ClasséMilitary building · protected 1979Citadelle (ancienne)Photo: GFreihalter · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Citadelle (ancienne) · Photo: GFreihalter · CC BY-SA 4.03historic monuments
History of Bitche · Monuments historiques
3 historic monuments, 1 classé
Protection in Bitche began in 1930. The oldest monuments in Bitche date from the 17th century. We have photos of 3 of Bitche’s monuments.
Monuments historiques
3
Classé
1
the highest protection
Inscrit
2
the second level
Oldest part
17th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
8.4%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Monuments of Bitche in pictures
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Photos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Map
Where Bitche’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.
3 monuments by protection
1 Classé2 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
One classé monument in Bitche
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.
Inscrit
2 inscrit monuments in Bitche
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritHospital · protected 1991Hôpital militaire (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown gate · protected 1930Porte de StrasbourgPhoto: Szeder László · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Born before 1900
9 people born in Bitche before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Jean-René Ier de Hanau-Lichtenberg
Marc-Marie de Bombelles
Jacques Louis Saint-Martin
Michel Bizot
Charles Gabriel César Gudin
Alexandre Surell
Jean Baptiste Mangès
Brice Adrien Bizot
Antonin Daum
155016001650170017501800185019001950
JR
Jean-René Ier de Hanau-Lichtenberg1569–1625 · Count of Hanau-Lichtenberg
MM
Marc-Marie de Bombelles1744–1822 · French aristocrat and diplomat
JL
Jacques Louis Saint-Martin1749–1828 · French politician
MB
Michel Bizot1795–1855 · French soldier and officer
CG
Charles Gabriel César Gudin1798–1874 · French politician and officer
AS
Alexandre Surell1813–1887 · French engineer
JB
Jean Baptiste Mangès1836–1918 · Franco-German politician
BA
Brice Adrien Bizot1848–1929 · French soldier
Everyone born in Bitche Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Bitche
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bitche | 4,966 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Niederbronn-les-Bains Bas-Rhin | 4,347 | 3 | 1 | — |
| Ingwiller Bas-Rhin | 3,995 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Reichshoffen Bas-Rhin | 5,418 | 3 | 2 | Yes |
| Gundershoffen Bas-Rhin | 3,834 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Bouxwiller Bas-Rhin | 3,754 | 19 | 0 | Yes |
| Val-de-Moder Bas-Rhin | 5,102 | 3 | 1 | — |
In brief
Bitche in brief
Bitche has 3 historic monuments, 1 of them classé, including Citadelle (ancienne). In 2019 the Mission Patrimoine picked Citadelle (ancienne) as a monument in danger to save. Of the 9 people born here before 1900, the best known include Jean-René Ier de Hanau-Lichtenberg (1569), Marc-Marie de Bombelles (1744) and Jacques Louis Saint-Martin (1749). The oldest, Citadelle (ancienne), dates from the 17th century. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: it has 3 historic monuments, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 2); the list grew between 1930 and 1991; and 8.4% 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 Bitche
How many historic monuments are there in Bitche?
The Culture ministry lists 3 historic monuments in Bitche: 1 classé and 2 inscrit.
Which monuments in Bitche are classé?
One: Citadelle (ancienne).
How old are the homes in Bitche?
8.4% 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.