From School to Temple: Protestant heritage in Jarnac

You'll walk in the footsteps of the men and women who made Jarnac's history in the 19th century, and who formed an important religious community, influential and dynamic in the cognac brandy trade and in local politics. Also known as "Huguenots", they had been rooted in Jarnac since the 16th century, when they "erected" their church in 1559 and worshipped in a modest temple on rue Basse. They received major support from the Lord of Jarnac, Léonor CHABOT, son of Guy (the duellist who won the "Coup de Jarnac"), who was to become one of the political leaders of the Protestants in the South-West.

The tragic Wars of Religion were followed by several decades of relative peace, with the Edict of Nantes promulgated by King Henri IV in 1598, then revoked less than a century later by Louis XIV in 1685. A banned and repressed religion, Protestantism undoubtedly experienced its darkest hours (forced conversions, persecutions, exile, clandestinity…). In Jarnac, a hotbed of resistance was organized: Huguenots practiced their religion with determination and discretion, often at the risk of their lives, notably during night assemblies “in the desert” (cf. la Combe des Loges, in the Segonzac region). On the eve of the Revolution, the Edict of Toleration of Versailles (1787) recognized the civil existence of Protestants, who at last regained a measure of freedom. In Jarnac, it wasn’t until 1821 that a new temple (on rue Abel Guy) was built on the foundations of the old one, and even enlarged according to the plans of Jarnac architect François-Nicolas PINEAU.