Laval

I returned to Laval, a town I had visited some years earlier, at the invitation of a woman I had met when she was working as an au pair in New Jersey, Sandrine. She returned to France and was living with her mother, Eliane so when I visited, I stayed at their house. They made sure I saw every inch of historic Laval.  Sandrine was married shortly afterwards and moved to a village a few miles away.

This time I came by car from Angers and arrived in time to have lunch with Sandrine and Eliane. After Sandrine returned to work, Eliane suggested we walk along the Mayenne River to the center of town. We passed some men playing boules

near the river and then walked around a picturesque old street leading up to the chateau. We stopped for drinks at a café and then we walked past some shops to the Cordeliers’ church where, Eliane informed me, Sandrine and Philippe had been married.

I stayed with Eliane because Sandrine was working; we planned to see her on the weekend. Eliane proposed short excursions to villages within the province of Mayenne , at most 20-30 minutes away.  (Laval is located at the center of the province). That evening we went to a conference where a documentary was shown about a Swiss couple who ran through 20 countries to raise money for charity.

A few days later we returned in the morning for a short walk around the old town. We walked along one street with very old houses remaining from the 15th -18th c. Graceful arches, one of which was a carriage entrance, formed the facade of the home of a wealthy family.

Another was one example of many remaining half-timbered houses in Laval.

This and other houses were dated from archives and by archaeological methods. Often the timbers were numbered so it was possible to determine how the houses were constructed.  Stone began to replace timber during the 17th c. and brought an end to this type of construction.

A Roman road crossed the Mayenne River at Laval, located halfway between two very old towns, Rennes and Le Mans. This made the site an important link between the kingdom of France and the duchy of Brittany. Textiles from France were shipped to the Mediterranean, taking over markets once dominated by Middle Eastern countries, and from there shipped even to the American colonies.  Laval was one of the towns known for its manufacture of linen: linen was washed in the river and then spread in the sunny fields around the town to whiten.

Rivers served many purposes to the towns founded near them. As in many places, laundry was done at the edge of the river or in a special fountain nearby. Later, in the 19th and until the mid 20th c., special boats, called "bateaux-lavoirs" or laundry boats, were stationed along the river. Eliane told me how her grandmother washed laundry on the boat. Huge vats held soapy and clean water; laundry was tied in a mesh-like bag with a silver ring identifying the owner. The only laundry boat that remains in France is on the Mayenne at Laval and it is classed as an historic monument.  It is more than 100 years old and has been restored; in addition to its attraction for residents and tourists, it is now used for educational purposes.

The chateau of Laval traces its origins to 1020 as a small wood and earthen building on a hilltop overlooking the Mayenne. A small square tower (dungeon) was added about 100 years later to accomodate a reception hall, sleeping quarters, and a chapel. Fortifications were begun at this time and completed after a round tower with 8-ft thick walls was built.

Fortifications of chateau

 Now the chateau could assure the defense of the town; the only access to the town was over the bridge.  Until the mid-18th c there were families living in houses on the bridge.  The Germans bombed the bridge in 1944 before leaving Laval, but reconstruction began immediately giving the bridge its current appearance and conserving four of the original arches.

Laval became part of the Kingdom of France in 1429 when a distinguished nobleman who had had fought with Joan of Arc was named the first Count of Laval in 1429 by Charles VII.