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Origin and history

The Napoleonic bench of Lupstein, located in the Great East, dates from the 3rd quarter of the 19th and 20th centuries. This type of monument, typical of Alsace, was designed to offer a place of rest for peasants going to markets or fairs. The women placed their heavy baskets on the lintel, while the men could put their hoods there. Often surrounded by lime trees, it also served as a shadow point and a stop for travellers and riders.

These benches were erected in two main waves. The first, in 1811-1812, was initiated by the Prefect of Bas-Rhin Adrien de Lezay-Marnésia to celebrate the birth of the son of Napoleon I, the King of Rome. The municipalities had to finance these monuments, placed every 2.5 km along the roads, with a bench and trees planted nearby. About 125 benches were built, but few survived.

A second campaign took place in 1853, under the impetus of Prefect Auguste-César West and Empress Eugénie, wife of Napoleon III. This time, the department took charge of the costs, allowing the construction of 448 sandstone banks of the Vosges. These memorials, often damaged by time or neglect, were partially restored in the twentieth century, some of which were classified as historical monuments in the 1980s.

Lupstein Bank, commanded by the Prefect of Lower Rhine, was destroyed in 1998 in a road accident. It was listed as a historic monument in 1988, before it was repealed in 2013. The site was located along Departmental Highway 231 near Parcel 47 349.

During the German annexation of Alsace after 1870, maintenance measures were prescribed in 1906, but without success. In 1910, the authorities judged these banks obsolete, their shape no longer corresponding to the needs of the time, notably with the disappearance of the carrying of burdens on the head and the arrival of carts. The damaged benches were no longer restored.

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