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Origin and history

The Protestant Temple of Clairac, located in Vicoze Square, is a religious building built in the early 19th century, after the restoration of freedom of worship for Protestants in 1789. It replaces a first temple erected in 1807, rebuilt in the 1836s. This monument, of square shape with prominent extensions, evokes a cross and houses a nave framed by collaterals surmounted by stands. His choir, slightly raised, hosts a wooden pulpit surmounted by a dais, typical of the Reformed temples.

Clairac's history is marked by his attachment to Protestantism from the Renaissance, becoming a Calvinist bastion. In 1621, after a 12-day siege led by Louis XIII to subdue Guyenne, the city capitulated. Three Protestants, considered leaders, were executed, and acts of torture were reported by the city's native poet Theophile de Viau. These events illustrate the religious tensions of the time under the Old Regime.

After the revocation of the edict of Nantes, Protestants regain their rights with the Declaration of Human and Citizen Rights of 1789. The Organic Articles of 1802, under Napoleon I, structure the Reformed Churches, allowing the construction of the present temple. In 2021, it was listed as a historical monument and bears witness to the Protestant heritage in Lot-et-Garonne and its sober architecture, marked by discreet carved elements.

The temple is surrounded by a gate and includes an extension housing a prayer room, as well as an unoccupied former presbytery. Its funding, partly provided by the community of the faithful, reflects local commitment. Today, there remains an active place of worship and memory, linked to the United Protestant Church of France.

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