ClasséAbbey · protected 1846Abbaye de CharlieuPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Welleschik · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Couvent des Cordeliers (ancien) (également sur commune de Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu) · Photo: Athomic · CC BY-SA 3.014historic monuments
History of Charlieu · Monuments historiques
14 historic monuments, more per resident than 98% 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 14 historic monuments in Charlieu: 8 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level). 1 has no protection level on the list. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 14 of them.
Monuments historiques
14
37 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
8
the highest protection
Inscrit
5
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
23%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Charlieu in 14 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
MaisonClassé
MaisonClassé
Abbaye de CharlieuClassé
Maison dite Hôtel d'ArmagnacClassé
MaisonClassé+9See 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
Charlieu has the 7th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 3,700 to 3,800 residents, by historic monuments.
Charlieu14
#7 of 41for monuments per resident (37 per 10,000). Most per resident: Brantôme en Périgord, Bouxwiller and Sospel.
The median town of these has 2. 9 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Charlieu’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Abbaye de Charlieu
5 of 8classé monuments stand within 400 m of Abbaye de Charlieu, with 8 of the town’s 14 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
14 monuments by protection
8 Classé5 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. 3 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
8 classé monuments in Charlieu
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 8 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséHouse · protected 1889Maison dite Hôtel d'ArmagnacPhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséConvent · protected 1981Couvent des Cordeliers (ancien) (également sur commune de Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Athomic · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséHouse · protected 1889Maison, 22 rue FarinatPhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséHouse · protected 1889Maison, rue Jean-MorelPhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
6 inscrit monuments in Charlieu
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.
InscritBridge · protected 1938Pont de pierre sur le Sornin (vieux)Photo: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritHospital · protected 1985Hôtel-Dieu (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Keny76 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
InscritHouse · protected 1928Maison, 12 rue Charles-de-GaullePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Keny76 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1928Maison, 19 place Saint-PhilibertPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What’s protected
Most of Charlieu’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes8
Religious buildings3
Public & civic1
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 8 of 14 monuments (57%). 3 are religious buildings, 2 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 Charlieu’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.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution5
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19010
3 of 8 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Abbaye de Charlieu (11th–15th c.). 6 monuments have no date on the list.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Charlieu
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR84-76 | ZPPAUP June 26, 2009 | 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
5 of Charlieu’s monuments were protected in 1889
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1889 · 5
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1846: Abbaye de Charlieu. 5 were protected in 1889 alone. None has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
23% of homes in Charlieu were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
23%
Before 1919
15%
1919–45
22%
1946–70
21%
1971–90
8.3%
1991–2005
9.8%
2006 on
CharlieuMedian compared French town
23% 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 (23%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
3 people born in Charlieu before 1900
Their lives on one line.
François, Laurent Michelet De Rochemont
Paul Gerbay
Armand Charnay
175017751800182518501875190019251950
FL
François, Laurent Michelet De Rochemont1756–1828 · French politician
PG
Paul Gerbay1835–1891 · French politician
AC
Armand Charnay1844–1915 · French painter
Everyone born in Charlieu Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Charlieu
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlieu | 3,766 | 14 | 8 | Yes |
| Pouilly-sous-Charlieu | 2,588 | 4 | 0 | — |
| Mably | 7,233 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Chauffailles Saône-et-Loire | 3,638 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Cours Rhône | 4,306 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Roanne | 35,409 | 7 | 0 | — |
| Riorges | 11,139 | 1 | 0 | Yes |
In brief
Charlieu in brief
For its size, Charlieu has more historic monuments than 98% of compared French towns. In all there are 14 historic monuments, 8 of them classé, including Couvent des Cordeliers (ancien) (également sur commune de Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu). Of its homes, 23% 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 Abbaye de Charlieu.
Only 6 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Most entries on the list, 57%, are houses and homes. Of the 8 with a date, 5 come from the 16th to 18th centuries.
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 Charlieu
How many historic monuments are there in Charlieu?
The Culture ministry lists 14 historic monuments in Charlieu: 8 classé and 5 inscrit.
Which monuments in Charlieu are classé?
8, among them Abbaye de Charlieu, Maison dite Hôtel d'Armagnac, Maison à pans de bois, Couvent des Cordeliers (ancien) (également sur commune de Saint-Nizier-sous-Charlieu) and Maison dite des Anglais.
How old are the monuments of Charlieu?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Charlieu a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Charlieu is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Charlieu first protected?
The first in 1846, the latest in 1985.
How old are the homes in Charlieu?
23% 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 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.