ClasséChâteau · protected 1996Domaine du château de Tourlaville (également sur commune de La Glacerie)Photo: Julien.scavini · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Statue de Napoléon Ier, à Octeville · Photo: JMEnault_Ville de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin · CC BY-SA 4.036historic monuments
History of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin · Monuments historiques
36 historic monuments, 12 classé
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin has 4.6 monuments for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 67% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. Cherbourg-en-Cotentin’s oldest monuments date from the 12th century. 23 of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin’s monuments are in our photos.
Monuments historiques
36
4.6 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
12
the highest protection
Inscrit
23
the second level
Oldest part
12th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
9.3%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in 23 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Fort de Querqueville, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgClassé
Ancienne église abbatiale Notre-Dame du VoeuClassé
Fort de l’île Pelée, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgClassé
Fort Central de la digue du LargeClassé
Domaine du château de Tourlaville (également sur commune de La Glacerie)Classé+18See 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 Cherbourg-en-Cotentin’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.
36 monuments by protection
12 Classé23 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. 15 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
12 classé monuments in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 5 of the 12 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséMilitary building · protected 2021Fort de l’île Pelée, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMilitary building · protected 2021Fort de Querqueville, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Thesupermat · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMilitary building · protected 2021Fort Central de la digue du LargePart of the building is protectedPhoto: User:Thbz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMilitary building · protected 2021Fort de l’Ouest de la digue du LargePart of the building is protectedPhoto: User:Thbz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 2008Statue de Napoléon Ier, à OctevillePhoto: JMEnault_Ville de Cherbourg-en-Cotentin · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTheater · protected 1984Théâtre municipalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: User:Thbz · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 2002Ancienne église abbatiale Notre-Dame du VoeuPhoto: Raimond Spekking · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 1909Porte de l'ancienne église abbatiale de Notre-Dame du Voeu
Monument · protected 1995Batterie d'artillerie du Roule
Military building · protected 1995Rampe de lancement de V1 de Brécourt
Inscrit
24 inscrit monuments in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
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.
All 23, A to Z
Ancien Hôtel AtlantiqueAncienne gare maritimeAncienne redoute des CoupletsAncienne redoute du TôtBasilique Sainte-TrinitéDigue de Collignon, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgDigue de Querqueville, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgDigue du Large, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgDomaine de Nacqueville (également sur commune d'Urville-Nacqueville)Domaine du château de TourlavilleDomaine Emmanuel LiaisÉglise Notre-Dame du Voeu, à OctevilleFort de Chavagnac, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgFort de l’Est, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgFort des Flamands, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de CherbourgHôtel de l'ancienne DouaneHôtel de villeJardin botanique de la Roche FauconnièreManoir de la CoquerieManoir de la FieffePoste de commandement de la Kriegsmarine du port de CherbourgStatue de Briqueville ou monument à Armand de Briqueville, à OctevilleStatue de Jean-François Millet dans le jardin public, à Octeville
1 more, named only by its kind
One more is named in the list only by its kind: 1 other.
What’s protected
Military buildings are the largest group in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Military & fortified14
Houses & homes6
Religious buildings5
Public & civic3
Tombs & cemeteries3
Bridges & engineering1
Shops & trade1
Military & fortified: 14 of 36 monuments (39%). 5 are religious buildings, 2 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 3 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Cherbourg-en-Cotentin’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.2
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution7
19th century 1801–190018
20th century and later since 19014
2 of 31 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Porte de l'ancienne église abbatiale de Notre-Dame du Voeu (12th–19th c.). 5 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
10 of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin’s monuments were protected in 2021
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
2021 · 10
186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1862: Chapelle Saint-Germain. 10 were protected in 2021 alone. 12 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
65 people born in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Jean Nicolet
François Bouillon
Nicolas d'Orange des Roches
Gilles Le Hédois
Aimable-Gilles Troude
Thomas Henry
Lizinska de Mirbel
Louis Adolphe Bonard
Allyre Bureau
Joachim Menant
Emmanuel Liais
Georges Sorel
Emma Herland
Henry Moret
Albert Mahieu
Antoine Baucheron de Boissoudy
Louis Maurin
Victor Grignard
Lortac
Georges Ronin
155016001650170017501800185019001950
JN
Jean Nicolet1598–1642 · French explorer & independent fur-trader (Born: C.E.1598—Demised: C.E…
AG
Aimable-Gilles Troude1762–1824 · French military
TH
Thomas Henry1766–1836 · French painter and patron of the arts
LM
Lizinska de Mirbel1796–1849 · French miniaturist
LA
Louis Adolphe Bonard1805–1867 · French admiral
AB
Allyre Bureau1810–1859 · French politician, writer, translator, journalist and composer
JM
Joachim Menant1820–1899 · French magistrate and orientalist
EL
Emmanuel Liais1826–1900 · French astronomer, botanist and explorer
Everyone born in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin has the 8th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 65,500 to 94,000 residents, by historic monuments.
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin36
#8 of 41for monuments per resident (4.6 per 10,000). Most per resident: La Rochelle, Avignon and Versailles.
The median town of these has 6.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cherbourg-en-Cotentin | 78,258 | 36 | 12 | — |
| La Hague | 11,484 | 19 | 4 | — |
| Valognes | 6,969 | 15 | 3 | — |
| Bricquebec-en-Cotentin | 5,893 | 3 | 2 | — |
| Les Pieux | 3,249 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Cherbourg-en-Cotentin in brief
The record in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin starts with Porte de l'ancienne église abbatiale de Notre-Dame du Voeu, which dates from the 12th century. In all there are 36 historic monuments, 12 of them classé, including Statue de Napoléon Ier, à Octeville. Only 7 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the 31 with a date, 18 come from the 19th century.
Of the 65 people born here before 1900, the best known include Jean Nicolet (1598), Aimable-Gilles Troude (1762) and Thomas Henry (1766). 2 of its monuments, Domaine de Nacqueville (également sur commune d'Urville-Nacqueville) among them, carry the Jardin remarquable label. 3 of its monuments are in the Renaissance style. The rest is about typical: per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns; and 9.3% 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 Cherbourg-en-Cotentin
How many historic monuments are there in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin?
The Culture ministry lists 36 historic monuments in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin: 12 classé and 23 inscrit.
Which monuments in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin are classé?
12, among them Porte de l'ancienne église abbatiale de Notre-Dame du Voeu, Domaine du château de Tourlaville (également sur commune de La Glacerie), Fort de l’île Pelée, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de Cherbourg, Fort de Querqueville, ouvrage constitutif de la rade de Cherbourg, Fort Central de la digue du Large and Fort de l’Ouest de la digue du Large.
How old are the monuments of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
When were monuments in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2024.
How old are the homes in Cherbourg-en-Cotentin?
9.3% 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.