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Origin and history

The bench-rest of the Empress, located in Woerth, dates from the 3rd quarter of the 19th century. This type of Alsatian monument, often in sandstone, was used as a stopover for peasants carrying their products to markets. The women placed their baskets on the lintel, while the men placed their hoods there. These benches were usually surrounded by lime trees to offer shade.

In 1853, the prefect of Bas-Rhin Auguste-César West released their construction to honour Empress Eugenie, the wife of Napoleon III. Unlike the benches of 1811 (created for the King of Rome), the costs were borne by the department, facilitating their adoption despite local reluctance. 448 copies were erected in 1854, but many disappeared by negligence or vandalism.

This specific bench, inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1982, illustrates this prefectural initiative. Its commemorative and utilitarian style reflects the rural needs of the time, while marking the symbolic grip of the Second Empire in Alsace. After 1870, under German administration, these banks were deemed obsolete in 1910, their maintenance being abandoned.

Alsatian benches, often associated with trees, also symbolized the modernization of rural infrastructure. Their decline in the 20th century coincides with the evolution of transport (carrots replacing portage) and agricultural practices. Today, those still standing, such as Wœrth, bear witness to this vernacular and political heritage.

The protection of this bench in 1982 is part of a late rediscovery of these monuments, once perceived as obsolete. Its location on CD 27, near the Lembach Road, makes it an accessible vestige of the Alsatian imperial and rural past. The materials (Grès des Vosges) and the standardized form recall their social and commemorative function.

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