luxury loft for sale Bar-le-Duc, France

A two-floor apartment in a converted 19th-century temple, bathed in light, in the heart of Bar-le-Duc. Although still scarce at the beginning of the 19th century, in Bar-le-Duc the protestant community began to gain structure from 1856 with the arrival of a pastor. The following year, plans were put in place to build a temple based on the blueprints provided by local authority architect Alexandre Guiot. The first stone was laid on 23rd May 1861 by six-year-old Camélia, the pastor’s daughter. A commemorative inscription and three pieces of silver dating from 1860 were placed in a cavity carved out in the stone, at the base of the entrance gate. These objects paying witness to the founding of the edifice were protected between two lead sheets and are still in place today. After 1905, the community brought together 600 believers from 44 different municipalities, but its gradual decline and financial difficulties led to the temple being sold in 1996. It thus ceased to be a place of worship and was converted into a two-level home by the current owners, who maintained the ground floor as a workshop and an exhibition / shop venue. The temple stands on a peaceful street, perpendicular to the town’s main street, occupying a triangular shaped plot with a small courtyard to the rear.