ClasséArchaeological site · protected 2021Ruines gallo-romainesPhoto: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ruines gallo-romaines · Photo: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.04historic monuments
History of Bavay · Monuments historiques
4 historic monuments, the oldest from Antiquity
Protection in Bavay began in 1992. The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in Bavay, all of them classé, France’s highest heritage protection.
Monuments historiques
4
Classé
4
the highest protection
Inscrit
0
the second level
Oldest part
Antiquity
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
16%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Monuments of Bavay 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 Bavay’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséWithin 400 m of Enceinte médiévale
4 of 4classé monuments stand within 400 m of Enceinte médiévale, with 4 of the town’s 4 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
4 monuments by protection
4 Classé
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
4 classé monuments in Bavay
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 4 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséArchaeological site · protected 1992Site archéologique gallo-romainPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Havang(nl) · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
Town walls · protected 1992Enceinte médiévalePart of the building is protected
Age of homes
16% of homes in Bavay were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
16%
Before 1919
12%
1919–45
28%
1946–70
33%
1971–90
7.2%
1991–2005
3.9%
2006 on
BavayMedian 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 (33%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Towns its size
Bavay has the 5th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 3,200 to 3,300 residents, by historic monuments.
Bavay4
The median town of these has 1. 13 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Bavay
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bavay | 3,249 | 4 | 4 | — |
| Feignies | 6,703 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Hautmont | 14,152 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Berlaimont | 3,159 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Aulnoye-Aymeries | 8,612 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Maubeuge | 28,767 | 10 | 2 | — |
| Louvroil | 6,294 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Bavay in brief
Enceinte médiévale, from Antiquity, is the oldest monument in Bavay. In all there are 4 historic monuments, 4 of them classé, including Ruines gallo-romaines. Its housing is old: 16% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Enceinte médiévale sits at the heart of it all, with 4 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. Only 4 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Beyond that, Jean Goudezki (1866) was born here before 1900; and the list grew between 1992 and 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 Bavay
How many historic monuments are there in Bavay?
The Culture ministry lists 4 historic monuments in Bavay: 4 classé and 0 inscrit.
Which monuments in Bavay are classé?
4, among them Enceinte médiévale, Ruines gallo-romaines, Site archéologique gallo-romain and Vestiges antiques.
How old are the homes in Bavay?
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 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.