Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse

Getting around

Faster express coaches were costly

The introduction of the "Diligence" or express post coach in 1821 allowed for faster travel at speeds of around 10 km/h, making trips of 100 km possible in a single day. However, travel remained expensive, with a short trip from Berlin to Magdeburg costing four talers, nearly a schoolteacher's monthly salary.

Daily life

Homes heated by smoky, open hearths

Peasant homes often lacked chimneys, relying on open hearths that provided both light and heat while filling the living space with smoke. Small bundles of green pine brush, known as Kulelkes, were commonly used as fuel for these fires.

What people wore

Festive attire and heated ruffles

For feast days, women wore black cashmere or silk dresses with a white ruffle at the collar that was permanently set into waves using a heated iron.

Music

The noisy brummtopf folk instrument

The brummtopf was a peculiar noise-making instrument used by groups of young people during winter festivities; it was made of a small wooden barrel covered with calfskin and played by rubbing horsehair strands inserted into the skin with wet hands.

At the table

Daily wheat cake despite poverty

In some villages, even the poorest people ate wheat cake daily, fresh from the oven, which was criticized by doctors for supposedly damaging their digestion.