Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg

Getting around

Modes of transport for ordinary people

Ordinary people often traveled on foot or by horse, while less affluent travelers used a simple cart with seats known as a kolasa. Wealthier individuals used light carriages like phaetons or carriages designed for short trips.

At the table

Commoners' diet: buckwheat and fermented cabbage

For the middle-class diet, buckwheat groats were considered a delicacy and were used to make a type of cake called tatarczuchy. Additionally, peas and vegetables like cabbage, which was fermented in hollowed-out tree trunks, were staples.

What people wore

Daily Western wear versus national costume

Men often wore Western-style clothing for daily life but adopted the traditional Polish national costume, such as the kontusz, for political debates or social balls.

Music

The sound and power of church bells

Church bells were the loudest artificial sounds in villages, serving to signal religious services, mark the time of day, and warn communities of fires or approaching troops. People also believed that ringing bells could ward off storms and evil spirits in folk mythology.

Daily life

Sleeping Arrangements of Ordinary People

Before the end of the 18th century, beds were rare in peasant homes, where people often slept on benches or on straw spread on the floor. Wealthy households, however, used beds with canopies and bed linen.