The Centre des monuments nationaux (CMN) (French, 'National monuments centre') is a French government body (

Établissement public à caractère administratif An Établissement public à caractère administratif (EPA; literally translating to "public establishment of an administrative nature") is, in France, a public law legal person with a certain administrative and financial autonomy to fulfil a miss ...

) which conserves, restores and manages historic buildings and sites that are the property of the French state. It is run by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

. The CMN is responsible for the upkeep of around 85 monuments, ranging from the prehistoric megaliths at

Carnac Carnac (; br, italic=no, Karnag, ) is a commune beside the Gulf of Morbihan on the south coast of Brittany in the Morbihan department in north-western France. Its inhabitants are called ''Carnacois'' in French. Carnac is renowned for the Ca ...

, medieval fortifications such as the towers at

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. Wi ...

, and Renaissance châteaux such as

Azay-le-Rideau Azay-le-Rideau () is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. Château The château of Azay-le-Rideau was built from 1515 to 1527, one of the earliest French Renaissance châteaux. Built on an island in the river Indre, it ...

, to

Le Corbusier Charles-Édouard Jeanneret (6 October 188727 August 1965), known as Le Corbusier ( , , ), was a Swiss-French architect, designer, painter, urban planner, writer, and one of the pioneers of what is now regarded as modern architecture. He was ...

's Villa Savoye. The CMN is also responsible for making these monuments accessible to the public, and promoting understanding of the heritage they represent through publishing books and guides, under the imprint ''Éditions du patrimoine''. In 2008, the CMN sites had a total of nearly 8.5 million visitors. The CMN had an annual budget of

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone and unilaterally adopted by Kosovo and Montenegro. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists o ...

120 million in 2009, which was mainly derived from its own sales, as well as from donations and a subsidy from the Ministry of Culture. The organisation is based at the

Hôtel de Sully The Hôtel de Sully is a Louis XIII style ''hôtel particulier'', or private mansion, located at 62 rue Saint-Antoine in the Marais, IV arrondissement, Paris, France. Built at the beginning of the 17th century, it is nowadays the seat of the Cen ...

on rue Saint-Antoine in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

List of monuments

References

External links

Official website
{{authority control Government agencies of France Lists of buildings and structures in France Historic sites in France National heritage organizations