Ancien collège Champollion, ancien séminaire · Photo: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0

27historic monuments

History of Figeac · Monuments historiques

A secteur sauvegardé since 1986, and 27 historic monuments

The Culture ministry lists 27 historic monuments in Figeac: 8 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 19 inscrit (the second level). That’s 28 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 97% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 12th century. We have photos of 24 of them.

8classé 1986protected area 12th c.oldest part 1840first protected

Monuments historiques

28 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5

Classé

the highest protection

Inscrit

the second level

Oldest part

12th c.

of any listed monument

Homes before 1919

18%

median compared town 7.4%

In pictures

Figeac in 24 photos

Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.

Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-PitiéClassé

Hôtel des MonnaiesClassé

Église Saint-SauveurClassé

Remparts de la villeClassé

ImmeubleClassé+19See all photos

Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.

Protected area

Figeac has had a protected historic area since 1986

Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.

Area	Created as	Plan in force
SPR76-70	Secteur sauvegardé March 11, 1986	PSMV (safeguarding plan) December 3, 1999

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. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.

The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.

Map

Where Figeac’s monuments stand

Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.

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

8 classé monuments in Figeac

Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 8 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.

Church · protected 1916Église Notre-Dame-du-PuyPhoto: Thérèse Gaigé · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Church · protected 1840Église Saint-SauveurPhoto: Dr Brains · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Chapel · protected 1840Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-PitiéPhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Monument · protected 1840Deux obélisques ou aiguillesPhoto: Thierry46 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Town walls · protected 1995Remparts de la villePhoto: Dr Brains · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Public building · protected 1862Hôtel des MonnaiesPhoto: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

School · protected 1934Ancien collège Champollion, ancien séminairePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Building · protected 1991Immeuble, 39 à 43 rue GambettaPhoto: DEPRUN · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Inscrit

19 inscrit monuments in Figeac

Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.

All 19, A to Z

Château de Ceint-d'Eau Demeure, 47 rue Gambetta Église des Carmes ou église Saint-Thomas-Becket Ensemble immobilier dit la Viguerie ou Hôtel du Viguier Hôpital, 33 rue des Maquisards Hôtel d'Arnaldy ou de Monsembernard Hôtel de Balène ou Château Balène Hôtel de Laporte Îlot Séguier Maison gothique Maison médiévale Maison médiévale Maison médiévale Maison natale de Champollion, actuellement musée Champollion Maison Sisteron Maison, 1 rue de Balène Maison, 1 rue Ortabadial Monument aux morts Pigeonnier du manoir d'Etempes

4 more, named only by their kind

4 more are named in the list only by their kind: 2 houses (maisons) and 2 others, most from the 12th century. The 4 with an address are in the list above, by it.

12th c.1

15th c.1

17th c.1

18th c.1

See all 27 on the map

What’s protected

Most of Figeac’s monuments are houses and homes

Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.

Houses & homes16

Religious buildings4

Public & civic3

Tombs & cemeteries2

Military & fortified1

Farm buildings1

Houses & homes: 16 of 27 monuments (59%). 4 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.

Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.

How old

How old Figeac’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.16

16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution8

19th century 1801–19000

20th century and later since 19011

16 of 25 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Église Notre-Dame-du-Puy (12th–17th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.

When protected

Figeac’s list has grown since 1840

Monuments by the year they were first protected.

1840186018801900192019401960198020002020

First protected, in 1840: Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Pitié, Deux obélisques ou aiguilles and Église Saint-Sauveur. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 4 were protected in 1995 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.

Age of homes

18% of homes in Figeac were built before 1919

Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).

18%

Before 1919

6.9%

1919–45

23%

1946–70

26%

1971–90

15%

1991–2005

12%

2006 on

FigeacMedian compared French town

18% 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 (26%).

INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.

Born before 1900

15 people born in Figeac before 1900

Their lives on one line.

Guillaume Joseph Boutaric

Jacques-Joseph Champollion

Joseph Servières

Jean-François Champollion

Pierre-Célestin Roux-Lavergne

Joseph-Martial Mouly

Louis Vival

Edmond Albe

Victor Delbos

Jules Cels-Couybes

Joseph Loubet

Étienne Becays

Louis Malvy

Henri Teyssedou

Charles Boyer

175017751800182518501875190019251950

Jacques-Joseph Champollion1778–1867 · French archaeologist and librarian

Joseph Servières1781–1826 · French playwright

Jean-François Champollion1790–1832 · French classical scholar

Victor Delbos1862–1916 · French historian and philosopher

Louis Malvy1875–1949 · French politician

Henri Teyssedou1889–1967 · long-distance runner

Charles Boyer1899–1978 · French actor

Guillaume Joseph Boutaric1756– · French politician

Everyone born in Figeac Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.

Towns its size

Figeac has the most monuments of 41 towns its size

Compared French towns of 9,600 to 10,000 residents, by historic monuments.

Figeac27

Mézidon Vallée d'Auge20

Bernay11

Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire8

Saint-Amand-Montrond8

#1 of 41for monuments per resident (28 per 10,000). Most per resident: Figeac, Mézidon Vallée d'Auge and Bernay.

The median town of these has 2. 13 of the 41 have none.

Neighbors

Historic monuments in the towns around Figeac

Town	Residents	Monuments	Classé	Protected area
Figeac	9,793	27	8	Yes
Capdenac-Gare Aveyron	4,440	1	0	—
Decazeville Aveyron	5,020	7	0	—
Aubin Aveyron	3,444	5	1	—
Villefranche-de-Rouergue Aveyron	11,271	31	24	Yes

In brief

Figeac in brief

Figeac’s old center has been a secteur sauvegardé, the strictest protection France gives a historic town, since 1986. In all there are 27 historic monuments, 8 of them classé, including Ancien collège Champollion, ancien séminaire. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 97% of compared French towns. No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population.

Of its homes, 18% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Église Notre-Dame-du-Puy sits at the heart of it all, with 6 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Maison natale de Champollion, actuellement musée Champollion is one of the Maisons des Illustres, the homes of people who left their mark on France.

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 Figeac

How many historic monuments are there in Figeac?

The Culture ministry lists 27 historic monuments in Figeac: 8 classé and 19 inscrit.

Which monuments in Figeac are classé?

8, among them Église Notre-Dame-du-Puy, Église Saint-Sauveur, Chapelle Notre-Dame-de-Pitié, Deux obélisques ou aiguilles, Remparts de la ville and Hôtel des Monnaies.

How old are the monuments of Figeac?

The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.

Is Figeac a protected historic area?

Yes: part of Figeac has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1986.

When were monuments in Figeac first protected?

The first in 1840, the latest in 2021.

How old are the homes in Figeac?

18% 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.