ClasséBishop’s palace · protected 1927Ancien palais épiscopalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Hôtel de Nayrac · Photo: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.022historic monuments
History of Castres · Monuments historiques
22 historic monuments, 7 classé
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. Castres has 5.2 monuments for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 70% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. The oldest monuments in Castres date from the 12th century. We have photos of 20 of Castres’s monuments.
Monuments historiques
22
5.2 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
7
the highest protection
Inscrit
15
the second level
Oldest part
12th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
11%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Castres in 20 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancien palais épiscopalClassé
Théâtre municipalClassé
Église Saint-Benoît (ancienne cathédrale)Classé
Jardin de l'EvêchéClassé
Hôtel de VivièsClassé+15See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Map
Where Castres’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Église Saint-Benoît (ancienne cathédrale)
7 of 7classé monuments stand within 400 m of Église Saint-Benoît (ancienne cathédrale), with 14 of the town’s 22 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
22 monuments by protection
7 Classé15 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
7 classé monuments in Castres
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 4 of the 7 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséTown house · protected 1937Hôtel de NayracPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTown house · protected 1937Hôtel de VivièsPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséMonument · protected 1995Jardin de l'EvêchéPhoto: P. Danilo Royet · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1987Église Notre-Dame-de-la-PlatéPhoto: Didier Descouens · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1953Église Saint-Benoît (ancienne cathédrale)Photo: Roudière · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséTheater · protected 2000Théâtre municipalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Christian Viala · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
15 inscrit monuments in Castres
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 15, A to Z
Ancien hôtel PoncetAncienne chartreuse de SaixAncienne tour des Cordeliers, actuellement englobée dans les bâtiments du lycéeChâteau d'HauteriveChâteau du CausseDomaine de la FédialÉglise Saint-Jacques-de-Villegoudou et maison attenanteGroupe scolaire VillegoudouHôtel FrascatyImmeuble, 42 rue VillegoudouImmeuble, rue de la Chambre-de-l'EditMaison dite Maison LardailléMaison natale de Jean-JaurèsMaison, 1 rue des BoursiersMaison, 31 rue de l'Hôtel-de-Ville
4 more, named only by their kind
4 more are named in the list only by their kind: 2 buildings (immeubles) and 2 houses (maisons), most from the 17th century. The 4 with an address are in the list above, by it.
15th c.1
17th c.2
19th c.1
What’s protected
Most of Castres’ monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes14
Religious buildings4
Military & fortified1
Houses & homes: 14 of 22 monuments (64%). 4 are religious buildings, 2 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.
How old
How old Castres’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.0
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.4
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution11
19th century 1801–19004
20th century and later since 19011
4 of 20 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancien palais épiscopal (12th c.). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Castres
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| Not numbered yet | – | Still being drawn up |
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.
When protected
Castres’ list has grown since 1927
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1927: Ancien palais épiscopal. 3 were protected in 1960 alone. 2 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
11% of homes in Castres were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
11%
Before 1919
9.5%
1919–45
28%
1946–70
31%
1971–90
12%
1991–2005
8.4%
2006 on
CastresMedian compared French town
11% 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 (31%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
10 people born in Castres before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Jean Guibal
Henri, Félix De Pélissier
Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard
Marc François Alby
Louis Guillaume Chazottes
Jean Louis Vincent Bernardou
Paul David Guibal
Édouard Cumenge
Jean Jaurès
Joseph Vidal de la Blache
175017751800182518501875190019251950
ÉP
Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard1771–1843 · French politician and officer
JJ
Jean Jaurès1859–1914 · French / Occitan socialist leader
JG
Jean Guibal1757–1835 · French politician
HF
Henri, Félix De Pélissier1763–1844 · French politician
MF
Marc François Alby1778–1853 · French politician
LG
Louis Guillaume Chazottes1794–1858 · French catholic priest
JL
Jean Louis Vincent Bernardou1800–1868 · French politician
PD
Paul David Guibal1811–1875 · French politician
Everyone born in Castres Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Castres
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Castres | 42,505 | 22 | 7 | Yes |
| Saïx | 3,748 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Labruguière | 6,584 | 3 | 1 | Yes |
| Soual | 2,637 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Aiguefonde | 2,505 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Aussillon | 5,527 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Pont-de-Larn | 2,947 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Castres in brief
Ancien palais épiscopal, from the 12th century, is the oldest monument in Castres. All told, the list holds 22 historic monuments, 7 of them classé, including Hôtel de Nayrac. Of its homes, 11% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Most entries on the list, 64%, are houses and homes.
Of the 20 with a date, 11 come from the 16th to 18th centuries. Groupe scolaire Villegoudou carries the Architecture contemporaine remarquable label. Étienne Pierre Sylvestre Ricard (1771), Jean Jaurès (1859) and Jean Guibal (1757) are among the 10 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: it has 22 historic monuments, about typical for a town its size (the middle one has 9); and per resident it sits near the middle of compared French towns.
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 Castres
How many historic monuments are there in Castres?
The Culture ministry lists 22 historic monuments in Castres: 7 classé and 15 inscrit.
Which monuments in Castres are classé?
7, among them Ancien palais épiscopal, Hôtel de Nayrac, Hôtel de Viviès, Jardin de l'Evêché, Église Notre-Dame-de-la-Platé and Église Saint-Benoît (ancienne cathédrale).
How old are the monuments of Castres?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
Is Castres a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Castres is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Castres first protected?
The first in 1927, the latest in 2026.
How old are the homes in Castres?
11% 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.