Joachim von Sachsen

At the table

Rare Festive Pastries

For ordinary families, sweet pastries fried in fat, known as Nonnenfürzle, were rare festive delicacies served on special occasions like church festivals. They were made from choux pastry and, according to local tradition, were named for the hissing sound they made as steam escaped in the hot fat.

What people wore

Class-based clothing regulations and currency limits

Strict regulations controlled social class appearance; for example, commoners were forbidden from wearing gold, silver, pearls, or silk. A wife of a commoner could wear a simple gold ring worth no more than five or six guilders, without gemstones.

Getting around

Uncomfortable carriage travel for the wealthy

While carriages existed, they were largely used by the sick or wealthy, as they were uncomfortable, unsprung, and known for their squeaky axles.

What it cost

Dramatic loss of purchasing power for bread

In 1565, a miner in the Erzgebirge could buy nearly 6 kilograms of bread with his daily wage of 24 pfennige, but by the famine years of the early 1570s, that same wage bought only 1.3 kilograms.

Music

Singing during communal round dances

People often sang while performing round dances in squares or streets, a practice sometimes restricted by city councils to prevent the singing of shameful songs.

Daily life

Beer was safer than water

Drinking water was often unhygienic and contaminated, so beer was frequently consumed instead because brewing made it safer and provided essential calories.