos)Photo: Baldiri · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ancienne abbaye bénédictine Saint-Benoît et l'ancien pénitencier (ancien établissement d'éducation surveillée) · Photo: Michel Germain / Achille Peigné-Delacourt · Public domain5historic monuments
History of Aniane · Monuments historiques
5 historic monuments, 3 classé
Aniane has 17 monuments for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 93% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The oldest monuments in Aniane date from the 11th century. We have photos of 5 of Aniane’s monuments.
Monuments historiques
5
17 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
3
the highest protection
Inscrit
2
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
20%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Aniane in 5 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Église paroissiale Saint-Sauveur, ancienne abbatialeClassé
Pont sur l'Hérault, dit Pont du Diable (également sur commune de Saint-Jean-de-Fos)Classé
Chapelle des Pénitents, ancienne église paroissiale Saint-Jean-BaptisteInscrit
Hôtel de villeInscrit+1See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Map
Where Aniane’s 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.
5 monuments by protection
3 Classé2 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
3 classé monuments in Aniane
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.
ClasséAbbey · protected 2004Ancienne abbaye bénédictine Saint-Benoît et l'ancien pénitencier (ancien établissement d'éducation surveillée)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Michel Germain / Achille Peigné-Delacourt · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 2002Église paroissiale Saint-Sauveur, ancienne abbatialePhoto: Vpe · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
2 inscrit monuments in Aniane
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritChapel · protected 1950Chapelle des Pénitents, ancienne église paroissiale Saint-Jean-BaptistePhoto: This illustration was made by Peter Potrowl . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown hall · protected 1951Hôtel de villePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Vpe · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
How old
How old Aniane’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.1
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution4
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19010
1 of 5 dated monuments has parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Pont sur l'Hérault, dit Pont du Diable (également sur commune de Saint-Jean-de-Fos) (11th & 13th c.).
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Aniane
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| Not numbered yet | – | 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.
Age of homes
20% of homes in Aniane were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
20%
Before 1919
9.2%
1919–45
14%
1946–70
21%
1971–90
26%
1991–2005
10%
2006 on
AnianeMedian compared French town
20% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1991 and 2005 than in any other period (26%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Towns its size
Aniane has the 2nd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 2,900 to 3,000 residents, by historic monuments.
Aniane5
#3 of 41for monuments per resident (17 per 10,000). Most per resident: Rue, Tourouvre au Perche and Aniane.
The median town of these has 1. 11 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Aniane
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aniane | 2,979 | 5 | 3 | Yes |
| Gignac | 6,651 | 8 | 1 | — |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis | 6,427 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Montarnaud | 4,208 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Vailhauquès | 2,722 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Canet | 3,619 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Clermont-l'Hérault | 9,461 | 11 | 3 | — |
In brief
Aniane in brief
Few towns are as rich in historic monuments as Aniane: per resident it has more than 93% of compared French towns. In all there are 5 historic monuments, 3 of them classé. Pont sur l'Hérault, dit Pont du Diable (également sur commune de Saint-Jean-de-Fos) is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its housing is old: 20% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Only one of the 41 towns nearest its size has more historic monuments. Of the 5 with a date, 4 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. The oldest is Pont sur l'Hérault, dit Pont du Diable (également sur commune de Saint-Jean-de-Fos), from the 11th century. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: most entries are churches and religious buildings; and the list grew between 1950 and 2004.
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 Aniane
How many historic monuments are there in Aniane?
The Culture ministry lists 5 historic monuments in Aniane: 3 classé and 2 inscrit.
Which monuments in Aniane are classé?
3, among them Pont sur l'Hérault, dit Pont du Diable (également sur commune de Saint-Jean-de-Fos), Ancienne abbaye bénédictine Saint-Benoît et l'ancien pénitencier (ancien établissement d'éducation surveillée) and Église paroissiale Saint-Sauveur, ancienne abbatiale.
How old are the monuments of Aniane?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Aniane a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Aniane is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Aniane first protected?
The first in 1950, the latest in 2004.
How old are the homes in Aniane?
20% 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) · 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 4, 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.