Archduchess Franziska, Archduchess Maximilian Eugen of Austria

Getting around

Horse-drawn railway journey and restaurant stop

The horse-drawn railway from České Budějovice to Linz took 14 hours, with a midday break at the Kerschbaum station, which hosted the first railway restaurant in Europe.

At the table

Coffee substitutes for families

When coffee was too expensive, families brewed substitutes from ingredients like chicory, malt, or rye.

What people wore

Weekday skirts for women

Working-class women often wore blue-dyed linen or cotton skirts on weekdays, frequently embellished with white printed patterns known as moäraeck.

Music

Paying six kreutzers for a song

At local village feasts, musicians were paid six kreutzers per song. Some attendees would dance all day without paying, leading to frequent fights with the young people who hosted the events.

Daily life

Homemade lighting and fire safety precautions

In the 19th century, the cheapest source of light was a simple wooden piece known as a torchlight, which burned for about ten minutes and had to be constantly replaced. To prevent fire in wooden homes, children kept the light over a vessel filled with water so the burning end would drop safely into it.