Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Protestant temple in Die came into being in 1525 when Peter Gay preached the Reformation. In 1560, a Calvinist Church was officially established, and a first temple was built in 1590 in the Saint May district. The city then became a Protestant bastion, housing a college, an Academy teaching theology, philosophy and ancient languages, as well as a printing house. Until 1627, Die was a safe place for the Reformed, but persecution resumed before the revocation of the edict of Nantes.

In 1684, the Academy was closed and the temple was razed the following year, its stones reused for the Cathedral of Our Lady of Die. As early as 1687, assemblies of the Desert organized clandestinely. In the 19th century, after the Revolution, Protestants – then nearly half of the population of the Diois – obtained the chapel of the former hospital of the Cross (1804), then bought the Jesuit hospital in 1831. The 18th century walnut door, classified in 1931, is one of the few architectural remains.

During the Second World War, Pastor Pierre Loux and his parish engaged in the resistance and protection of the Jews. The presbytery welcomes refugees from the camp of Gurs, while parishioners hide persecuted families, such as Marc Bloch or Claude Lévi-Strauss. In 1944 Camille Buffardel, a member of the Presbyteral Council, was shot down by militia for his role in the Buckmaster network. Since 1950, the parish has been paired with Louisendorf (Germany), and a hiking path, In the footsteps of the Huguenots, values this heritage.

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