Introduction
This public wash-house, which was restored in 2007, is an example of vernacular architecture from the start of the 20th century. Doing the laundry there—an activity that was exclusively performed by women in those days—was commonplace well into the 20th century, when the first electrical appliances began to appear, making it possible to carry out the task at home. Wash-houses proved highly convenient for women, who no longer had to walk down to the river to do the laundry, but could instead do so near, home, standing up and under a roof. The wash-house was also a place for socialising and finding out what was going on in the village. In Catalan, fer safareig (doing the laundry at a wash-house) also means to gossip.