Princess Marina Petrovna of Russia

Getting around

Walking was a common mode of travel

Ordinary people frequently traveled long distances on foot, with a common unit of measurement being the league, which roughly corresponded to one hour of walking.

At the table

Tax-free home distillation privileges

Between 1875 and 1914, French peasants had a legal privilege to distill part of their own wine, cider, or fruit harvest into spirits without paying any taxes or needing declarations.

What people wore

Alsatian folk dress used on political parades

In Alsace, traditional Tracht was tied to religious occasions like weddings and first communions, but it later became common at political rallies; when Kaiser Wilhelm II visited Strasbourg in 1877, women were greeted in Tracht. The text also describes how the costume’s symbolism shifted with politics over the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Music

Violins, accordions, and brass were common instruments

Common instruments in rural settings included violins and accordions, while brass bands played wind and percussion instruments like drums, cymbals, and triangles.

Daily life

Strict posture training devices

To encourage upright posture, children were sometimes forced to wear heavy wooden armatures shaped like a cross tied to their backs.