Alexander Frederick, Landgrave of Hesse

What people wore

Amager women's extensive apron collection

Amager women often maintained a wardrobe extensive enough to require 11 different aprons to ensure they had an appropriate outfit for every specific occasion.

Getting around

Long stagecoach journeys across Denmark

A journey by stagecoach from Aarhus to Copenhagen in 1863 lasted two and a half days, with the final 15 hours spent traveling through the night.

At the table

Daily meal patterns and beer porridge

In ordinary families, the father ate five meals a day to sustain hard labor, while mothers and children typically ate three. Breakfast for many often consisted of beer porridge (øllebrød) and a piece of salted herring.

Music

Wedding dances and lively music traditions

During 19th-century weddings, musicians played for dancers from the afternoon until the following morning. Traditional chain dances were common, and musicians were often paid by passing a plate around, sometimes playfully involving items like a wooden shoe to prompt guests to contribute more.

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.

What it cost

Child labor and the cost of food

To survive on very low wages, families relied on child labor, such as making matchsticks; a mother could earn 25 øre for producing 500 small matches, which could purchase only a quarter of a loaf of rye bread and 2 kg of fat.