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Home | Centuries | The 16th century - Protestants in the arts and letters – Literature in the 16th century | Protestant temples : from the 16th century to the Revocation | Montpellier (Hérault)
Montpellier (Hérault)
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The Big temple - The Small temple

In the early 16th century, before 1535, the Reformation was established in Montpellier.


The Big temple, built before the Edict of Nantes

After 1560, services were held in private houses, e.g. the Dessandrieux house, the Petit Scel, actually the Marché aux Fleurs Square, and at night in the Didier Baudin house or the Mage house, now the site of the Facultés Palace.

In 1561 the Reformed took possession of the church of Notre-Dame-des-Tables, then of the Saint-Pierre Cathedral. But Pierre Viret preached moderation and sent the Protestants back to the Mage house.

1583  : Construction of the Big temple, on a rectangular plan, actually the Chabaneau Square. The date of the inauguration was engraved, along with the armorial bearings of François de Châtillon, the son of Gaspard II de Coligny.

Go to top The Small temple

After the Edict of Nantes (1598), the Small temple was built on Saint Côme Square and inaugurated in 1603.

Go to top From disorder to destruction

During the 17th century, the city was to go through times of great disorder, known as the " Grand Harlan ". Louis XIII himself came and signed the peace treaty in 1622. A general amnesty was proclaimed. Rohan, the Protestant military commander was appointed governor of Nîmes. Peace lasted for forty years.

After 1660, Nicolas de Lamoignon de Basville, quartermaster to the King, ignored the latter's orders and repressed the Huguenots and Camisards until 1718.

1670  : quartermaster Basville had the Small Temple demolished.

1682  : Louis XIV ordered the Big Temple to be destroyed within twenty-four hours. The Reformed themselves were made to smash everything, including the benches, beams, etc. Then the spoilage was taken to the Protestant graveyard situated within the park between the Comédie theatre and the railway station square, the present-day d'Oblion Street.

1698 was a year of bloodshed in Montpellier. Preachers were tortured or executed on the scaffold. This went on until the Edict of Tolerance (1787).

Bibliography
Books
DUBIEF, Henri et POUJOL, Jacques, La France protestante, Histoire et Lieux de mémoire, Max Chaleil éditeur, Montpellier, 1992, rééd. 2006, 450 pages
LAURENT, René, Promenade à travers les temples de France, Les Presses du Languedoc, Millau, 1996, 520 pages
REYMOND, Bernard, L'architecture religieuse des protestants, Labor et Fides, Genève, 1996
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Gaspard de Coligny (1519-1572)
The Edict of Nantes (1598)
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Gaspard de Coligny (1519-1572) Themes
The Edict of Nantes (1598) Themes
Les tombes protestantes Works
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