Napoleonian bench à Uttwiller dans le Bas-Rhin

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Origin and history

The Napoleonic bench of Uttwiller, dated 1854, is part of a 19th century Alsatian tradition. These public stone benches, often accompanied by four trees, were designed to provide a resting place for peasants carrying heavy burdens to markets. Women placed their baskets on the upper lintel, while men could put their hoods there. The initiative dates back to 1811-1812, under the leadership of Prefect Adrien de Lezay-Marnesia, to celebrate the birth of the King of Rome, the son of Napoleon I. The Alsatian municipalities were invited to erect these monuments every 2.5 km, with a commemorative inscription and trees for shade.

In 1853, the prefect Auguste-César West launched the project to mark the first anniversary of the marriage of Napoleon III and Empress Eugénie. Unlike the first wave, the costs were this time borne by the Bas-Rhin department, encouraging the reluctant municipalities to participate. In 1854, 448 bench-rests were built of sandstone of the Vosges, including that of Uttwiller, marked with vintage on its cross-section. These monuments, often neglected after the German annexation of 1870, were partially restored in the 1980s thanks to their inclusion in the inventory of historical monuments.

A typical example of these constructions is the Uttwiller Bank, located on the 234th departmental road. It consists of two pillars, a restored seat and an engraved upper slab surrounded by plane trees. His style commemorates both an era of painful agricultural work and a political will to anchor Napoleon's memory in the Alsatian landscape. Despite the deterioration and the evolution of modes of transport making these banks obsolete, some, like this one, remain as evidence of a rural and imperial heritage.

Alsatian benches also reflect the region's historical tensions. After 1870, under German administration, their maintenance was abandoned, considered unsuitable for new agricultural practices (such as carriages). In 1910, their original form was even declared obsolete, accelerating their decline. Only a protection order in 1988 allowed to preserve copies such as that of Uttwiller, now departmental property and classified historical monument.

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