ClasséChapel · protected 1939Ancienne chapelle canonialePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Cathédrale Notre-Dame · Photo: Viault · CC BY-SA 3.010historic monuments
History of Sées · Monuments historiques
10 historic monuments, more per resident than 97% of compared French towns
The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Sées: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 4 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 8 of them.
Monuments historiques
10
24 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
6
the highest protection
Inscrit
4
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
26%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Sées in 8 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne abbaye Saint-MartinClassé
Ancien évêché, dit aussi Palais d'ArgentréClassé
Ancienne chapelle canonialeClassé
Chapelle de l'Immaculée-ConceptionClassé
Ancien logis capitulaireInscrit+3See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Towns its size
Sées has the 3rd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 4,100 to 4,200 residents, by historic monuments.
Sées10
#3 of 41for monuments per resident (24 per 10,000). Most per resident: Carnac, Turckheim and Sées.
The median town of these has 1. 14 of the 41 have none.
Map
Where Sées’ 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
4 of 6classé monuments stand within 400 m of Cathédrale Notre-Dame, with 8 of the town’s 10 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
10 monuments by protection
6 Classé4 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
6 classé monuments in Sées
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 6 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséAbbey · protected 1968Ancienne abbaye Saint-MartinPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Eponimm · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséBishop’s palace · protected 1908Ancien évêché, dit aussi Palais d'ArgentréPhoto: Benjism89 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChapel · protected 2026Chapelle de l'Immaculée-ConceptionPhoto: Benjism89 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Archaeological site · protected 1996Motte castrale de la Butte Saint-Pierre
Inscrit
4 inscrit monuments in Sées
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritChurch · protected 1975Restes de l'église Notre-Dame-du-VivierPhoto: Cody escouade delta · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritConvent · protected 1972Ancien logis capitulairePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Ikmo-ned · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritTown house · protected 1937Ancien hôtel du Comte CurialPart of the building is protected
What’s protected
Most of Sées’ monuments are churches and religious buildings
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings6
Houses & homes2
Shops & trade1
Religious buildings: 6 of 10 monuments (60%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
How old
How old Sées’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.0
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.5
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution3
19th century 1801–19002
20th century and later since 19010
5 of 10 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Motte castrale de la Butte Saint-Pierre (11th c.).
When protected
Sées’ list has grown since 1875
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1875: Cathédrale Notre-Dame. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
26% of homes in Sées were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
26%
Before 1919
11%
1919–45
18%
1946–70
25%
1971–90
13%
1991–2005
7.2%
2006 on
SéesMedian compared French town
26% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished before 1919 than in any other period (26%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
7 people born in Sées before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Nicolas Moulinet dit Du Parc
Gaultier-Garguille
Simon Bougis
Charles de Bernard de Marigny
Pierre François Nicolas Plet-Beauprey
François-René Curaudau
Pierre-Jean-François Vrigny
1500165018001950
CB
Charles de Bernard de Marigny1740–1816 · French admiral
NM
Nicolas Moulinet dit Du Parc1505– · French actor
GG
Gaultier-Garguille1573–1633 · French actor
SB
Simon Bougis1630–1714 · French writer
PF
Pierre François Nicolas Plet-Beauprey1762–1821 · French politician
FR
François-René Curaudau1765–1813 · French chemist and pharmacist
PJ
Pierre-Jean-François Vrigny1770–1813 · French aristocrat
Everyone born in Sées Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Sées
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sées | 4,168 | 10 | 6 | — |
| Gouffern en Auge | 3,636 | 14 | 8 | — |
| Alençon | 25,490 | 31 | 6 | Yes |
| Argentan | 13,527 | 19 | 7 | — |
| Saint-Germain-du-Corbéis | 3,636 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Sées in brief
For its size, Sées has more historic monuments than 97% of compared French towns. In all there are 10 historic monuments, 6 of them classé. Of its homes, 26% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Cathédrale Notre-Dame sits at the heart of it all, with 4 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m.
Only 2 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the whole list, 60% are churches and religious buildings. Most of its dated monuments come from the Middle Ages: 5 of 10.
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 Sées
How many historic monuments are there in Sées?
The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Sées: 6 classé and 4 inscrit.
Which monuments in Sées are classé?
6, among them Motte castrale de la Butte Saint-Pierre, Ancienne chapelle canoniale, Cathédrale Notre-Dame, Ancienne abbaye Saint-Martin, Ancien évêché, dit aussi Palais d'Argentré and Chapelle de l'Immaculée-Conception.
How old are the monuments of Sées?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
When were monuments in Sées first protected?
The first in 1875, the latest in 2026.
How old are the homes in Sées?
26% 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.