ClasséHospital · protected 1840Ancien Hôtel-DieuPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Aies.Bcn · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église Notre-Dame (ancienne) · Photo: Olive Titus · CC BY 2.011historic monuments
History of Montmorillon · Monuments historiques
11 historic monuments, the oldest from prehistory
Part of the town has been a protected historic area, a site patrimonial remarquable, since 2010. The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Montmorillon: 6 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 5 inscrit (the second level). That’s 19 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 94% of compared French towns; the median compared French town has 2.5. We have photos of 10 of them.
Monuments historiques
11
19 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
6
the highest protection
Inscrit
5
the second level
Oldest part
Prehistory
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
14%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Montmorillon in 10 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
DolmenClassé
Hôtel de MoussacClassé
Lanterne des Morts de MoussacClassé
Ancien Hôtel-DieuClassé
Ancien hôpitalInscrit+5See 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 Montmorillon’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
Prehistory & Antiquity to the 4th c.1
Middle Ages 5th–15th c.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution2
19th century 1801–19001
20th century and later since 19010
4 of 7 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancien Hôtel-Dieu (12th–19th c.). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
Map
Where Montmorillon’s 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.
11 monuments by protection
6 Classé5 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
6 classé monuments in Montmorillon
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.
ClasséTown house · protected 1973Hôtel de MoussacPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Gonetofrance · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséChurch · protected 1862Église Notre-Dame (ancienne)Photo: Olive Titus · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséFunerary monument · protected 1884Lanterne des Morts de MoussacPhoto: Jochen Jahnke 14:35, 22. Apr. 2008 (CEST) · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
ClasséEngineering work · protected 1942Montjoie en pierre
Inscrit
5 inscrit monuments in Montmorillon
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
Inscrit
InscritTown house · protected 1986Hôtel, 7 rue Saint-ChristophePhoto: Gonetofrance · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
What’s protected
Churches and religious buildings are the largest group in Montmorillon
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Religious buildings3
Houses & homes3
Tombs & cemeteries2
Public & civic1
Bridges & engineering1
Religious buildings: 3 of 11 monuments (27%).
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
Protected area
Montmorillon has had a protected historic area since 2010
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR75-138 | ZPPAUP January 8, 2010 | ZPPAUP (heritage zone rules) January 8, 2010 |
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
Montmorillon’s list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Ancien Hôtel-Dieu. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 2 were protected in 1942 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Age of homes
14% of homes in Montmorillon were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
14%
Before 1919
10%
1919–45
20%
1946–70
35%
1971–90
13%
1991–2005
8.2%
2006 on
MontmorillonMedian compared French town
14% 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 (35%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Born before 1900
4 people born in Montmorillon before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Louis François Passerat de La Chapelle de Bellegarde
Jean-Félix Dutrou de Bornier
Octave Bernard
Raoul Carré
170017501800185019001950
LF
Louis François Passerat de La Chapelle de Bellegarde1726–1796 · French general
JF
Jean-Félix Dutrou de Bornier1741–1816 · French politician
OB
Octave Bernard1844–1904 · French politician
RC
Raoul Carré1868–1933 · French painter
Everyone born in Montmorillon Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Montmorillon has the most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 5,800 to 5,900 residents, by historic monuments.
Montmorillon11
#1 of 41for monuments per resident (19 per 10,000). Most per resident: Montmorillon, Dol-de-Bretagne and Saint-Galmier.
The median town of these has 0. 21 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Montmorillon
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Montmorillon | 5,821 | 11 | 6 | Yes |
| Valdivienne | 2,715 | 7 | 4 | — |
| Chauvigny | 7,007 | 9 | 8 | — |
| Le Blanc Indre | 6,164 | 8 | 2 | Yes |
In brief
Montmorillon in brief
Few towns are as rich in historic monuments as Montmorillon: per resident it has more than 94% of compared French towns. In all there are 11 historic monuments, 6 of them classé. No town its size has more historic monuments: it leads the 41 nearest in population.
Its housing is old: 14% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2010. Of the 4 people born here before 1900, the best known include Louis François Passerat de La Chapelle de Bellegarde (1726), Jean-Félix Dutrou de Bornier (1741) and Octave Bernard (1844).
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 Montmorillon
How many historic monuments are there in Montmorillon?
The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Montmorillon: 6 classé and 5 inscrit.
Which monuments in Montmorillon are classé?
6, among them Ancien Hôtel-Dieu, Montjoie en pierre, Hôtel de Moussac, Église Notre-Dame (ancienne) and Lanterne des Morts de Moussac.
How old are the monuments of Montmorillon?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from prehistory.
Is Montmorillon a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Montmorillon has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2010.
When were monuments in Montmorillon first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2024.
How old are the homes in Montmorillon?
14% 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.