ClasséStanding stone · protected 1889Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumellesPhoto: Camster · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Ancien château de Selles · Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.031historic monuments
History of Cambrai · Monuments historiques
31 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
The Culture ministry lists 31 historic monuments in Cambrai: 14 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 17 inscrit (the second level). That’s 10 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 85% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 29 of them.
Monuments historiques
31
10 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
14
the highest protection
Inscrit
17
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
10%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Cambrai in 29 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
CitadelleClassé
Porte de ParisClassé
Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumellesClassé
Palais épiscopalClassé
Porte Notre-DameClassé+24See 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 Cambrai’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.5
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution9
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19013
6 of 18 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumelles (Prehistory). 13 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Cambrai’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Grâce
4 of 14classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Grâce, with 9 of the town’s 31 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
31 monuments by protection
14 Classé17 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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
Classé
14 classé monuments in Cambrai
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 7 of the 14 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséChâteau · protected 1981Ancien château de SellesPart of the building is protectedPhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséSchool · protected 1920Ancien Collège des Jésuites ou grand séminairePart of the building is protectedPhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1922Ancien Hôtel de SimencourtPart of the building is protectedPhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséReligious building · protected 1949Béguinages Saint-Nicolas et Saint-VaastPart of the building is protectedPhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséCathedral · protected 1906Cathédrale Notre-Dame de GrâcePhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
ClasséBishop’s palace · protected 1921Palais épiscopalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Augustin Boutique · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
Classé
Classé
ClasséMilitary building · protected 1932CitadellePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Auteur inconnu Unknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséHouse · protected 1946Maison, 8 place du MarchéPart of the building is protectedPhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
17 inscrit monuments in Cambrai
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 17, A to Z
Ancien couvent des RécolletsAncien hôpital généralAncien hôpital Saint-Julien, théâtre puis école de musiqueBéguinage Notre-DameCercle philosophique et culturel ThémisChapelle du refuge de l'abbaye de VaucellesChâteau de Ranette (ancienne maison de campagne de l'abbaye du Saint-Sépulcre)Ensemble formé par le cimetière allemand de la route de Solesmes et le Cambrai East Military CemeteryHôtel consulaire de la Chambre de Commerce et d'Industrie de CambraiHôtel Leroi de VilleMaison du bailli de MarcoingMaison, 10 place du MarchéMaison, 18 rue Delphin-DutemplePorte Saint-LadreTour du CaudronTour Saint-FiacreTour Saint-Martin, dite aussi Beffroi
2 more, named only by their kind
2 more are named in the list only by their kind: 2 houses (maisons), most from the 20th century. The 2 with an address are in the list above, by it.
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Cambrai
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes9
Military & fortified7
Religious buildings6
Public & civic3
Tombs & cemeteries2
Industrial1
Houses & homes: 9 of 31 monuments (29%). 6 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 3 have no domain on the list.
When protected
Cambrai’s list has grown since 1889
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
18801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1889: Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumelles. 3 were protected in 1984 alone. 3 have been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
42 people born in Cambrai before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Noé Faignient
Charles de Héraugière
Cornil Cacheux
Charles-François Dumouriez
Nicolas, François Delesaulx
Pierre François Aubry
Jean Levaillant
Firmin Rogier
Fénelon Farez
Samuel-Henri Berthoud
Charles Peeters
Antoine Douay
Étienne Omer Wauquière
Pierre-Joseph Bertrand-Milcent
Edward Le Glay
Jules Brabant
Jules Gosselet
Joseph Carlier
Louis Blériot
Henri de Lubac
1500165018001950
CC
Cornil Cacheux1687–1738 · French organbuilder
CF
Charles-François Dumouriez1739–1823 · French general
JL
Jean Levaillant1790–1876 · French general
SH
Samuel-Henri Berthoud1804–1891 · French journalist
JG
Jules Gosselet1832–1916 · French geologist
JC
Joseph Carlier1849–1927 · French sculptor
LB
Louis Blériot1872–1936 · French aviator, inventor and engineer
HL
Henri de Lubac1896–1991 · Jesuit theologian and cardinal
Everyone born in Cambrai Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Cambrai has the 4th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 29,800 to 32,500 residents, by historic monuments.
Cambrai31
#4 of 41for monuments per resident (10 per 10,000). Most per resident: Paris 3e, Lyon 2e and Vienne.
The median town of these has 3. 3 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Cambrai
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambrai | 31,134 | 31 | 14 | — |
| Neuville-Saint-Rémy | 4,012 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Proville | 3,206 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Escaudœuvres | 3,171 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Masnières | 2,689 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Iwuy | 3,403 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Avesnes-les-Aubert | 3,562 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Cambrai in brief
The record in Cambrai starts with Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumelles, which dates from prehistory. In all there are 31 historic monuments, 14 of them classé, including Ancien château de Selles. Ensemble formé par le cimetière allemand de la route de Solesmes et le Cambrai East Military Cemetery and other monuments here are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 85% of compared French towns.
Its classé monuments cluster together: 4 of them stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Grâce. Only 3 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the 18 with a date, 9 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. Beyond that, 10% 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 Cambrai
How many historic monuments are there in Cambrai?
The Culture ministry lists 31 historic monuments in Cambrai: 14 classé and 17 inscrit.
Which monuments in Cambrai are classé?
14, among them Deux menhirs dits Pierres jumelles, Ancien château de Selles, Maison espagnole, Tour des Arquets, Ancien Collège des Jésuites ou grand séminaire and Ancien Hôtel de Simencourt.
How old are the monuments of Cambrai?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
When were monuments in Cambrai first protected?
The first in 1889, the latest in 2017.
How old are the homes in Cambrai?
10% 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.