ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1889Alignement du MénecPhoto: Steffen Heilfort · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Restes de cromlech · Photo: Poulpy · CC BY-SA 3.072historic monuments
History of Carnac · Monuments historiques
72 historic monuments, more per resident than almost any compared French town
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2020. The Culture ministry lists 72 historic monuments in Carnac: 61 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 11 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from prehistory. We have photos of 36 of them.
Monuments historiques
72
172 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
61
the highest protection
Inscrit
11
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
6.5%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Carnac in 36 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Tumulus dit du Manio, quadrilatère et menhir de ManioClassé
Dolmen de BeaumerClassé
Restes de cromlechClassé
Premier dolmen à galerie avec la base de son tumulusClassé
Alignement du MénecClassé+31See 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
Carnac has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 4,200 to 4,200 residents, by historic monuments.
Carnac72
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (172 per 10,000). Most per resident: Carnac, Sées and Courpière.
The median town of these has 1. 9 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Carnac’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Trois menhirs alignés
7 of 61classé monuments stand within 400 m of Trois menhirs alignés, with 8 of the town’s 72 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
72 monuments by protection
61 Classé11 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. 4 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
61 classé monuments in Carnac
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1889Alignement et dolmen de KerlescanPhoto: Myrabella · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1889Alignement et dolmen de KermarioPhoto: Gerhard Haubold · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséDolmen · protected 1929Deuxième dolmen à galerie, dit Er-Roch-VrasPhoto: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséDolmen · protected 1926Dolmen à galerie de Mané-BrisilPhoto: Tsaag Valren · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséDolmen · protected 1929Dolmen de Cruz-MenquenPhoto: Simon de l'Ouest · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséDolmen · protected 1889Dolmen de Kluder-YerPhoto: Oudshoff- Xvdvoort · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséDolmen · protected 1889Dolmen de Roch-FeutetPhoto: L’auteur n’a pas pu être identifié automatiquement. Il est supposé qu'il s'agit de : Stevage (étant donné la revendication de droit d’auteur). · CC BY 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséStanding stone · protected 1889Menhir de KergoPhoto: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséStanding stone · protected 1889Menhir de KerluhirPhoto: Tsaag Valren · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséStanding stone · protected 1889Menhir du bourg de CarnacPhoto: Tsaag Valren · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséStanding stone · protected 1886Menhirs de KerderffPhoto: Joseph Déchelette (1862-1914) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséDolmen · protected 1931Premier dolmen à galerie avec la base de son tumulusPhoto: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1939Quatre-vingt-deux menhirs alignésPhoto: Pinpin 17:43, 1 August 2006 (UTC) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1928Restes de cromlechPhoto: Yann Gwilhoù · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1929Restes de cromlechPhoto: Poulpy · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1926Restes de cromlechPhoto: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1929Sépulture circulaire dite de Toul-PriPhoto: James Miln · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Standing stone · protected 1923Six menhirs de l'enceinte du MénecPhoto: Steffen Heilfort · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Show the other 37
ClasséBurial mound · protected 1931Tertre tumulaire et menhir deboutPhoto: Moreau.henri · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBurial mound · protected 1889Tumulus à menhir du Moustoir-CarnacPhoto: Petro · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBurial mound · protected 1889Tumulus à trois dolmens de Mané-KérionedPhoto: L’auteur n’a pas pu être identifié automatiquement. Il est supposé qu'il s'agit de : Alreen~commonswiki (étant donné la revendication de droit d’auteur). · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBurial mound · protected 1900Tumulus de CrucunyPhoto: XIIIfromTOKYO · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBurial mound · protected 1900Tumulus dit du Manio, quadrilatère et menhir de ManioPhoto: Maarten Heerlien from Voorschoten, The Netherlands · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBurial mound · protected 1923Tumulus-dolmen de KercadoPhoto: Gerhard Haubold · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBurial mound · protected 1889Tumulus-dolmen du Mont-Saint-MichelPhoto: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséDolmen · protected 1933Chambre dolménique et menhir
Funerary monument · protected 1940Cinq menhirs alignés
Standing stone · protected 1940Cinq menhirs alignés
Dolmen · protected 1928Deux dolmens à galerie de Kerlagade
Funerary monument · protected 1933Deux lechs
Standing stone · protected 1931Deux menhirs
Standing stone · protected 1940Deux menhirs alignés
Funerary monument · protected 1940Dix menhirs alignés et le tertre tumulaire
Dolmen · protected 1928Dolmen à galerie de Coët-à-Tous (Mané-Grageux)
Dolmen · protected 1929Dolmen de Kerdrain avec la base de son tumulus
Dolmen · protected 1923Dolmen de Mané-Bras, dit Roh-Vras
Dolmen · protected 1933Dolmen dit Er-Roh
Dolmen · protected 1933Dolmen et menhir
Funerary monument · protected 1940Huit menhirs alignés
Standing stone · protected 1886Menhir de Crifol
Standing stone · protected 1929Menhir dit Er-Roh
Standing stone · protected 1926Menhir dit Rohec
Standing stone · protected 1926Menhir du Moustoir (Parc-et-Mané)
Burial mound · protected 1938Tertre tumulaire et les trois menhirs couchés
Standing stone · protected 1940Trois menhirs alignés
Burial mound · protected 1933Tumulus à double dolmen d'Er-Rohellec
Burial mound · protected 1927Tumulus à double dolmen dit Er-Voten-de-Mané-Lavarec
Burial mound · protected 1931Tumulus avec coffre de pierre à Lann-Vras
Burial mound · protected 1928Tumulus circulaires
Monument · protected 1933Bains romains de la fontaine de Légenèse
Monument · protected 1945Habitation gauloise
Burial mound · protected 1931Tumulus
Inscrit
11 inscrit monuments in Carnac
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
Inscrit
InscritCross · protected 1937Croix du Hanhon
Dolmen · protected 2023Dolmen de la Croix Audran
Dolmen · protected 2023Dolmen de Nautério
Funerary monument · protected 2023Ensemble mégalithique de Mézerma
Funerary monument · protected 2023Ensemble mégalithique de Quéric-la-Lande
Burial mound · protected 2023Tumulus de Mané Hui
Cross · protected 1927Croix monolithe de Coët-à-Tous
Public building · protected 1984Trois anciens greniers à sel du BrénoPart of the building is protected
What’s protected
Most of Carnac’s monuments are tombs and cemeteries
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Tombs & cemeteries61
Religious buildings5
Bridges & engineering2
Military & fortified1
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries: 61 of 72 monuments (85%). 5 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Carnac’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.65
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.0
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution5
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
65 of 71 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Alignement du Ménec (Prehistory). 1 monument has no date on the list.
Protected area
Carnac 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 |
|---|---|---|
| SPR53-71 | AVAP February 14, 2020 | AVAP (heritage area rules) February 14, 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.
When protected
Carnac’s list has grown since 1886
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1889 · 131929 · 9
18801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1886: Menhir de Crifol and Menhirs de Kerderff. 13 were protected in 1889 alone. 5 have been added since 2011.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Carnac
In brief
Carnac in brief
Alignement du Ménec, from prehistory, is the oldest monument in Carnac. All told, the list holds 72 historic monuments, 61 of them classé, including Restes de cromlech. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 99% of compared French towns. Quatre-vingt-deux menhirs alignés and other monuments here are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population. Trois menhirs alignés sits at the heart of it all, with 7 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2020. The rest is about typical: Joseph Le Rouzic (1863) and Alphonse Rio (1873) were born here before 1900; and 6.5% 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 Carnac
How many historic monuments are there in Carnac?
The Culture ministry lists 72 historic monuments in Carnac: 61 classé and 11 inscrit.
Which monuments in Carnac are classé?
61, among them Alignement du Ménec, Alignement et dolmen de Kerlescan, Alignement et dolmen de Kermario, Chambre dolménique et menhir, Cinq menhirs alignés and Cinq menhirs alignés.
How old are the monuments of Carnac?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Carnac a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Carnac has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2020.
When were monuments in Carnac first protected?
The first in 1886, the latest in 2023.
How old are the homes in Carnac?
6.5% 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.