ClasséAbbey · protected 1840Ancienne abbaye de la TrinitéPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Manfred Heyde · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ruines du château · Photo: Joe Shlabotnik · CC BY 2.021historic monuments
History of Vendôme · Monuments historiques
21 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2016
The Culture ministry lists 21 historic monuments in Vendôme: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 15 inscrit (the second level). That’s 13 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 90% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 19 of them.
Monuments historiques
21
13 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
6
the highest protection
Inscrit
15
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
11%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Vendôme in 19 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne porte Saint-GeorgesClassé
Ancien lycée RonsardClassé
Tour Saint-MartinClassé
Ancienne abbaye de la TrinitéClassé
Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-MartinClassé+14See 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
Vendôme has had a protected historic area since 2016
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR24-35 | AVAP January 21, 2016 | AVAP (heritage area rules) January 21, 2016 |
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.
Map
Where Vendôme’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancienne abbaye de la Trinité
5 of 6classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancienne abbaye de la Trinité, with 17 of the town’s 21 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
21 monuments by protection
6 Classé15 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
6 classé monuments in Vendôme
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 6 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséSchool · protected 1921Ancien lycée RonsardPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Diego Tirira from Quito, Ecuador · CC BY-SA 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown gate · protected 1862Ancienne porte Saint-GeorgesPhoto: Calips - Patrick GIRAUD · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1923Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-MartinPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Froumenty · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFortified house · protected 1913Tour Saint-MartinPhoto: Manfred Heyde · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
15 inscrit monuments in Vendôme
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 15, A to Z
Ancienne chapelle Saint-Pierre-de-la-MotteArche des Grands Prés sur le LoirChâteau dit l'Oratoire de CourtirasÉglise Sainte-Marie-MadeleineImmeuble, 10, 12 rue de la RenarderieImmeuble, 4, 6 rue de la RenarderieImmeuble, 8 place de la RépubliqueImmeuble, 8 rue de la RenarderieMaison à lucarne compagnonniqueMaison à lucarne compagnonniqueMaison ancienne dite Logis des HôtesMaison dite Hôtel de la Chambre des ComptesMonastère des Bénédictines du CalvaireMonument à RochambeauQuartier Rochambeau
4 more, named only by their kind
4 more are named in the list only by their kind: 4 buildings (immeubles), most from the 15th century. The 4 with an address are in the list above, by it.
15th c.3
16th c.1
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Vendôme
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes10
Religious buildings4
Military & fortified3
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 10 of 21 monuments (48%). 4 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
How old
How old Vendôme’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.13
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution3
19th century 1801–19002
20th century and later since 19011
13 of 19 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne chapelle Saint-Pierre-de-la-Motte (11th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Vendôme’s list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne abbaye de la Trinité and Ruines du château. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 3 were protected in 1940 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
11% of homes in Vendôme were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
11%
Before 1919
5.7%
1919–45
34%
1946–70
30%
1971–90
13%
1991–2005
6.4%
2006 on
VendômeMedian compared French town
11% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1946 and 1970 than in any other period (34%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
27 people born in Vendôme before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Arnoux de Gap
François de Bourbon-Vendôme
Charles IV de Bourbon
Louis Ier de Bourbon-Condé
Agathange de Vendôme
Jean-Baptiste Crenière
Charles Louis Benjamin Esnault
Victor Dessaignes
Adolphe-Félix Gatien-Arnoult
Charles Lafontaine
Clémence Delaunay
Émilien Jean Renou
Émile Desvaux
Armand Queyroy
Charles Le Myre de Vilers
Ernest-René Peltereau
Fédéric-Henri Oury
Émile Belot
Marc Perrodon
Marcel Perrot
1050120013501500165018001950
FB
François de Bourbon-Vendôme1470–1495 · Count of Vendôme
CI
Charles IV de Bourbon1489–1537 · French noble
LI
Louis Ier de Bourbon-Condé1530–1569 · French general, Huguenot leader and founder of the House of Bourbon-C…
VD
Victor Dessaignes1800–1885 · French chemist
CL
Charles Lafontaine1803–1892 · French writer
ÉD
Émile Desvaux1830–1854 · French botanist
CL
Charles Le Myre de Vilers1833–1918 · French colonial Governor
MP
Marc Perrodon1878–1939 · fencer
Everyone born in Vendôme Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Vendôme has the 5th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 15,300 to 16,300 residents, by historic monuments.
Vendôme21
#5 of 41for monuments per resident (13 per 10,000). Most per resident: Toul, Beaucaire and Fontainebleau.
The median town of these has 4. 7 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Vendôme
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vendôme | 15,758 | 21 | 6 | Yes |
| Saint-Ouen | 3,041 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Montoire-sur-le-Loir | 3,646 | 10 | 3 | Yes |
| Château-Renault Indre-et-Loire | 4,392 | 3 | 1 | Yes |
| Cloyes-les-Trois-Rivières Eure-et-Loir | 5,607 | 11 | 3 | — |
| Saint-Calais Sarthe | 2,948 | 2 | 1 | Yes |
| Villebarou | 2,584 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Vendôme in brief
For its size, Vendôme has more historic monuments than 90% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 21 historic monuments, 6 of them classé, including Ruines du château. Of its homes, 11% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Its classé monuments cluster together: 5 of them stand within 400 m of Ancienne abbaye de la Trinité.
Only 4 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2016. Most of its dated monuments come from the Middle Ages: 13 of 19.
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 Vendôme
How many historic monuments are there in Vendôme?
The Culture ministry lists 21 historic monuments in Vendôme: 6 classé and 15 inscrit.
Which monuments in Vendôme are classé?
6, among them Ancienne abbaye de la Trinité, Ruines du château, Ancien lycée Ronsard, Ancienne porte Saint-Georges, Maison du 15e siècle dite Maison Saint-Martin and Tour Saint-Martin.
How old are the monuments of Vendôme?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Vendôme a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Vendôme has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2016.
When were monuments in Vendôme first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2017.
How old are the homes in Vendôme?
11% 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.