Ancien château · Photo: Johan Allard · CC BY-SA 4.031 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2021
The Culture ministry lists 31 historic monuments in Alençon: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 25 inscrit (the second level). That’s 12 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 89% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 10th century. We have photos of 31 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Alençon in 31 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Église Notre-DameClassé
Hôtel LibertClassé
Hôtel de la préfecture (ancien Hôtel de Guise)Classé
Maison d'OzéClassé
Tribunal de commerceClassé+26See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Alençon has had a protected historic area since 2021
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR28-42 | – July 22, 2021 | – |
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.
Where Alençon’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
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.
6 classé monuments in Alençon
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 6 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé25 inscrit monuments in Alençon
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 25, A to Z
8 more, named only by their kind
8 more are named in the list only by their kind: 6 buildings (immeubles) and 2 houses (maisons), most from the 18th century. The 8 with an address are in the list above, by it.
Most of Alençon’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 19 of 31 monuments (61%). 3 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
How old Alençon’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
8 of 31 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancien château (Middle Ages).
9 of Alençon’s monuments were protected in 1975
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1862: Ancien château and Église Notre-Dame. 9 were protected in 1975 alone. None has been added since 2011.
14% of homes in Alençon were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
14% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1946 and 1970 than in any other period (36%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
70 people born in Alençon before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Everyone born in Alençon Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Alençon has the 5th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 24,100 to 26,900 residents, by historic monuments.
Historic monuments in the towns around Alençon
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alençon | 25,490 | 31 | 6 | Yes |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis | 3,636 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Fresnay-sur-Sarthe Sarthe | 2,928 | 4 | 1 | Yes |
| Sées | 4,168 | 10 | 6 | — |
| Mamers Sarthe | 4,996 | 4 | 2 | Yes |
Alençon in brief
Alençon’s oldest monument, Ancien château, dates from the 10th century. In all there are 31 historic monuments, 6 of them classé. Of its homes, 14% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 89% of compared French towns.
Only 4 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2021. Of the whole list, 61% are houses and homes.
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 Alençon
How many historic monuments are there in Alençon?
The Culture ministry lists 31 historic monuments in Alençon: 6 classé and 25 inscrit.
Which monuments in Alençon are classé?
6, among them Ancien château, Église Notre-Dame, Maison d'Ozé, Tribunal de commerce, Hôtel de la préfecture (ancien Hôtel de Guise) and Hôtel Libert.
How old are the monuments of Alençon?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
Is Alençon a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Alençon has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2021.
When were monuments in Alençon first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2009.
How old are the homes in Alençon?
14% 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.