Temple protestant

English translation

The text above is the record as published by the Ministère de la Culture, in French. The English below is a machine translation made by TreeAlive, not by the Ministère de la Culture; it has not been checked by a person. Where the two differ, the original is the record. Report a translation error: privacy@treealive.com

History

The temple of Gabre is remarkable for its modesty and simplicity, it is a Desert temple. Gabre had been the seat of a commandery of Hospitallers since the 12th century. But Gabre is also known for its glassmakers who came to settle in the Mas d'Azil region at the beginning of the 16th century attracted no doubt by the abundance of wood and sand necessary for their craft. When in the middle of the 16th century the ideas of the Reformation spread in the region, the population of Gabre embraced them massively, glassmakers leading the way. The commanders, lords of the place, were dispossessed of the tower in 1568 while the church, partly destroyed, was assigned to the new worship. The revocation of the Edict of Nantes led to the disappearance of this place of worship. The gentleman-glassmakers, accustomed to a semi-nomadic existence in the woods, organised a spiritual resistance by arranging unlawful open-air assemblies. After the Edict of tolerance and the Revolution, they had to gradually abandon their craft activity, competed by industrial glassworks and their families experienced in the 19th century the scattering. The Protestant population of Gabre is estimated at 267 inhabitants out of 520 at the beginning of the 19th century. At this time, two places of worship were again built. A temple was constructed in 1803 in the heart of the village, another more outlying at Lastermes in 1804. Throughout the 19th century, the community asked the authorities for help with their upkeep. Several inhabitants of Gabre distinguished themselves during the Second World War as Righteous. Since then the temple has been subject to constant maintenance work.

Description

The temple is situated not far to the south-east of the church, former chapel of the commandery of hospitallers which is partly protected. It is a very simple building: a rectangle oriented north-south established on a slope, approximately 11 m by 8.5 m of which the north façade is blind. It resembles an improved barn or a small house. The interior with a slight slope is covered by exposed roof structure with roughly squared beams; it would seem that this roof structure may have been concealed by a ceiling until an indeterminate date, but the present state accentuates the impression of rusticity of this temple, which led to it being compared to the barn at Wassy (Haute-Marne).