Grand Temple d'Anduze, Protestant meeting house in Anduze, France.
The Grand Temple d'Anduze is a Protestant church building constructed in neoclassical style and completed in 1823. The structure displays a columned portico, a triangular pediment, and a bell tower that was added in 1883.
A first Protestant church was built in 1602 and destroyed by royal order in 1636. The present temple, designed by military engineer Grulet, was inaugurated on 19 October 1823 after its predecessor collapsed in 1812. It was listed as a monument historique in 1979 and closed for restoration in January 2019.
The parish belongs to the Union nationale des Églises protestantes réformées évangéliques de France. Inside, the pews are set in half-circles around the pulpit, reached by two flights of wrought-iron stairs, a layout meant to express the equality of those taking part in the Assembly. The same semicircular plan appears in the temples of Lassalle, Ganges, Meyrueis and Vauvert.
The temple stands on the Plan de Brie in the town centre, its columned portico facing the street. It was closed to the public in January 2019 for restoration works estimated at 1 million euros, led by architect Alexandre Autin, after a roof tie beam of over four tonnes was found to have bent. The works are ongoing, so check locally before planning a visit.
The organ above the entrance was first built in 1848 by Théodore Puget, rebuilt and enlarged from seven to eighteen stops in 1992 by Bernard Raupp, then restored in 2009 by P. Saby. The bell in the south gable wall, cast by the Baudouin workshops in Marseille, weighs 650 kg and was installed in 1883.
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