Anna Zofia Lubomirska

What people wore

Everyday Undergarments of Women

Fashionable women wore a white, long, and wide shirt called a domieszka as everyday undergarment, while young women often did not wear panties, leaving them for older generations. These shifts were crafted from materials like Dutch linen, muslin, or cambric, and decorated with lace and embroidery.

Getting around

Common vs. noble travel methods

Ordinary travelers used simple carts without springs called calèches or kolasa, while wealthy nobles moved in large caravans of dozens of wagons, sometimes accompanied by exotic animals like camels.

At the table

Meager peasant diet of bread and cereal

Peasant families typically survived on a meager diet consisting of black bread and cereals, often eaten without any added fat. Plain water was their primary beverage.

Music

Musical instruments used in local ensembles

Music ensembles at a boarding school in Slutsk regularly used instruments like trumpets, French horns, oboes, violins, and kettledrums purchased in Königsberg.

Daily life

Peasant Homes and Daily Life

Common peasant homes were timber structures with straw roofs, typically consisting of one or two rooms where families lived alongside their livestock under the same roof. The central element of the home was the hearth, used for both warmth and cooking simple meals like cabbage, bread, and potatoes.

What it cost

Fluctuating price of rye bread grain

In Berlin, a rye bushel (Scheffel, approx. 40kg) typically cost 19 to 20 Groschen, but rose to over 2 Taler during the hunger year of 1771.