Marie Gräfin Kinsky von Wchinitz und Tettau

What people wore

Low daily wages for field work

Working women often received only 24 kreutzers for a full day of field work, while young boys received 12 kreutzers for their help.

Getting around

Shift from Carriages to Trains

Traveling by carriage was expensive, slow, and uncomfortable compared to the railway, which became the preferred method for mass transport and leisure trips starting in the mid-19th century. Railway companies even organized special theater trains to bring thousands of spectators to the National Theatre in Prague during the 1880s.

At the table

Working-class diets relied on meatless staples

Ordinary working-class families often survived on a daily diet of coffee substitute made from chicory or grain, eaten with bread, and thick meatless soups. Meat was a rarity, typically reserved for Sundays, while vegetables like potatoes, legumes, and cabbage formed the daily base.

Music

Brass Bands and Enthusiastic Prague Audiences

Brass bands were central to Prague's cultural life, with military and civilian ensembles performing dozens of times each week in summer at parks and garden pubs. These performances were so popular that audiences often demanded encores, such as the march Hey, Gretel, which was once repeated three times due to overwhelming applause.

Daily life

Bathing rituals in the household

Families used a single tin bathtub brought into the kitchen, which was filled with water heated on a stove. To conserve resources, the entire family bathed in the same water, typically with children going first, followed by the wife, and finally the husband.

What it cost

Low agricultural wages for families

Some women working in agriculture earned only 24 kreutzers per day for labor lasting from sunrise to sunset, while young boys received 12 kreutzers.