Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The washhouse of the centre of Mollans, erected in 1849, replaces an earlier washhouse dated 1823. Designed by the architect Jean-Baptiste Colard, it is distinguished by its cut stone structure, combining a covered hall with doric columns (street side, square side walls) and a circular fountain decorated with carved motifs. The central basin, extended by two waterworks, requires a double hydraulic circuit, diverge and converge, reflecting a typical 19th century engineering.

The building is part of the Second Empire's hygienist arrangements to improve rural living conditions. The public washhouses, places of female sociability, played a central role in the villages, combining utility function (lessive, watering of animals) and beautification of the communal framework. Mollans, like many towns of Haute-Saône, benefited from these infrastructure financed by municipalities or the state.

Ranked a historic monument in 2008, the washhouse illustrates regional neoclassical architecture, marked by the use of doric columns and harmonious integration with the urban fabric. Its location on the Grande Rue, in the heart of the village, and its almost intact conservation make it a rare testimony to the domestic practices and craftsmanship of the mid-19th century. The sculpted motifs of the fountain, although not detailed in the sources, suggest an aesthetic will beyond mere utility.

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