ClasséHouse · protected 1998Maison dite de François IerPhoto: AlSepPhoenix · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Immeuble Le Grand Cercle · Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.040historic monuments
History of Saint-Étienne · Monuments historiques
40 historic monuments, 2 classé
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The oldest monuments in Saint-Étienne date from the 11th century. For every 10,000 residents Saint-Étienne counts 2.3 monuments, against 2.5 in the median compared French town. We have photos of 27 of Saint-Étienne’s monuments.
Monuments historiques
40
2.3 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
2
the highest protection
Inscrit
38
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
7.4%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Saint-Étienne in 27 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Maison dite de François IerClassé
Ancienne école de dessin ou ancienne école des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Saint-EtienneInscrit
Château de Rochetaillée (restes)Inscrit
ÉgliseInscrit
Ancienne chambre de commerceInscrit+22See 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 Saint-Étienne’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.
40 monuments by protection
2 Classé38 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. 2 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
2 classé monuments in Saint-Étienne
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. Each card opens the monument’s page.
War memorial · protected 2021Monument aux morts
Inscrit
38 inscrit monuments in Saint-Étienne
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 37, A to Z
Ancienne chambre de commerceAncienne condition des SoiesAncienne école de dessin ou ancienne école des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Saint-EtienneAncienne manufacture nationale d'armes de Saint-EtienneBourse du TravailCentrale Energie de la Manufacture française d'Armes et Cycles dite ManufranceChapelle de la CharitéChâteau de Rochetaillée (restes)Église de ValbenoiteÉglise Saint-EnnemondÉglise Saint-François-RégisÉglise Sainte-MarieGrand'Église ou Église Saint-EtienneHôpital de la CharitéHôtel Bernou de RochetailléeHôtel de Villeneuve (ancien)Hôtel Subit-GouyonImmeuble dénommé " Hôtel des Ingénieurs "Immeuble dénommé " Les Nouvelles Galeries "Immeuble dit Palais MimardImmeuble La Loire Républicaine, actuellement siège du journal La Tribune-Le ProgrèsImmeuble Le Grand CercleImmeuble moderne d'Auguste BossuImmeuble, 11 rue de la RépubliqueImmeuble, 13 rue de la RépubliqueImmeuble, 14 rue François-GiletImmeuble, 2 avenue de la LibérationImmeuble, 30 rue Saint-JeanImmeuble, 5 rue TraversièreImmeuble, dit Chalet de BizillonKiosque à musique de MarengoMaison, 4 rue du ThéâtreMonument JacquardPalais des spectaclesSite minier dit " Puits Couriot "Temple protestantTombeau Smith, ou Pyramide Smith, situé dans le cimetière du Crêt du Roc (cimetière Saint-Claude)
8 more, named only by their kind
8 more are named in the list only by their kind: 6 buildings (immeubles), 1 house (maison) and 1 other, most from the 20th century. The 7 with an address are in the list above, by it.
11th c.1
16th c.1
19th c.2
20th c.4
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Saint-Étienne
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes16
Religious buildings8
Public & civic5
Industrial4
Tombs & cemeteries3
Shops & trade2
Houses & homes: 16 of 40 monuments (40%). 8 are religious buildings.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Saint-Étienne’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.4
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution5
19th century 1801–190014
20th century and later since 190115
4 of 38 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Château de Rochetaillée (restes) (12th & 16th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Protected area
Saint-Étienne has 5 protected historic areas
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR84-91 | ZPPAUP June 7, 2004 | Still being drawn up |
| SPR84-92 | ZPPAUP June 7, 2004 | Still being drawn up |
| SPR84-93 | ZPPAUP March 30, 2010 | Still being drawn up |
| SPR84-94 | AVAP June 6, 2016 | AVAP (heritage area rules) June 6, 2016 |
| SPR84-95 | AVAP June 6, 2016 | AVAP (heritage area rules) March 28, 2024 |
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
Saint-Étienne’s list has grown since 1930
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
2002 · 6
192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1930: Château de Rochetaillée (restes). 6 were protected in 2002 alone. 6 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
92 people born in Saint-Étienne before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Jean-Louis Alléon-Dulac
Claude Fauriel
Victor Thiollière
Eugène Flotard
Jean Francisque Coignet
Francis Garnier
Jules Garnier
Lucie Grange
Jules Roche
Abraham Schrameck
Louis Huvey
Jacques-Victor-Marius Rouchouse
Pierre Adolphe Valette
Jean Baptiste Chaleyé
Émilie Charmy
Julienne Paroli
Eugène Pons
Gaston Vidal
Georges Giraud
André Delorme
170017501800185019001950
JL
Jean-Louis Alléon-Dulac1723–1788 · French naturalist
CF
Claude Fauriel1772–1844 · French historian, philologist and critic
VT
Victor Thiollière1801–1859 · French civil engineer, geologist and paleontologist
EF
Eugène Flotard1821–1910 · French politician
JF
Jean Francisque Coignet1835–1902 · French engineer
FG
Francis Garnier1839–1873 · French Navy officer
JG
Jules Garnier1839–1904 · French mining engineer (1839-1904) and discoverer of New Caledonian n…
LG
Lucie Grange1839–1908 · French medium, feminist prophet, newspaper founder/editor
Everyone born in Saint-Étienne Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Saint-Étienne
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Étienne | 173,136 | 40 | 2 | Yes |
| La Ricamarie | 8,039 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Jean-Bonnefonds | 6,563 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Villars | 7,664 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Priest-en-Jarez | 6,471 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Genest-Lerpt | 6,181 | 0 | 0 | — |
| La Talaudière | 7,133 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Saint-Étienne in brief
Saint-Étienne has 40 historic monuments, 2 of them classé. 2 of its monuments, Immeuble, dit Chalet de Bizillon among them, carry the Architecture contemporaine remarquable label. Jean-Louis Alléon-Dulac (1723), Claude Fauriel (1772) and Victor Thiollière (1801) are among the 92 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: it has 40 historic monuments, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 65); per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns; and 7.4% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
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 Saint-Étienne
How many historic monuments are there in Saint-Étienne?
The Culture ministry lists 40 historic monuments in Saint-Étienne: 2 classé and 38 inscrit.
Which monuments in Saint-Étienne are classé?
2, among them Maison dite de François Ier and Monument aux morts.
How old are the monuments of Saint-Étienne?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Saint-Étienne a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Saint-Étienne is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Saint-Étienne first protected?
The first in 1930, the latest in 2025.
How old are the homes in Saint-Étienne?
7.4% 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 8, 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.