Église Saint-Genès · Photo: Jastrow · CC BY 2.5A secteur sauvegardé since 1974, and 25 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 25 historic monuments in Thiers: 5 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 20 inscrit (the second level). That’s 21 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 96% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest date from the 10th century. We have photos of 22 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Thiers in 22 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
ImmeubleClassé
MaisonClassé
Maison dite de l'Homme des BoisClassé
Ancien hôtel du Charriol, dit château ou maison du PirouxClassé
Abbaye du MoutierInscrit+17See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Thiers has had a protected historic area since 1974
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR84-127 | Secteur sauvegardé October 31, 1974 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) February 7, 1985 |
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. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Where Thiers’ 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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
5 classé monuments in Thiers
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 3 of the 5 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé
Classé20 inscrit monuments in Thiers
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 20, A to Z
3 more, named only by their kind
3 more are named in the list only by their kind: 3 houses (maisons), most from the 14th century. The 3 with an address are in the list above, by it.
Most of Thiers’ monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 16 of 25 monuments (64%). 4 are religious buildings, 1 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old Thiers’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
13 of 21 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Maison dite des sept péchés capitaux (Middle Ages). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
6 of Thiers’ monuments were protected in 1926
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1846: Église Saint-Genès. 6 were protected in 1926 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
17% of homes in Thiers were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
17% 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 (28%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
20 people born in Thiers before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Everyone born in Thiers Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Thiers has the 3rd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 11,400 to 11,800 residents, by historic monuments.
The median town of these has 2. 12 of the 41 have none.
Historic monuments in the towns around Thiers
Thiers in brief
Since 1974, the heart of Thiers has been a secteur sauvegardé, France’s strictest protection for a historic town. In all there are 25 historic monuments, 5 of them classé, including Église Saint-Genès. Per resident, it has more historic monuments than 96% of compared French towns. Its housing is old: 17% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Ancien hôtel du Charriol, dit château ou maison du Piroux sits at the heart of it all, with 5 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, 64% 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 Thiers
How many historic monuments are there in Thiers?
The Culture ministry lists 25 historic monuments in Thiers: 5 classé and 20 inscrit.
Which monuments in Thiers are classé?
5, among them Église Saint-Genès, Ancien hôtel du Charriol, dit château ou maison du Piroux and Maison dite de l'Homme des Bois.
How old are the monuments of Thiers?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
Is Thiers a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Thiers has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1974.
When were monuments in Thiers first protected?
The first in 1846, the latest in 2021.
How old are the homes in Thiers?
17% 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.