ClasséCathedral · protected 1840Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-FulcranPhoto: Baldiri · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Maison · Photo: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.016historic monuments
History of Lodève · Monuments historiques
16 historic monuments, more per resident than 96% of compared French towns
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Lodève: 7 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 9 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from prehistory. We have photos of 13 of them.
Monuments historiques
16
22 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
7
the highest protection
Inscrit
9
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
21%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Lodève in 13 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Hôtel de Fleury (Musée Dardé)Classé
Ancien groupe épiscopalClassé
Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-FulcranClassé
Pont de MontifortInscrit
Ancien hôtel AlbouyInscrit+8See 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
Lodève has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 7,200 to 7,300 residents, by historic monuments.
Lodève16
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (22 per 10,000). Most per resident: Lodève, Verneuil d'Avre et d'Iton and Ensisheim.
The median town of these has 2. 7 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Lodève’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-Fulcran
5 of 7classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-Fulcran, with 13 of the town’s 16 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
16 monuments by protection
7 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.
Classé
7 classé monuments in Lodève
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 7 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséMonument · protected 2003Ancien groupe épiscopalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Clem Rutter, Rochester Kent · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1980Hôtel de Fleury (Musée Dardé)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Fagairolles 34 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1930Maison, place de l'Hôtel-de-VillePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cave · protected 1933Grotte fermée
Archaeological site · protected 1983Ancien mausolée romain
War memorial · protected 2005Monument aux morts
Inscrit
9 inscrit monuments in Lodève
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritTown house · protected 1988Ancien hôtel AlbouyPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 1964Hôtel de Benoît de la PrunarèdePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 1964Hôtel de SalzePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
Inscrit
InscritHouse · protected 1963Maison, 22 rue du Cardinal-de-FleuryPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1964Maison, 5 place Alsace-LorrainePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1963Maison, Grande-Rue 6Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritWhat’s protected
Most of Lodève’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes9
Religious buildings2
Tombs & cemeteries1
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 9 of 16 monuments (56%). 2 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 Lodève’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.2
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.1
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution8
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19011
3 of 15 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Grotte fermée (Prehistory). 1 monument has no date on the list.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Lodève
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR76-50 | ZPPAUP October 12, 2007 | 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.
When protected
4 of Lodève’s monuments were protected in 1964
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-Fulcran. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 4 were protected in 1964 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
21% of homes in Lodève were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
21%
Before 1919
8%
1919–45
17%
1946–70
31%
1971–90
12%
1991–2005
12%
2006 on
LodèveMedian compared French town
21% 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 (31%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
11 people born in Lodève before 1900
Their lives on one line.
André Hercule de Fleury
Barthélemy Luchaire
Barthélémy Joseph Fulcran Roger
Jacques Martin de Lagarde
Eugène Massol
Eugène Arrazat
Léon Vitalis
Eugène Lagare
Joseph Railhac
André Beaumont
Georges Auric
1650170017501800185019001950
AH
André Hercule de Fleury1653–1743 · Catholic cardinal
EM
Eugène Massol1802–1887 · French opera singer
AB
André Beaumont1880–1937 · French aviation pioneer
GA
Georges Auric1899–1983 · French composer
BL
Barthélemy Luchaire1764– · French politician
BJ
Barthélémy Joseph Fulcran Roger1767–1841 · French engraver
JM
Jacques Martin de Lagarde1770–1822 · military general and nobleman
EA
Eugène Arrazat1826–1883 · French lawyer and politician
Everyone born in Lodève Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Lodève
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lodève | 7,251 | 16 | 7 | Yes |
| Clermont-l'Hérault | 9,461 | 11 | 3 | — |
| Saint-André-de-Sangonis | 6,427 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bédarieux | 5,804 | 3 | 2 | — |
| Canet | 3,619 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Gignac | 6,651 | 8 | 1 | — |
| Aniane | 2,979 | 5 | 3 | Yes |
In brief
Lodève in brief
The record in Lodève starts with Grotte fermée, which dates from prehistory. In all there are 16 historic monuments, 7 of them classé. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 96% of compared French towns. No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population.
Its housing is old: 21% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-Fulcran sits at the heart of it all, with 5 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Of the whole list, 56% are houses and homes.
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 Lodève
How many historic monuments are there in Lodève?
The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Lodève: 7 classé and 9 inscrit.
Which monuments in Lodève are classé?
7, among them Grotte fermée, Ancien mausolée romain, Ancienne cathédrale, actuelle église paroissiale Saint-Fulcran, Ancien groupe épiscopal, Hôtel de Fleury (Musée Dardé) and Monument aux morts.
How old are the monuments of Lodève?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Lodève a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Lodève is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Lodève first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2014.
How old are the homes in Lodève?
21% 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 October 30, 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.