Princess Ingeborg of Denmark

Getting around

Expansion of the railway network

The Danish railway network grew to nearly 4,000 kilometers by 1914, and in 1883, train ferries were introduced on the Great Belt to improve competitiveness.

At the table

Sugar becomes an affordable staple

Falling sugar prices made it affordable even in the poorest homes, which contributed to dental decay overtaking malnutrition as a primary medical concern.

What people wore

Multipurpose mourning skirt for naps

Until the 1880s, Amager women used a black mourning skirt called a jøb, which they could pull over their heads to hide their grief or, occasionally, to nap during church services.

Music

Dance music and religious singing at home

While the fiddle became the dominant instrument for dance music, 19th-century social gatherings frequently featured popular new round dances such as the waltz, polka, and mazurka. Music was central to the home, with hymnals serving as essential religious guides for families during private devotions.

Daily life

Lack of indoor toilets

Toilets were not present inside homes; instead, families used communal sheds in courtyards or on back stairs that emptied into pits.