The Guildhall of Bankers and Money Changers
In the fifteenth century, Lyon was a major hub of European commerce. Currency exchange operations took place in the open air on the Place de la Draperie (later renamed Place des Changes). A first “loggia” dedicated to trade and exchange was erected in the 1630s. As it became dilapidated and too cramped, it was demolished and replaced by a second loggia built between 1748 and 1750 by the architects Roche and Soufflot, the future builder of the Panthéon. The façade combines Italian Baroque and Neoclassical styles.
During the French Revolution, the building was abandoned and for a time used as an inn.
Assigned to Protestant Worship
In 1803, this civic building was allocated for Reformed worship.
The worship hall was located on the ground floor; on the first floor, a boys’ and girls’ school was installed in two large rooms; in the attic there was a library.
In 1822, the pulpit was moved and placed facing the entrance, raised and accessed by two staircases; a horseshoe-shaped gallery was built to house the organ in its central section, with galleries for the congregation. In 1856, the church was enlarged: the worship hall was extended on the ground floor as far as the façade, and a new gallery was added on the first floor.
As the building once again became too small in the 1860s, the consistory decided to commission the construction of a new church: the Grand Temple, inaugurated in 1884.
In 1938, the Temple du Change hosted the first national synod of the reunited Reformed Church of France.
Un petite note personnelle, nous (Céline et moi) sommes mariés dans ce temple en 2000. La photo n’est pas de notre mariage, mais c’est comme si! Vous n’avez pas besoin d’inclure cette note dans les tablettes!
