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Archduchess Helena of Austria

Vienna, 17 Jan 1543 – Hall in Tirol, 15 Mar 1574

8 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 17 Jan 1543

    Born in Vienna

  2. 15 Mar 1574

    Dies in Hall in Tirol, aged 31

Family

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Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 4 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Vienna.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1540s · Archduchess is born in Vienna

In the news1540

Vienna's first plague ordinance established

To combat the plague, Vienna established its first official infection ordinance in 1540 to organize isolation and public health measures.

Getting around

Most people traveled on foot daily

Most people traveled on foot, covering between 20 and 40 kilometers per day.

In the news1545

Introduction of drawbar wagons

In 1545, new vehicles called drawbar wagons (Deichselwägen) began to be used in the area above the Enns.

Daily life

Fetching water daily

Water was scarce and had to be fetched from distant public fountains or wells, as only few houses had their own water supply.

What people wore

Strict dress codes regulated social classes

Common citizens and artisans were legally prohibited from wearing luxury items like velvet, silk, pearls, or gold; their wives were limited to a gold ring worth no more than five or six guilders. Jewish people were forced to wear a yellow ring on their jackets or caps to ensure they were publicly recognizable.

Music

Paying Musicians for Weddings

City wedding regulations in 1489 set specific fees for musicians, such as two guilders for brass and wind players or half a guilder for bagpipers, fiddlers, and drummers. Status often dictated which musicians could be hired for celebrations.

At the table

Staple diet of ordinary people

Ordinary families relied on staples like soup, porridge (made from oats, barley, or legumes), cabbage, turnips, and bread. Meat was a luxury for commoners, reserved primarily for festive occasions like the slaughtering of pigs or geese.