Église Sainte-Catherine · Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.018 historic monuments, more per resident than 99% of compared French towns
A protected historic area (site patrimonial remarquable) is on the ministry’s list; its rules are still being drawn up. The Culture ministry lists 18 historic monuments in Tonnerre: 5 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 13 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 13th century. We have photos of 17 of them.
median compared town 2.5
Tonnerre in 17 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Fosse-DionneClassé
Église Saint-PierreClassé
HôpitalClassé
Église Notre-DameClassé
Confiserie (ancienne)Inscrit+12See all photosPhotos from Wikimedia Commons, copied to our own server, each credited to its photographer with its license; names open the monument’s page.
Tonnerre has the 3rd most monuments of 41 towns its size
Compared French towns of 4,200 to 4,300 residents, by historic monuments.
The median town of these has 2. 9 of the 41 have none.
Where Tonnerre’s 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.
5 classé monuments in Tonnerre
Classé is France’s highest protection for a building, held by about a third of the monuments on the list. 2 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
Classé13 inscrit monuments in Tonnerre
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
All 13, A to Z
7 more, named only by their kind
7 more are named in the list only by their kind: 7 houses (maisons), most from the 18th century. The 7 with an address are in the list above, by it.
Most of Tonnerre’s monuments are houses and homes
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes: 9 of 18 monuments (50%). 4 are religious buildings, 3 of them classé.
Mérimée files each monument under one main domain: a château with its chapel counts once. 1 has no domain on the list.
How old Tonnerre’s monuments are
Each monument once, by the oldest part the list dates.
1 of 14 dated monuments has parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Couvent des Ursulines (ancien) (16th c.). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
A protected historic area is on its way in Tonnerre
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR27-71 | Secteur sauvegardé January 15, 2008 | 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.
6 of Tonnerre’s monuments were protected in 1972
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
First protected, in 1862: Église Sainte-Catherine. 6 were protected in 1972 alone. None has been added since 2011.
19% of homes in Tonnerre were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
19% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished between 1946 and 1970 than in any other period (37%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
15 people born in Tonnerre before 1900
Their lives on one line.
Everyone born in Tonnerre Birthplaces from Wikidata, checked against Wikipedia.
Historic monuments in the towns around Tonnerre
| Town | Residents | Monuments | Classé | Protected area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tonnerre | 4,261 | 18 | 5 | Yes |
| Saint-Florentin | 4,164 | 1 | 1 | Yes |
Tonnerre in brief
For its size, Tonnerre has more historic monuments than 99% of compared French towns. All told, the list holds 18 historic monuments, 5 of them classé, including Église Sainte-Catherine. Of its homes, 19% were built before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town. Église Notre-Dame sits at the heart of it all, with 5 of the town’s classé monuments within 400 m. In 2026 the Mission Patrimoine picked Fosse-Dionne as a monument in danger to save.
Only 2 of the 41 towns nearest its size have more historic monuments. Of the whole list, 50% 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 Tonnerre
How many historic monuments are there in Tonnerre?
The Culture ministry lists 18 historic monuments in Tonnerre: 5 classé and 13 inscrit.
Which monuments in Tonnerre are classé?
5, among them Église Saint-Pierre, Église Notre-Dame, Église Sainte-Catherine and Fosse-Dionne.
How old are the monuments of Tonnerre?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 13th century.
Is Tonnerre a protected historic area?
One is on the way: a site patrimonial remarquable for Tonnerre is on the ministry’s list, but its rules are still being drawn up.
When were monuments in Tonnerre first protected?
The first in 1862, the latest in 2005.
How old are the homes in Tonnerre?
19% 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.