Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Banc-reposoir known as Banc du Roi de Rome, located in Erstein, was built in the 1st quarter of the 19th century, more precisely between 1811 and 1812. It is part of a series of Alsatian public benches sponsored by the Prefect of Bas-Rhin Adrien de Lezay-Marnesia to celebrate the birth of the King of Rome, son of Napoleon I and Marie-Louise of Austria. These benches, called Nabele Bänk ("Napoléon benches"), were designed to provide a resting place for peasants carrying their products to local markets. Their typical structure included a top slab for laying burdens and a lower bench, often surrounded by lime trees for shade.

The Alsatian benches met a practical need: the peasants, wearing heavy baskets on their heads, and the peasants, carrying hoods, could stop there. The Prefect Lezay-Marnesia ordered their installation every 2.5 km along the roads, with an inscription evoking the King of Rome. About 125 benches were built in 1811, but few survived. This monument of Erstein, inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1982, bears witness to this imperial initiative and its heritage in the Alsatian landscape.

Over time, these banks lost their initial usefulness, especially after 1870, when the German annexation of Alsace led to a decline in their maintenance. In 1910, their form was considered obsolete due to the evolution of modes of transport (such as carriages). Despite this, some banks, such as Erstein's, have been preserved for their heritage value. Today they recall a time when these monuments played a social and commemorative role, linking Alsatian rural life with Napoleonic history.

Erstein Bank, owned by the Bas-Rhin department, is one of the few still visible examples of this series of monuments. Its protection in 1982 preserved this architectural and historical testimony, symbolizing both the ingenuity of the local authorities of the time and Alsatian peasant traditions. These benches, although often forgotten, remain cultural markers of the 19th century Alsace, between imperial memory and daily life.

External links