LAVAL, a town of France, capital of the department of Mayenne, is situated on the Mayenne, a tributary of the Loire, 187 miles W. by S. of Paris by railway. It stands on a declivity on the W. side of the river, which is here crossed by two bridges, connecting the proper town with a large suburb. The streets of the town are narrow, steep, crooked, and dirty. The houses are almost all built of wood, in the old French style, each storey jutting out beyond the one underneath, thus rendering the streets dark and gloomy. Laval proper is inclosed by old walls, now in a state of decay. The suburb on the opposite side of the river is of recent date, and is laid out on a regular plan, having wide and regular streets. This faubourg forms a third of the entire town, and is the residence of the better class of the inhabitants. The village of Avenières also adjoins the town, and may be considered as another suburb. It contains a fine old church in the Norman style, erected in the year 1010. The principal edifices of Laval belong to the middle ages. An old castle of the twelfth century, now used as a gaol, stands on the right bank of the river, near the old bridge; it was formerly held by the Counts of Laval and Trémouille. The cathedral, the church of St. Vénérand, and two hospitals, are nearly of the same age as the castle, and are worthy of attention as curious specimens of Gothic architecture. The linen hall is a large and handsome building of recent date. Ambrose Paré, the father of French surgery, was born here in 1509; and a statue to his memory has been erected in the Place de l'Hotel de Ville. Laval may now be considered as wholly a manufacturing town, its staple articles being linens and ticking, for which it has long been famous. Besides these, however, it also manufactures cotton, flannels, soap, and leather, and possesses a considerable trade in wine, brandy, and marble. The town is the see of a bishop, and contains a tribunal of first instance and a chamber of commerce.
Laval probably owes its origin to a castle built here in the earlier part of the middle ages, to protect the surrounding country from the inroads of the Bretons. This fortress was destroyed by the Normans in the ninth century, but was afterwards rebuilt and possessed by the Laval family for many years, until it fell into the hands of the English under Lord Talbot in 1466. Next year, however, it was recovered by the French, and the castle returned to its former owners. In more modern times Laval was the scene of a memorable conflict between the Royalists and Republicans. In 1793 the Vendéans, under Larochejacquelin, carried this town at the point of the bayonet, and then marching against the Republicans under Lechelle, routed them at a place called Les Croix de Bataille, a little distance S. of Laval. Pop. (1851) 17,538.