Long bench
The name Lange Bank is derived from the phrase "to put something on the back burner".
meaning
“To put something on the back burner” means to postpone a (possibly very serious) decision for as long as possible.
origin
The origin of the phrase probably lies in the Perpetual Reichstag in Regensburg . The "long bench" were chests on which the ambassadors had to wait a little apart from the decision-making process. The files brought with them were stowed in the chests in order to later take them out again and process them or bring them to a decision. Sometimes the process took so long that the files were forgotten.
Another source of origin says that this phrase was coined in the Reich Chamber of Commerce in Wetzlar . The judges there were frustrated that they were basically sent to the Hessian province. They acknowledged this with a slow strike. The files were on a "long bench". The oldest were processed and the new ones were put on the other end. If there was a free space at the old end, the files were simply pushed on. This also gives rise to the popular saying: postponed is not canceled.
Likewise, the expression “ pending proceedings ” was coined in the Reich Chamber of Commerce in Wetzlar. When the “Long Bank” was no longer sufficient due to the laziness of the Wetzlar judges, the files were hung on a rope under the ceiling. So the files floated, and so did the proceedings.