Village wash-houses
In the not too distant past, washing machines did not exist. If even a couple of decades ago, they were still a luxury.
The laundry was therefore often done in a simple and flat stone placed near a stream or river.
Antique wall-fountain with washtub
Superb village wash-house in aged and patinated stones
Large bassin de style lavoir avec fronton en pierres vieillies et patinées
At the end of the eighteenth century, following numerous cholera epidemics, the first whas-houses were built. These constructions emerged everywhere after the French Emperor Napoleon III in 1851 voted a decree to open credits to encourage all municipalities to develop public laundries.