ClasséHouse · protected 1986Maison dite du BailliPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Ji-Elle · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Église Saint-Maurice · Photo: Richieman · Public domain27historic monuments
History of Épinal · Monuments historiques
27 historic monuments and a protected historic area since 2024
The Culture ministry lists 27 historic monuments in Épinal: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 23 inscrit (the second level). That’s 8.4 for every 10,000 residents, more per resident than 82% 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.
Monuments historiques
27
8.4 per 10,000 residents
median compared town 2.5
median compared town 2.5
Classé
4
the highest protection
Inscrit
23
the second level
Oldest part
10th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
8%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Épinal in 22 photos
Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
ChâteauClassé
Maison dite du BailliClassé
MaisonInscrit
Imagerie Pellerin (bâtiments et machines qu'ils renferment)Inscrit
Chapelle Saint-MichelInscrit+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.
Protected area
Épinal has had a protected historic area since 2024
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR44-59 | – March 18, 2024 | – |
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 Épinal’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.
27 monuments by protection
4 Classé23 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
4 classé monuments in Épinal
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 of the 4 are protected in part only (a façade, a roof, a room). Each card opens the monument’s page.
Classé
ClasséChâteau · protected 1992ChâteauPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Romary · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Church · protected 2011Église Notre-Dame au Cierge
Inscrit
23 inscrit monuments in Épinal
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 23, A to Z
Chapelle Saint-MichelImagerie Pellerin (bâtiments et machines qu'ils renferment)Immeuble, 30bis rue ThiersMaison romaineMaison, 1 place des VosgesMaison, 10 place des VosgesMaison, 11 place des VosgesMaison, 12 place des VosgesMaison, 14 place des VosgesMaison, 16 place des VosgesMaison, 17, 19, 21 place des VosgesMaison, 18 place des VosgesMaison, 2 place des VosgesMaison, 20 place des VosgesMaison, 22 place des VosgesMaison, 23 place des VosgesMaison, 3 place des VosgesMaison, 4 place des VosgesMaison, 6 place des VosgesMaison, 7 place des VosgesMaison, 8 place des VosgesMaison, 9 place des VosgesMaisons, 13, 15 place des Vosges
20 more, named only by their kind
20 more are named in the list only by their kind: 19 houses (maisons) and 1 building (immeuble). The 20 with an address are in the list above, by it.
15th c.1
20th c.1
undated18
What’s protected
Most of Épinal’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes23
Religious buildings3
Industrial1
Houses & homes: 23 of 27 monuments (85%). 3 are religious buildings, 2 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once.
How old
How old Épinal’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.3
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution1
19th century 1801–19002
20th century and later since 19012
3 of 8 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Chapelle Saint-Michel (Middle Ages). 19 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Over half of Épinal’s monuments were protected in 1926
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1926 · 18
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1846: Église Saint-Maurice. 18 were protected in 1926 alone. 1 has been added since 2011.
Born before 1900
39 people born in Épinal before 1900
The 20 best known on the line, and eight of them below.
François Nicolas
Pierre Agé
Pierre Joseph Alexis Roussel
Simon Lefebvre
Charles Hingray
Émile Perreau
Auguste Doublat
Charles Charton
Charles Contaut
Pierre Guilgot
Dominique Auguste Lereboullet
Eugène Jeanmaire
Achille Marie Gaston Floquet
Émile Durkheim
Louis Joubin
Léon Schwab
Marcel Mauss
Henri Thiriet
Marc Boegner
Pierre Lienert
170017501800185019001950
DA
Dominique Auguste Lereboullet1804–1865 · French zoologist
AM
Achille Marie Gaston Floquet1847–1920 · French mathematician
ÉD
Émile Durkheim1858–1917 · French sociologist
LJ
Louis Joubin1861–1935 · French zoologist
LS
Léon Schwab1862–1962 · French politician and mayor
MM
Marcel Mauss1872–1950 · French sociologist and anthropologist
HT
Henri Thiriet1873–1946 · French artist, poster designer
MB
Marc Boegner1881–1970 · Minister of the French Protestant Church
Everyone born in Épinal Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Towns its size
Épinal has the 6th most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 30,200 to 34,000 residents, by historic monuments.
Épinal27
#6 of 41for monuments per resident (8.4 per 10,000). Most per resident: Paris 3e, Nevers and Vienne.
The median town of these has 4. 5 of the 41 have none.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Épinal
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Épinal | 32,251 | 27 | 4 | Yes |
| Chantraine | 3,198 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Golbey | 8,832 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Thaon-les-Vosges | 8,547 | 2 | 0 | — |
| Éloyes | 3,138 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Xertigny | 2,589 | 0 | 0 | — |
| Saint-Nabord | 3,953 | 0 | 0 | — |
In brief
Épinal in brief
Épinal’s oldest monument, Chapelle Saint-Michel, dates from the 10th century. All told, the list holds 27 historic monuments, 4 of them classé, including Église Saint-Maurice. For its size, it has more historic monuments than 82% of compared French towns. Only 5 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments.
Part of it has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2024. Of the whole list, 85% are houses and homes. Dominique Auguste Lereboullet (1804), Achille Marie Gaston Floquet (1847) and Émile Durkheim (1858) are among the 39 people born here before 1900. Otherwise the figures are ordinary: 8% of its homes were built before 1919, close to the 7.4% in the median compared French town.
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 Épinal
How many historic monuments are there in Épinal?
The Culture ministry lists 27 historic monuments in Épinal: 4 classé and 23 inscrit.
Which monuments in Épinal are classé?
4, among them Maison dite du Bailli, Église Notre-Dame au Cierge and Église Saint-Maurice.
How old are the monuments of Épinal?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 10th century.
Is Épinal a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Épinal has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 2024.
When were monuments in Épinal first protected?
The first in 1846, the latest in 2011.
How old are the homes in Épinal?
8% 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 October 30, 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.