ClasséStanding stone · protected 1889Menhir dit la Dame SchonnePhoto: Alfri · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Maison du Roi · Photo: Lorraine.Agostini · CC BY-SA 3.016historic monuments
History of Saint-Mihiel · Monuments historiques
16 historic monuments, more per resident than 99% of compared French towns
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2021. The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Saint-Mihiel: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 10 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from prehistory. We have photos of 11 of them.
Monuments historiques
16
42 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
6
the highest protection
Inscrit
10
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
16%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Saint-Mihiel in 11 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne abbayeClassé
Menhir dit la Dame SchonneClassé
église Saint-ÉtienneClassé
Maison de Ligier-RichierClassé
Ancien Hôtel de Faillonnet ou maison des gargouillesClassé+6See 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
Saint-Mihiel has the 4th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 3,700 to 3,800 residents, by historic monuments.
Saint-Mihiel16
#5 of 41for monuments per resident (42 per 10,000). Most per resident: Brantôme en Périgord, Bouxwiller and Sospel.
The median town of these has 1. 10 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Saint-Mihiel’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Ancienne abbaye
4 of 6classé monuments stand within 400 m of Ancienne abbaye, with 11 of the town’s 16 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
16 monuments by protection
6 Classé10 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
6 classé monuments in Saint-Mihiel
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 4 of the 6 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséHouse · protected 1913Maison du RoiPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Lorraine.Agostini · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1927Ancien Hôtel de Faillonnet ou maison des gargouillesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Lorraine.Agostini · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséAbbey · protected 1975Ancienne abbayePart of the building is protectedPhoto: François BERNARDIN · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1907église Saint-ÉtiennePhoto: Lorraine.Agostini · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1921Maison de Ligier-RichierPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Lorraine.Agostini · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
10 inscrit monuments in Saint-Mihiel
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritConvent · protected 1989Couvent des Minimes (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Garitan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 1995Ancien Hôtel de Rouyn, dit Hôtel de RozièresPhoto: Lorraine.Agostini · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritBuilding · protected 1984Immeuble dit Café des ArcadesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Garitan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 1992Hôtel de Gondrecourt (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Garitan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown hall · protected 1926Hôtel de villePart of the building is protected
Barracks · protected 1929Quartier Colson-BlaisePart of the building is protected
House · protected 1926Maison, 8bis rue CarnotPart of the building is protected
House · protected 2002Maison, 17 rue Porte-à-MetzPart of the building is protected
House · protected 1926Maison, 8 rue Raymond-PoincaréPart of the building is protected
What’s protected
Most of Saint-Mihiel’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes9
Religious buildings3
Public & civic2
Military & fortified1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Houses & homes: 9 of 16 monuments (56%). 3 are religious buildings, 2 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old
How old Saint-Mihiel’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.2
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution10
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19010
3 of 13 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Menhir dit la Dame Schonne (Prehistory). 3 monuments have no date on the list.
Protected area
Saint-Mihiel has had a protected historic area since 2021
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR44-53 | – November 17, 2021 | – |
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-Mihiel’s list has grown since 1889
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
18801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1889: Menhir dit la Dame Schonne. 3 were protected in 1926 alone. None has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
16% of homes in Saint-Mihiel were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
16%
Before 1919
24%
1919–45
22%
1946–70
28%
1971–90
6.1%
1991–2005
4.4%
2006 on
Saint-MihielMedian 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 (28%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
18 people born in Saint-Mihiel before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Nicolas Cordier
Jacob Richier
Jean Bérain père
Benoît de Maillet
Jean Joseph Marquis
Claude Hubert Bazoche
Henri Jean-Baptiste de Bousmard de Chantereine
Chrétien Alexandre De Moÿ
Dominique Christophe Bazoche
Pierre Joseph Vallée
Laurent Leclerc
Charles Louis Benoit
Hippolyte Maury
Nicolas Lebel
Jean de Bertier de Sauvigny
Léon Millot
Robert Thiéry
Jeanne Leleu
155016001650170017501800185019001950
NC
Nicolas Cordier1567–1612 · French artist
JB
Jean Bérain père1640–1711 · French artist
BM
Benoît de Maillet1656–1738 · French naturalists, biologist and diplomat
NL
Nicolas Lebel1838–1891 · French designer
JB
Jean de Bertier de Sauvigny1877–1926 · French officer and politician
JL
Jeanne Leleu1898–1979 · French composer
JR
Jacob Richier1586–1640 · French sculptor
JJ
Jean Joseph Marquis1747–1822 · French politician
Everyone born in Saint-Mihiel Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Saint-Mihiel
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Mihiel | 3,772 | 16 | 6 | Yes |
| Commercy | 5,350 | 9 | 5 | Yes |
| Ligny-en-Barrois | 3,677 | 7 | 1 | — |
In brief
Saint-Mihiel in brief
The record in Saint-Mihiel starts with Menhir dit la Dame Schonne, which dates from prehistory. All told, the list holds 16 historic monuments, 6 of them classé, including Maison du Roi. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 99% of compared French towns. Of its homes, 16% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Its classé monuments cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Ancienne abbaye. Only 3 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 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 Saint-Mihiel
How many historic monuments are there in Saint-Mihiel?
The Culture ministry lists 16 historic monuments in Saint-Mihiel: 6 classé and 10 inscrit.
Which monuments in Saint-Mihiel are classé?
6, among them Menhir dit la Dame Schonne, Maison du Roi, Ancien Hôtel de Faillonnet ou maison des gargouilles, Ancienne abbaye, église Saint-Étienne and Maison de Ligier-Richier.
How old are the monuments of Saint-Mihiel?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Saint-Mihiel a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Saint-Mihiel has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2021.
When were monuments in Saint-Mihiel first protected?
The first in 1889, the latest in 2002.
How old are the homes in Saint-Mihiel?
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 9, 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.