ClasséTown walls · protected 1875Ancienne enceinte de la villePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Pymouss · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Château abbatial (ancien) · Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.011historic monuments
History of Vézelay · Monuments historiques
A secteur sauvegardé since 1993, and 11 historic monuments
The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Vézelay: 4 classé (France’s highest heritage protection) and 7 inscrit (the second level). The oldest date from the 12th century. We have photos of 8 of them.
Monuments historiques
11
Classé
4
the highest protection
Inscrit
7
the second level
Oldest part
12th c.
of any listed monument
Homes before 1919
67%
median compared town 7.4%
In pictures
Vézelay in 8 photos
Nearly every classé monument, photographed. Tap a photo to step through them full screen.
Ancienne enceinte de la villeClassé
Chapelle de la CordelleClassé
Église de la MadeleineClassé
Maison natale de Théodore de BèzeInscrit
CroixInscrit+3See 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
Vézelay has had a protected historic area since 1993
Sites patrimoniaux remarquables on the Culture ministry’s list, with the plan in force.
| Area | Created as | Plan in force |
|---|---|---|
| SPR27-72 | Secteur sauvegardé December 23, 1993 | PSMV (safeguarding plan) February 7, 2008 |
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. A PSMV (plan de sauvegarde et de mise en valeur) is the strictest plan: it covers every building, inside as well as out.
The list gives no boundaries, so the map can’t show the area.
Map
Where Vézelay’s monuments stand
Every monument with a point on the ministry’s list; the larger, darker dots are classé.
ClasséInscritWithin 400 m of Château abbatial (ancien)
3 of 4classé monuments stand within 400 m of Château abbatial (ancien), with 5 of the town’s 11 monuments.
Tap a dot to open the monument’s page: its record, photo and the monuments around it.
11 monuments by protection
4 Classé7 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 Vézelay
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
Classé
ClasséChâteau · protected 1924Château abbatial (ancien)Part of the building is protectedPhoto: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Inscrit
7 inscrit monuments in Vézelay
Inscrit is the second level of protection: the building is worth keeping, and any work on it must be declared.
InscritChurch · protected 1960église Saint-Étienne (ancienne)Photo: Chabe01 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1992Maison natale de Théodore de BèzePart of the building is protectedPhoto: Daniel Villafruela . · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1937Maison, rue de l'HôpitalPart of the building is protectedPhoto: Krzysztof Golik · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
InscritHouse · protected 1976Maison dite Manoir DesfourneauxPart of the building is protected
House · protected 2021Maison Zervos dite « La Goulotte »
Archaeological site · protected 2020Vestiges archéologiques et bâtiments de l’ancienne maladrerie
What’s protected
Houses and homes are the largest group in Vézelay
Each monument under the main domain Mérimée gives it.
Houses & homes5
Religious buildings4
Military & fortified1
Archaeological sites1
Houses & homes: 5 of 11 monuments (45%). 4 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 Vézelay’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.6
16th to 18th century Renaissance to Revolution0
19th century 1801–19000
20th century and later since 19011
6 of 7 dated monuments have parts from before 1500. The oldest dated: Ancienne enceinte de la ville (12th & 14th c.). 4 monuments have no date on the list.
When protected
Vézelay’s list has grown since 1840
Monuments by the year they were first protected.
1840186018801900192019401960198020002020
First protected, in 1840: Église de la Madeleine. That was France’s first list of monuments historiques, drawn up in Prosper Mérimée’s time as inspector. 2 have been added since 2011.
Age of homes
67% of homes in Vézelay were built before 1919
Main homes by when they were finished, beside the median compared French town (the tick).
67%
Before 1919
6.1%
1919–45
12%
1946–70
8.8%
1971–90
3.3%
1991–2005
2.2%
2006 on
VézelayMedian compared French town
67% of its main homes were built before 1919; the median compared French town has 7.4%. More of them were finished before 1919 than in any other period (67%).
INSEE, census 2023: main homes (résidences principales) only; second homes and empty homes aren’t dated.
Neighbors
Historic monuments in the towns around Vézelay
In brief
Vézelay in brief
Since 1993, the heart of Vézelay has been a secteur sauvegardé, France’s strictest protection for a historic town. All told, the list holds 11 historic monuments, 4 of them classé. Chapelle de la Cordelle and other monuments here are part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its housing is old: 67% of homes date from before 1919, against 7.4% in the median compared French town.
Maison Zervos dite « La Goulotte » is one of the Maisons des Illustres, the homes of people who left their mark on France. Of the 7 with a date, 6 come from the Middle Ages. The oldest is Ancienne enceinte de la ville, from the 12th century. Beyond that, Théodore de Bèze (1519) and Alfred Nasousky (1864) were born here before 1900.
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 Vézelay
How many historic monuments are there in Vézelay?
The Culture ministry lists 11 historic monuments in Vézelay: 4 classé and 7 inscrit.
Which monuments in Vézelay are classé?
4, among them Ancienne enceinte de la ville, Église de la Madeleine, Chapelle de la Cordelle and Château abbatial (ancien).
How old are the monuments of Vézelay?
The oldest parts of its listed monuments date from the 12th century.
Is Vézelay a protected historic area?
Yes: part of Vézelay has been a site patrimonial remarquable since 1993.
When were monuments in Vézelay first protected?
The first in 1840, the latest in 2021.
How old are the homes in Vézelay?
67% 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.