ClasséChapel · protected 1982Ancienne chapelle du Saint-Esprit, puis caserne DuguesclinPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Natbastide · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Maison et monument de Cadoudal · Photo: Llann Wé² · CC BY-SA 3.023historic monuments
History of Auray · Monuments historiques
23 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 1998
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Auray: 3 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 20 inscrit (the second level). That’s 16 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 14th century. We have photos of 22 of them.
Monuments historiques
23
16 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
3
the highest protection
Inscrit
20
the second level
Oldest part
14th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
3.8%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Auray in 22 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne chapelle du Saint-Esprit, puis caserne DuguesclinClassé
Église Saint-GildasClassé
MaisonInscrit
Ancien manoir de KerdrainInscrit
Croix de Saint-FiacreInscrit+17See 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
Auray has had a protected historic area since 1998
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR53-70 | ZPPAUP October 23, 1998 | AVAP (heritage area rules) March 27, 2018 |
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 Auray’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.
23 monuments by protection
3 Classé20 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 Auray
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.
Classé
ClasséHouse · protected 1948Maison et monument de CadoudalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Llann Wé² · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
20 inscrit monuments in Auray
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 20, A to Z
Ancien manoir de KerdrainCroix de Saint-FiacreÉglise Saint-GoustanHôtel de villeMaison du 16e siècleMaison, 1 Rue du BelzicMaison, 1 rue du Petit-PortMaison, 1, 3 place Saint-SauveurMaison, 19 place Saint-SauveurMaison, 21 place Saint-SauveurMaison, 22, 28 rue VannierMaison, 23, 25 place de la RépubliqueMaison, 3 rue Saint-RenéMaison, 5 place de la RépubliqueMaison, 5 place Saint-SauveurMaison, 9 rue Saint-RenéMaison, Rue NeuvePetit théâtrePont de Saint-GoustanPrieuré de Saint-Cado
12 more, named only by their kind
12 more are named in the list only by their kind: 12 houses (maisons). The 12 with an address are in the list above, by it.
16th c.1
17th c.1
19th c.1
undated9
What’s protected
Most of Auray’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes15
Religious buildings5
Public & civic2
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 15 of 23 monuments (65%). 5 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 Auray’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.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution9
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19011
3 of 14 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne chapelle du Saint-Esprit, puis caserne Duguesclin (14th c.). 9 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
10 of Auray’s monuments were protected in 1935
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1935 · 10
192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1925: Église Saint-Goustan. 10 were protected in 1935 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
3.8% of homes in Auray were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
3.8%
Before 1919
6.3%
1919–45
13%
1946–70
27%
1971–90
20%
1991–2005
30%
2006 on
AurayMedian compared French town
3.8% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished since 2006 than in any other period (30%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
10 people born in Auray before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Jeanne de Laval
Pierre Le Gouvello de Keriolet
Louis-Marie Coudé
Joachim Renaud
Nicolas Joseph Marie Le Gall
Joseph Martin d'Auray
Arthur de Salins
Auguste Le Guennant
Marie Texier-Lahoulle
Marcel Mettenhoven
1500165018001950
JL
Jeanne de Laval1433–1498 · French noble
AS
Arthur de Salins1857–1936 · French general
AL
Auguste Le Guennant1881–1972 · French composer, organist and music educator
MT
Marie Texier-Lahoulle1889–1972 · French politician
PL
Pierre Le Gouvello de Keriolet1602–1660 · French jurist
LM
Louis-Marie Coudé1752–1822 · French politician
JR
Joachim Renaud1776–1843 · French politician
NJ
Nicolas Joseph Marie Le Gall1787–1860 · French botanist and politician
Everyone born in Auray Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Auray has the 4th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 13,800 to 14,600 residents, by historic monuments.
Auray23
#4 of 41for monuments per resident (16 per 10,000). Most per resident: Pont-à-Mousson, Saint-Omer and Fontenay-le-Comte.
The median town of these has 2. 14 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Auray
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Auray | 14,207 | 23 | 3 | Yes |
| Pluneret | 6,262 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Brech | 7,052 | 6 | 2 | — |
| Sainte-Anne-d'Auray | 2,889 | 4 | 1 | — |
| Crach | 3,423 | 14 | 5 | — |
| Le Bono | 2,608 | 5 | 2 | — |
| Plougoumelen | 2,664 | 3 | 3 | — |
In brief
Auray in brief
Few towns are as rich in historic monuments as Auray: per resident it has more than 93% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 23 historic monuments, 3 of them classé, including Maison et monument de Cadoudal. Only 3 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1998.
Most entries on the list, 65%, are houses and homes. Of the 14 with a date, 9 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. The oldest is Ancienne chapelle du Saint-Esprit, puis caserne Duguesclin, from the 14th century.
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 Auray
How many historic monuments are there in Auray?
The Culture ministry lists 23 historic monuments in Auray: 3 classé and 20 inscrit.
Which monuments in Auray are classé?
3, among them Ancienne chapelle du Saint-Esprit, puis caserne Duguesclin, Église Saint-Gildas and Maison et monument de Cadoudal.
How old are the monuments of Auray?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 14th century.
Is Auray a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Auray has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1998.
When were monuments in Auray first protected?
The first in 1925, the latest in 2016.
How old are the homes in Auray?
3.8% 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.