Napoleonian bench à Adamswiller dans le Bas-Rhin

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Origin and history

The Napoleonic bench of Adamswiller, built in the third quarter of the 19th century, is part of an Alsatian tradition dating back to the beginning of the century. These public benches, often called Nabele Bänk ("Napoléon benches"), were originally commissioned in 1811-1812 by the Prefect of Bas-Rhin Adrien de Lezay-Marnésia to celebrate the birth of Napoleon I's son, Aiglon. Their design allowed peasants, especially peasants carrying heavy baskets on their heads, to lay their burdens on a stone lintel and rest in the shade of lime trees. Two side posts were also used for men to put their hoods or for riders to climb up the saddle.

In 1853-1854, under the impetus of the prefect Auguste-César West, the bench-restorators experienced a second wave of construction, taking the idea of his predecessor to honour a vow of Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III. This time, the costs were borne by the department, encouraging reluctant municipalities to participate. In 1854, 448 sandstone banks of the Vosges were erected along the Alsatian roads. However, their interview was neglected after 1870, at the time of German annexation, and their usefulness was questioned in 1910, as the authorities considered their form obsolete with the arrival of carriages.

Adamswiller Bank, located along the C.D. 239, is one of the few survivors of that time. Ranked Historic Monument in 1988, it bears witness to a rural heritage linked to 19th century agricultural and commercial practices. These benches, often accompanied by trees, also marked shady stop roads, reflecting a desire to modernize local infrastructure under the Empire. Their decline in the 20th century illustrates the evolution of modes of transport and the loss of their primary function.

During the German period (after 1870), maintenance measures were proposed in 1906, but without concrete follow-up. In 1910, a decree removed the obligation to restore them, finding them unsuitable for contemporary needs. Their late rescue, in the 1980s, through inscriptions in the Historical Monuments, allowed a few copies, such as Adamswiller, to escape the disappearance. Today, they are tangible vestiges of Alsatian rural life and Napoleonic commemorative policies.

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