Le temple de Marennes

Descriptif

A large part of the population quickly embraced these new ideas, and the first temple was built as early as 1558.



In 1600, following the drafting of the Edict of Nantes - which allowed for toleration of religious rights - and faced with an increasing number of new converts, the Protestant community of Marennes had another, larger temple built in the center of town. It was demolished in the 17th century, when the Edict of Nantes was revoked by Louis XIV. Some of Marennes' Protestants left the town for England, the Netherlands and the United States.



A new church was built in 1810 in the former chapel of the Jesuit convent. It was remodeled in 1836 and, in 1861, the main entrance was transformed. A beautiful colonnaded façade topped by a triangular pediment was added in the neo-classical style, in the architectural tradition of the 19th century.



Note the representation of the Bible on the pediment, a symbol of the Reformation and a reminder of Marennes' long Protestant history.