Presumed date of construction 1742 (≈ 1742)
Pedestrian door in forged iron dated.
1784
Late architectural evidence
Late architectural evidence 1784 (≈ 1784)
Stone carved with postillon horn.
1802
Mention in a postal dictionary
Mention in a postal dictionary 1802 (≈ 1802)
P. aux ch.
1986
First Heritage Protection
First Heritage Protection 1986 (≈ 1986)
Registration for historical monuments.
2015
Extension of protection
Extension of protection 2015 (≈ 2015)
Courtyard and fence wall classified.
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui Aujourd'hui (≈ 2025)
Position de référence.
Heritage classified
The inner courtyard of the old horse post relay, and the rear fence wall between the old horse post relay and the garden pavilion, sis rue de Strasbourg and rue du Relais de Poste. The former post relay is located on section AL, plots 50, 176, 306, 307, 323, 325: registration by order of 26 August 2015
Key figures
A. F. Lecousturier aîné - Deputy Head of the Bureau of Letters (1802)
Author of the postal dictionary citing Benfeld.
F. Chaudouët - Postal Tax Auditor (1802)
Co-author of the archival source.
Origin and history
The Benfeld Horse Post Relay is an 18th-century building located in the Lower Rhine in the Grand East. Ranked a historic monument since 1986, it was mentioned as early as 1802 in the Dictionnaire géographique des Postes as a relay for horses on the road from Strasbourg to Colmar, 28 km from Strasbourg. Its well-preserved architecture reflects its strategic role in the postal network of Ancien Régime.
According to the sources, the exact date of construction remains uncertain, although clues such as a wrought iron pedestrian door dated 1742 and a carved stone of 1784 (ornate with a postillon horn) suggest extended activity in the 18th century. The relay served as a major stage on the Strasbourg-Belfort axis, linking the Lyon and Marseille roads. The interior courtyard and rear fence wall, protected since 2015, illustrate its functional organization.
The building, originally located at 2 avenue de la Gare (now Rue du Relais de Poste), embodies the importance of post relays in pre-industrial Alsace. These infrastructures facilitated epistolic exchanges and passenger transport, in a region then under French influence but marked by local specificities, as evidenced by the mention of Taillandrie in the postal archives of 1802.
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