ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1892Sépulture circulaire de l'âge du ferPhoto: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Sépulture circulaire de l'âge du fer · Photo: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 4.019historic monuments
History of Pontivy · Monuments historiques
19 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 1993. The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Pontivy: 5 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 14 inscrit (the second level). That’s 13 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 90% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 19 of them.
Monuments historiques
19
13 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
5
the highest protection
Inscrit
14
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
8.9%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Pontivy in 19 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Château de RohanClassé
Église Saint-Mériadec-de-StivalClassé
Maison du 16e siècle dite rendez-vous de chasse des RohanClassé
Chapelle Sainte-TréphineClassé
Ancien château de la Villeneuve, dit ferme du Gros ChêneInscrit+14See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
How old
How old Pontivy’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.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution10
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19010
4 of 17 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Sépulture circulaire de l'âge du fer (Prehistory). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Pontivy’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.
19 monuments by protection
5 Classé14 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
5 classé monuments in Pontivy
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 5 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChâteau · protected 1925Château de RohanPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Thérèse Gaigé · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1933Église Saint-Mériadec-de-StivalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Lanzonnet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHome · protected 1930Maison du 16e siècle dite rendez-vous de chasse des RohanPart of the building is protectedPhoto: B25es · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséInscrit
14 inscrit monuments in Pontivy
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 14, A to Z
Ancien château de la Villeneuve, dit ferme du Gros ChêneAncien théâtreCaserne ClissonChapelle de la HoussayeCroix de la HoussayeÉglise Notre-Dame-de-la-JoieÉglise Saint-JosephFontaine de Saint-Mériadec à StivalMagasin à fourragesMaison des Trois-PiliersMaison, 10 rue du PontMaison, 12 rue du PontMaison, 4 rue du FilMaison, 6 rue du Fil
4 more, named only by their kind
4 more are named in the list only by their kind: 4 houses (maisons), most from the 15th century. The 4 with an address are in the list above, by it.
15th c.2
16th c.1
undated1
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Pontivy
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes8
Religious buildings6
Military & fortified1
Public & civic1
Tombs & cemeteries1
Bridges & engineering1
Farm buildings1
Houses & homes: 8 of 19 monuments (42%). 6 are religious buildings, 2 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
Protected area
Pontivy has had a protected historic area since 1993
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR53-80 | ZPPAUP December 1, 1993 | AVAP (heritage area rules) October 6, 2014 |
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
6 of Pontivy’s monuments were protected in 1933
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1933 · 6
18801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1892: Sépulture circulaire de l'âge du fer. 6 were protected in 1933 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
14 people born in Pontivy before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Toussaint Brelivet
Colomban Louis d'Haucourt
Victor Guépin
Michel, Pierre Laudren
Benjamin Jan de La Gillardaie
Émile Le Puillon de Boblaye
Théodore Le Puillon de Boblaye
Ange Guépin
Frédéric Henri Le Normand de Lourmel
Paul Lotz
Pierre-Louis Cadre
France Darget Savarit
Joachim Le Botmel
Jean Robic
170017501800185019001950
FD
France Darget Savarit1886–1965 · French writer
TB
Toussaint Brelivet1743–1805 · French politician
CL
Colomban Louis d'Haucourt1755–1829 · French politician
VG
Victor Guépin1764–1818 · French politician
MP
Michel, Pierre Laudren1766–1845 · French politician
BJ
Benjamin Jan de La Gillardaie1789–1852 · French politician
ÉL
Émile Le Puillon de Boblaye1792–1843 · French politician
TL
Théodore Le Puillon de Boblaye1795–1857 · French politician and officer
Everyone born in Pontivy Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Pontivy has the 4th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 14,200 to 15,100 residents, by historic monuments.
Pontivy19
#4 of 41for monuments per resident (13 per 10,000). Most per resident: Dinan, Bar-le-Duc and Saint-Omer.
The median town of these has 2. 8 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Pontivy
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pontivy | 14,640 | 19 | 5 | Yes |
| Noyal-Pontivy | 3,606 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Cléguérec | 2,885 | 3 | 0 | — |
| Pluméliau-Bieuzy | 4,632 | 11 | 4 | — |
| Évellys | 3,379 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Guerlédan Côtes-d'Armor | 2,532 | 6 | 4 | — |
| Moréac | 3,704 | 2 | 0 | — |
In brief
Pontivy in brief
The record in Pontivy starts with Sépulture circulaire de l'âge du fer, which dates from prehistory. All told, the list holds 19 historic monuments, 5 of them classé, including Sépulture circulaire de l'âge du fer. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 90% of compared French towns. Only 3 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1993. Most of its dated monuments come from the 16th to 18th centuries: 10 of 17. France Darget Savarit (1886), Toussaint Brelivet (1743) and Colomban Louis d'Haucourt (1755) are among the 14 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: 8.9% 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 Pontivy
How many historic monuments are there in Pontivy?
The Culture ministry lists 19 historic monuments in Pontivy: 5 classé and 14 inscrit.
Which monuments in Pontivy are classé?
5, among them Sépulture circulaire de l'âge du fer, Château de Rohan, Église Saint-Mériadec-de-Stival, Maison du 16e siècle dite rendez-vous de chasse des Rohan and Chapelle Sainte-Tréphine.
How old are the monuments of Pontivy?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Pontivy a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Pontivy has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1993.
When were monuments in Pontivy first protected?
The first in 1892, the latest in 2018.
How old are the homes in Pontivy?
8.9% 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.