Frederik Oldenburg

What people wore

Everyday footwear and trousers

Peasant men often wore knickers made from tanned buckskin, and both men and women typically wore clogs for everyday and festive activities.

Daily life

Dark and Smoky Homes

Ordinary homes often lacked chimneys, relying on open fires on the floor with smoke escaping through holes in the roof, making interiors dark, smoky, and stifling.

Work

Common jobs in 17th-century Danish towns

In cities like Ribe, most of the population consisted of manual workers, including craftsmen, skippers, merchants, and unskilled laborers, while a significant portion of the urban population lived in poverty.

Music

Minuet arrives in Denmark

The minuet began to establish itself as a fashionable dance in Denmark around 1667, appearing in wedding poetry.

At the table

Common breakfast of beer porridge

A common breakfast for many, including school children, consisted of warm beer and bread porridge, sometimes served with butter.

Getting around

Introduction of passenger mail coaches

In 1653, the Danish postal service began operating mail coaches that carried both passengers and parcels twice a week.

What it cost

Food Costs in the 1650s

A pound of coarse rye bread usually cost 1 to 2 skilling, while a pound of pork cost about 5 skilling in the 1650s.