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Monument historique

Monument historique

Overview
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...

, designation as a historic monument is referred to as Listed building status, and in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...

 as a Monumento histórico.

Monument historique is a State procedure in France
France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

 by which heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings or an entire neighborhood, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their architectural and historical importance.
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Encyclopedia
In the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...

, designation as a historic monument is referred to as Listed building status, and in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...

 as a Monumento histórico.

Monument historique is a State procedure in France
France
France , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...

 by which heritage protection is extended to a building or a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings or an entire neighborhood, or gardens, bridges, and other structures, because of their architectural and historical importance. Both public and privately owned structures may be listed in this way.

Examples of buildings classified as a Monument historique include well known Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

ian structures such as the Eiffel Tower
Eiffel Tower
The Eiffel Tower is a 19th century iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris that has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world. The Eiffel Tower, which is the tallest building in Paris, is the single most visited paid monument in...

, the Louvre
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre or officially the Grand Louvre — in English, the Louvre Museum or Great Louvre, or simply the Louvre — is the largest national museum of France, the most visited museum in the world, and a historic monument. It is a central landmark of Paris, located on the Right Bank of the...

, and the Palais Garnier
Palais Garnier
The Palais Garnier, also known as the Opéra de Paris or Opéra Garnier, but more commonly as the Paris Opéra, is a 2,200-seat opera house on the Place de l'Opéra in Paris, France...

 opera house, plus abbeys, churches such as Corbiac
Corbiac
Corbiac is a historic chapel and former monastery located in the French Pyrenees between the villages of Molitg-les-Bains and Mosset....

, and cathedrals such as Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris
Notre Dame de Paris is a Gothic, Roman Catholic Cathedral on the eastern half of the Île de la Cité in the fourth arrondissement of Paris, France. It is the cathedral of the Catholic archdiocese of Paris: that is, it is the church that contains the "cathedra", or official chair, of the Archbishop...

 or hotels such as the Crillon
Hôtel de Crillon
The Hôtel de Crillon in Paris is one of the oldest luxury hotels in the world. It is located at the foot of the Champs-Élysées at No. 10 on the north end of Place de la Concorde....

. Many of the Châteaux of the Loire Valley carry the MH designation as do the renowned gardens at Château de Villandry
Château de Villandry
The Château de Villandry is a castle-palace located in Villandry, in the département of Indre-et-Loire, France.The lands where an ancient fortress once stood were known as Colombier until the 17th century...

.

Some buildings may be given the classification for either their exterior or interior, or both, while in other cases a building's décor, its furniture, a single room, or even a staircase may be given the designation because of its historical significance. An example is the MH classification of the décor in the café "Deux Garcons" in Aix-en-Provence
Aix-en-Provence
Aix , or Aix-en-Provence to distinguish it from other cities built over hot springs, is a city in southern France, some north of Marseille...

 whose patrons included the likes of Alphonse de Lamartine
Alphonse de Lamartine
Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine was a French writer, poet and politician.-Career:Born in Mâcon, Burgundy into French provincial nobility, he spent his youth at the family property at Milly-Lamartine....

, Émile Zola
Émile Zola
Émile François Zola was an influential French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism, an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalisation of France and in the exoneration of the falsely accused...

 and Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century...

. Some buildings are designated because of their connection to a personality, such as the Auberge Ravoux in Auvers-sur-Oise
Auvers-sur-Oise
Auvers-sur-Oise is a commune in the north-western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located . from the center of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most prominent being Vincent van Gogh.-History:...

 which is designated a Monument historique because of its connection to the painter Vincent van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter whose work had a far reaching influence on 20th century art for its vivid colors and emotional impact. He suffered from anxiety and increasingly frequent bouts of mental illness throughout his life, and died largely unknown, at the age...

. Since the 1990s, a significant number of scientific places have been given the designation because of their historical importance.

The designation traces its roots to the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution was a period of political and social upheaval and radical change in the history of France, during which the French governmental structure, previously an absolute monarchy with feudal privileges for the aristocracy and Catholic clergy, underwent radical change to forms based...

 when the government appointed Alexandre Lenoir to specify and safeguard certain structures. The first classifications were given in the 19th century by the writer Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée
Prosper Mérimée was a French dramatist, historian, archaeologist, and short story writer. He is perhaps best known for his novella Carmen, which became the basis of Bizet's opera Carmen.-Life:...

, inspector-general of historical monuments (see Roquetaillade castle
Château de Roquetaillade
The Château de Roquetaillade is a castle in Mazères , in the French département of Gironde.Charlemagne, on his way to the Pyrenees with Roland, built the first fortification there...

). In 1851, Mérimée organized the Missions Héliographiques
Missions Héliographiques
Prosper Mérimée established the Missions Héliographiques in 1851 to supplement Monument historique a program he had established in 1837 to classify, protect and restore French landmarks. Mérimée, noted author of Carmen, served as France's Inspector General of Historical Monuments, and he hired...

 to document France's medieval architecture
Architecture
For a topical guide to this subject, see Outline of architecture. Architecture is the art and science of designing and constructing buildings and other physical structures for human shelter or use....

.

There is a secondary category formerly called "Inventaire Supplementaire des Monuments Historiques" (ISMH).