ClasséDolmen · protected 1988Dolmen n° 4 des AdretsPhoto: Philippe Cosentino · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Dolmen n° 4 des Adrets · Photo: Philippe Cosentino · CC BY-SA 3.010historic monuments
History of Brignoles · Monuments historiques
10 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Brignoles: 2 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 8 inscrit (the second level). That’s 5.6 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 72% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 9 of them.
Monuments historiques
10
5.6 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
2
the highest protection
Inscrit
8
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
11%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Brignoles in 9 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Maison RomaneClassé
Ancien Palais des Comtes de Provence, actuellement musée du pays brignolaisInscrit
Domaine de Saint-ChristopheInscrit
Hospice Saint-JeanInscrit
Dolmen n° 3 des AdretsInscrit+4See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
How old
How old Brignoles’ monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.3
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.4
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution1
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19010
7 of 8 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Dolmen n° 3 des Adrets (Prehistory). 2 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Brignoles’ monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscrit
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
10 monuments by protection
2 Classé8 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. 1 monument has no point on the map.
Classé
2 classé monuments in Brignoles
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 1 of the 2 is protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
ClasséHouse · protected 1921Maison RomanePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Rvalette · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
8 inscrit monuments in Brignoles
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritDolmen · protected 1988Dolmen n° 3 des AdretsPhoto: Philippe Cosentino · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritDolmen · protected 1988Dolmens n° 1 et 2 des AdretsPhoto: Dubosc Jean Marie · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHome · protected 1987Ancien Palais des Comtes de Provence, actuellement musée du pays brignolaisPhoto: Rvalette · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritResidence · protected 1984Domaine de Saint-ChristophePart of the building is protectedPhoto: SombreSanglier · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChurch · protected 1926Église Saint-SauveurPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Rvalette · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHospital · protected 1926Hospice Saint-JeanPart of the building is protectedPhoto: SombreSanglier · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritChapel · protected 1948Chapelle royale Sainte-Catherine
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Brignoles
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings3
Houses & homes3
Tombs & cemeteries3
Religious buildings: 3 of 10 monuments (30%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
Protected area
A protected historic area is on its way in Brignoles
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR93-34 | – June 15, 2020 | 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
3 of Brignoles’ monuments were protected in 1988
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1921: Maison Romane. 3 were protected in 1988 alone. None has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
11% of homes in Brignoles were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
11%
Before 1919
5.4%
1919–45
19%
1946–70
25%
1971–90
18%
1991–2005
22%
2006 on
BrignolesMedian 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 (25%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
19 people born in Brignoles before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Louis d’Anjou
Ignace Cotolendi
Louis Parrocel
Joseph Parrocel
Pierre Le Brun
François Granet
Charles Feraud
Louis de Bellon de Sainte-Marguerite
François Just Marie Raynouard
Isidore Joseph Fabien Brignoles Gauthier
Louis Paul Baille
Pierre-Marc de Fabry
François Guisol
Jean Joseph Antoine Barbaroux
Honoré Clavier
Charles Rousse
Raymond Gavoty
Gustave Bret
Charles Gaou
13501500165018001950
Ld
Louis d’Anjou1274–1297 · French Catholic bishop and saint
IC
Ignace Cotolendi1630–1662 · French bishop
JP
Joseph Parrocel1646–1704 · French painter
FJ
François Just Marie Raynouard1761–1836 · French writer
LP
Louis Parrocel1634–1694 · French painter
PL
Pierre Le Brun1661–1729 · French catholic priest and historian
FG
François Granet1692–1741 · French journalist
CF
Charles Feraud1736–1814 · French politician
Everyone born in Brignoles Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Brignoles has the 7th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 17,200 to 18,500 residents, by historic monuments.
Brignoles10
#7 of 41for monuments per resident (5.6 per 10,000). Most per resident: Lamballe-Armor, Segré-en-Anjou Bleu and Vire Normandie.
The median town of these has 3. 7 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Brignoles
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brignoles | 17,850 | 10 | 2 | Yes |
| Le Val | 4,335 | 2 | 1 | — |
| Garéoult | 5,835 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Forcalqueiret | 3,389 | 1 | 0 | — |
| La Roquebrussanne | 2,817 | 1 | 0 | — |
| Rocbaron | 5,660 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Besse-sur-Issole | 3,125 | 3 | 0 | — |
In brief
Brignoles in brief
Brignoles’s oldest monument, Dolmen n° 3 des Adrets, dates from prehistory. All told, the list holds 10 historic monuments, 2 of them classé. Its housing is old: 11% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Only 6 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Most of its dated monuments come from the Middle Ages: 4 of 8. Louis d’Anjou (1274), Ignace Cotolendi (1630) and Joseph Parrocel (1646) are among the 19 people born here before 1900. The rest is about typical: 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 Brignoles
How many historic monuments are there in Brignoles?
The Culture ministry lists 10 historic monuments in Brignoles: 2 classé and 8 inscrit.
Which monuments in Brignoles are classé?
2, among them Dolmen n° 4 des Adrets and Maison Romane.
How old are the monuments of Brignoles?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Brignoles a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Brignoles is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Brignoles first protected?
The first in 1921, the latest in 1988.
How old are the homes in Brignoles?
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.