Napoleonian bench à Knoersheim dans le Bas-Rhin

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Origin and history

The Napoleonic bench in Knœrsheim, built in the third quarter of the 19th century, is part of the Alsatian tradition of utility and memorial monuments. These benches, called Nabele Bänk ("Napoléon benches"), were originally created in 1811-1812 under the impetus of Prefect Adrien of Lezay-Marnesia to celebrate the birth of the King of Rome (son of Napoleon I). Their design allowed peasants, especially peasants with baskets on their heads, to lay their burdens on a lintel and rest in the shade of lime trees. Two side terminals were also used for riders or hood carriers.

A second wave of construction took place in 1853-1854, relaunched by the prefect Auguste-César West to honour a vow of Empress Eugénie de Montijo, wife of Napoleon III. Unlike the first series, these banks were financed by the Bas-Rhin department in a post-crisis economic context (1846-1848). A total of 448 pieces of Vosges sandstone were erected, but many disappeared by negligence or destruction. The one in Knœrsheim, protected since 1988, bears witness to this story.

Under the German annexation (after 1870), these benches were deemed obsolete: in 1910, their shape was criticized (no need for upper ring, too low bench), and their maintenance abandoned. Their rescue began in the 1980s with inscriptions to the Historical Monuments. Knœrsheim, located on CD 68, remains a rare remnant of this rural and imperial heritage.

The Alsatian benches reflect a dual vocation: utility (repose of workers) and symbolic (celebration of Napoleonic power). Their decline in the 20th century illustrates the evolution of modes of transport (disappearance of the portage on the back or on the head) and the memorial tensions associated with political changes in Alsace.

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