ClasséCathedral · protected 1840Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-DamePhoto: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-Dame · Photo: JackyM59 · CC BY-SA 4.029historic monuments
History of Saint-Omer · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 2016, and 29 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 29 historic monuments in Saint-Omer: 9 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 20 inscrit (the second level). That’s 20 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 95% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 11th century. We have photos of 16 of them.
Monuments historiques
29
20 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
9
the highest protection
Inscrit
20
the second level
Oldest part
11th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
20%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Saint-Omer in 16 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Fontaine Sainte-AldegondeClassé
Hôtel Sandelin, actuellement muséeClassé
Ancien collège des Jésuites AnglaisClassé
Ancienne abbaye de Saint-BertinClassé
Ancien collège des Jésuites Wallons, actuellement lycée Alexandre-RibotClassé+11See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Protected area
Saint-Omer has had a protected historic area since 2016
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR32-36 | Secteur sauvegardé June 28, 2016 | – December 26, 2023 |
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.
Map
Where Saint-Omer’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-Dame
5 of 9classé monuments stand within 400 m of Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-Dame, with 14 of the town’s 29 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
29 monuments by protection
9 Classé20 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. 4 monuments have no point on the map.
Classé
9 classé monuments in Saint-Omer
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 4 of the 9 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséChurch · protected 1982Église Saint-SépulcrePhoto: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséSchool · protected 1930Ancien collège des Jésuites AnglaisPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Original uploader was WDH62500 at fr.wikipedia · CC BY-SA 2.5 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséSchool · protected 1942Ancien collège des Jésuites Wallons, actuellement lycée Alexandre-RibotPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Grentidez · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFountain · protected 1981Fontaine Sainte-AldegondePhoto: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1955Hôtel Sandelin, actuellement muséePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Jean-Pol GRANDMONT · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséAbbey · protected 1840Ancienne abbaye de Saint-BertinPhoto: Saber68 · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Monument · protected 1947Ancien séminaire épiscopalPart of the building is protected
Inscrit
20 inscrit monuments in Saint-Omer
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 19, A to Z
Ancien bailliageAncien évêché ou palais épiscopal, actuellement palais de justiceAncien hôpital Saint-JeanAncien poste de commandement de la LuftwaffeHôpital généralHôtel de BerghesHôtel de ville - ThéâtreHôtel particulierImmeuble, 5 place Victor-HugoMagasin à poudreMaison à pans de bois et torchisMaison à pignonMaison dite Des Trois RoysMaison du 18e siècleMaison, 136 rue de DunkerqueMaison, 5 rue Henri-DupuisMaison, 7 rue Henri-DupuisMotte castrale et prison du bailliageSalle de concerts
5 more, named only by their kind
5 more are named in the list only by their kind: 3 houses (maisons), 1 building (immeuble) and 1 other, most from the 17th century. The 4 with an address are in the list above, by it.
17th c.3
19th c.1
20th c.1
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Saint-Omer
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes13
Public & civic7
Religious buildings4
Military & fortified2
Bridges & engineering1
Houses & homes: 13 of 29 monuments (45%). 4 are religious buildings, 4 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 2 have no domain on the list.
How old
How old Saint-Omer’s 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 Revolution16
19th century 1801–19003
20th century and later since 19012
5 of 26 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Motte castrale et prison du bailliage (11th–18th c.). 3 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Saint-Omer’s list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancienne abbaye de Saint-Bertin and Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-Dame. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 4 were protected in 1948 alone. 4 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
20% of homes in Saint-Omer were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
20%
Before 1919
17%
1919–45
27%
1946–70
21%
1971–90
9.5%
1991–2005
5.6%
2006 on
Saint-OmerMedian compared French town
20% 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 (27%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
29 people born in Saint-Omer before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
Charles-Zachée-Joseph Varlet
François, Antoine Boubert
Charles-Alexandre-Balthazar-François-de-Paule de Baert-Duholant
Fidèle Le Sergeant de Baënghem
Eugène Casimir Lebreton
Aimable Wattebled
François Quenson
Émile-Théophile Blanchard
Henri Delattre
Joseph Louis Pierret
Henri de Laplane
Joseph Liouville
Alfred Frédéric Philippe Auguste Napoléon Ameil
Jules De Senezcourt
Louis Devaux
Félix Le Sergeant de Monnecove
Alphonse de Neuville
Alexandre Ribot
Eugène de Pousargues
Germaine Acremant
170017501800185019001950
JL
Joseph Liouville1809–1882 · French mathematician and engineer
AN
Alphonse de Neuville1835–1885 · French painter
AR
Alexandre Ribot1842–1923 · French politician
EP
Eugène de Pousargues1859–1901 · French zoologist
GA
Germaine Acremant1889–1986 · French writer
CZ
Charles-Zachée-Joseph Varlet1733–1811 · French politician
FA
François, Antoine Boubert1748–1828 · French politician
CA
Charles-Alexandre-Balthazar-François-de-Paule de Baert-Duholant1751–1825 · French politician
Everyone born in Saint-Omer Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Saint-Omer has the 3rd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 14,000 to 14,800 residents, by historic monuments.
Saint-Omer29
#3 of 41for monuments per resident (20 per 10,000). Most per resident: Pont-à-Mousson, Bar-le-Duc and Saint-Omer.
The median town of these has 2. 11 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Saint-Omer
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saint-Omer | 14,382 | 29 | 9 | Yes |
| Longuenesse | 10,548 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Martin-lez-Tatinghem | 5,843 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Arques | 9,431 | 1 | 1 | — |
| Blendecques | 4,859 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Wizernes | 3,321 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Watten Nord | 2,564 | 4 | 2 | — |
In brief
Saint-Omer in brief
Saint-Omer’s old center has been a secteur sauvegardé, the strictest protection France gives a historic town, since 2016. All told, the list holds 29 historic monuments, 9 of them classé. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 95% of compared French towns. Of its homes, 20% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Its classé monuments cluster together: 5 of them stand within 400 m of Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-Dame. Only 2 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the 26 with a date, 16 come from the 16th to 18th centuries.
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 Saint-Omer
How many historic monuments are there in Saint-Omer?
The Culture ministry lists 29 historic monuments in Saint-Omer: 9 classé and 20 inscrit.
Which monuments in Saint-Omer are classé?
9, among them Collégiale, puis cathédrale Notre-Dame, actuellement église paroissiale Notre-Dame, Église Saint-Denis, Église Saint-Sépulcre, Ancien collège des Jésuites Anglais, Ancien collège des Jésuites Wallons, actuellement lycée Alexandre-Ribot and Ancien séminaire épiscopal.
How old are the monuments of Saint-Omer?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 11th century.
Is Saint-Omer a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Saint-Omer has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2016.
When were monuments in Saint-Omer first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2021.
How old are the homes in Saint-Omer?
20% 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.