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 self-service laundries (

British English British English is the set of Variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United Kingdom, especially Great Britain. More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in England, or, more broadly, to ...

: laundrette;

American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lang ...

: laundromat). The English word is borrowed from the

French language French ( or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language of the Indo-European languages, Indo-European family. Like all other Romance languages, it descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire. French evolved from Northern Old Gallo-R ...

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

Description

Lavoirs were built from the seventeenth to the early twentieth centuries. With

Baron Haussmann Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often Hereditary title, hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than ...

's redesign of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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. Lavoirs are commonly sited on a spring or set over or beside a river. Many lavoirs are provided with roofs for shelter. With the coming of piped water supplies and modern

drainage Drainage is the natural or artificial removal of a surface's water and sub-surface water from an area with excess water. The internal drainage of most agricultural soils can prevent severe waterlogging (anaerobic conditions that harm root gro ...

, 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 ' ("laundry boats") in some towns on the banks of large rivers such as Paris and

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Gallery

Groix-lavoir.jpg, A lavoir at Groix Bourgogne_Noyers-sur-Serein_lavoir.jpg, Lavoir at Noyers Lavoir-gunstett.jpg, Lavoir at Gunstett Imm015BateauxLavoirsLavalFrance050105smallGFDLMelusin.jpg, Laundry boat at Laval MHNT PHa 912 T144.jpg, Laundry boat in

Haute-Garonne Haute-Garonne (; , ; ''Upper Garonne'') is a department in the southwestern French region of Occitanie. Named after the river Garonne, which flows through the department. Its prefecture and main city is Toulouse, the country's fourth-largest. ...

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

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

about 1874 at Vellisca in the

Province of Cuenca Cuenca () is one of the five provinces of the Autonomous communities of Spain, 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 ...

Tanque das Lavandeiras - comunitario II.jpg, Public wash-pool at Cabeção, Portugal Lavoir San Miguel de Allende.jpg, Public washbasins at

San Miguel de Allende San Miguel de Allende () is the principal city in the Municipalities of Mexico, municipality of San Miguel de Allende (municipality), San Miguel de Allende, located in the far eastern part of Guanajuato, Mexico. A part of the Bajío region, the t ...

, Mexico Fourneau St-Michel - Lavoir (Saint-Remy).jpg, Fourneau Saint-Michel - Lavoir (Saint-Rémy)

References

{{Laundry navbox Laundry places Buildings and structures by type Water Women's history

Description

Gallery

See also

References