ClasséChapel · protected 1973Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-NeigesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Neiges · Photo: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 3.07historic monuments
History of Gourdon · Monuments historiques
7 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2020
The Culture ministry lists 7 historic monuments in Gourdon: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 4 inscrit (the second level). That’s 17 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 93% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 9th century. We have photos of 6 of them.
Monuments historiques
7
17 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
3
the highest protection
Inscrit
4
the second level
Oldest part
9th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
16%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Gourdon in 6 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Église Saint-PierreClassé
Maison CavaignacClassé
Maison du sénéchalInscrit
Église des CordeliersInscrit
Tour-pigeonnier de LabioInscrit+1See 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
Gourdon has had a protected historic area since 2020
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR76-69 | AVAP March 9, 2020 | AVAP (heritage area rules) March 9, 2020 |
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 Gourdon’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.
7 monuments by protection
3 Classé4 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
3 classé monuments in Gourdon
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 3 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChurch · protected 1906Église Saint-PierrePhoto: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1929Maison CavaignacPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Thierry46 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
4 inscrit monuments in Gourdon
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
InscritDovecote · protected 2012Tour-pigeonnier de LabioPhoto: Michel Chanaud · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChurch · protected 2021Église de Prouillhac
How old
How old Gourdon’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.6
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution1
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19010
6 of 7 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Église de Prouillhac (9th–19th c.).
Age of homes
16% of homes in Gourdon were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
16%
Before 1919
6.6%
1919–45
21%
1946–70
31%
1971–90
12%
1991–2005
13%
2006 on
GourdonMedian compared French town
16% 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
6 people born in Gourdon before 1900
Their lives on one line.
François Marie Louis Barrairon
Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac de Lalande
Antoine Baptiste Aymare de Camy
Pierre Pélissier
Augustin Cabanès
Jules Lafforgue
170017501800185019001950
PP
Pierre Pélissier1814–1863 · French poet
AC
Augustin Cabanès1862–1928 · French doctor, historian and writer
FM
François Marie Louis Barrairon1746–1820 · French politician
JB
Jean-Baptiste Cavaignac de Lalande1765–1845 · French sub-prefect and politician
AB
Antoine Baptiste Aymare de Camy1774–1834 · French politician
JL
Jules Lafforgue1873–1947 · French poet
Everyone born in Gourdon Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Gourdon has the 4th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 4,200 to 4,200 residents, by historic monuments.
Gourdon7
#5 of 41for monuments per resident (17 per 10,000). Most per resident: Carnac, Rouffach and Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.
The median town of these has 2. 8 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Gourdon
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gourdon | 4,206 | 7 | 3 | Yes |
| Souillac | 3,192 | 6 | 3 | — |
| Sarlat-la-Canéda Dordogne | 8,763 | 74 | 19 | Yes |
| Gramat | 3,512 | 4 | 1 | — |
In brief
Gourdon in brief
For its size, Gourdon has more historic monuments than 93% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 7 historic monuments, 3 of them classé, including Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Neiges. Of its homes, 16% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Only 3 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2020. Most of its dated monuments come from the Middle Ages: 6 of 7. The oldest, Église de Prouillhac, dates from the 9th century. The rest is about typical: most entries are churches and religious buildings; and the list grew between 1906 and 2021.
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 Gourdon
How many historic monuments are there in Gourdon?
The Culture ministry lists 7 historic monuments in Gourdon: 3 classé and 4 inscrit.
Which monuments in Gourdon are classé?
3, among them Chapelle Notre-Dame-des-Neiges, Église Saint-Pierre and Maison Cavaignac.
How old are the monuments of Gourdon?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 9th century.
Is Gourdon a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Gourdon has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2020.
When were monuments in Gourdon first protected?
The first in 1906, the latest in 2021.
How old are the homes in Gourdon?
16% 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.