A lavoir (wash-house) is a public place set aside for the washing of clothes. Communal washing places were common in Europe until industrial washing was introduced, and this process in turn was replaced by domestic washing machines and by launderettes. The English word is borrowed from the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...

, which also uses the expression ''bassin public'', "public basin".

Description

Lavoirs were built from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. With Baron Haussmann's redesign of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

in the 1850s, a free lavoir was established in every neighbourhood, and government grants encouraged municipalities across France to construct their own. Lavoirs are more common in certain areas, such as around the

Canal du Midi The Canal du Midi (; ) is a long canal in Southern France (french: le Midi). Originally named the ''Canal royal en Languedoc'' (Royal Canal in Languedoc) and renamed by French revolutionaries to ''Canal du Midi'' in 1789, the canal is conside ...

. Lavoirs are commonly sited on a

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

or set over or beside a river. Many lavoirs are provided with roofs for shelter. With the coming of piped

water supplies Water supply is the provision of water by public utilities, commercial organisations, community endeavors or by individuals, usually via a system of pumps and pipes. Public water supply systems are crucial to properly functioning societies. Thes ...

and modern

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess of water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils is good enough to prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic condition ...

, lavoirs have been steadily falling into disuse although a number of communities have restored ancient lavoirs, some of which date back to the 10th century. There are also ''bateaux-lavoirs'' ("laundry boats") in some towns on the banks of large rivers such as Paris and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of ...

Gallery

Image:Groix-lavoir.jpg, A lavoir at Groix Image:Bourgogne_Noyers-sur-Serein_lavoir.jpg, Lavoir at

Noyers-sur-Serein Noyers (; often referred to as ''Noyers-sur-Serein'') is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. There are half-timbered houses, ashlars, pillars and pinnacles. There are many cobbled lanes and sma ...

Image:Lavoir-gunstett.jpg, Lavoir at Gunstett Image:Imm015BateauxLavoirsLavalFrance050105smallGFDLMelusin.jpg, Laundry boat at Laval Image:MHNT PHa 912 T144.jpg, Laundry boat in

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; oc, Nauta Garona, ; en, Upper Garonne) is a department in the Occitanie region of Southwestern France. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country' ...

, 1901 Image:Vellisca (Cuenca) lavadero público (RPS 27-09-2014).png, Lavadero público in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

about 1874 at

Vellisca Vellisca is a municipality located in the province of Cuenca, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. According to the 2004 census (Instituto Nacional de Estadística (Spain), INE), the municipality has a population of 161 inhabitants. References

Mu ...

in the

Province of Cuenca Cuenca is one of the five provinces of the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. It is located in the eastern part of this autonomous community and covers 17,141 square km. It has a population of 203,841 inhabitants -- the least populated o ...

Image:Tanque das Lavandeiras - comunitario II.jpg, Public wash-pool at Cabeção,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

Image:Lavoir San Miguel de Allende.jpg, Public washbasins at San Miguel de Allende (

México Mexico ( Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatem ...

) Image:Fourneau St-Michel - Lavoir (Saint-Remy).jpg, Fourneau Saint-Michel - Lavoir (Saint-Remy)

Description

Gallery

See also

References

External links