Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium

Getting around

Rail Travel Was Often Unaffordable

In 1852, a train ticket from Ghent to Brussels cost 2.25 to 4.75 francs, while a farm laborer earned only about 1.13 francs per day, making rail travel expensive for many.

At the table

Dietary shifts for urban families

After the 1870s, diets for ordinary urban families in Belgium improved, moving toward a modern pattern with increased consumption of meat, fat, dairy, and sugar.

What people wore

Black became the standard rural color

During the second half of the 19th century, black became the dominant color for everyday clothing in the Flemish countryside, replacing the colorful styles of previous eras. Typical daily attire for rural men included trousers, vests, smocks, and hats, while women wore skirts, aprons, blouses, and shawls.

Music

Explosion of brass bands in Belgium

Between 1830 and 1860, brass bands (harmonies and fanfares) spread rapidly in villages, and a true explosion in their numbers occurred between 1860 and 1880, with 1,203 wind bands recorded by 1880.

Daily life

Crowded worker housing near Brussels

In some workers' homes near Brussels, a family of nine lived and slept in a small room barely larger than the space occupied by their two looms. They kept their food and live rabbits in a tiny adjacent space, where the family also slept on a mattress suspended above a loom.