Prince Carl Oscar, Duke of Södermanland

At the table

Eating sour milk from common troughs

Peasant families often ate sour milk, known as fillebunke, from a large common wooden trough using individual wooden spoons. They would decorate the surface with ginger and brown sugar before eating.

What people wore

Festive red shirts with luxury buttons

In the Lule region, men would sometimes wear a special red shirt or jersey known as a "kreop" on the first day of a church feast, which featured shiny, expensive metal buttons.

Getting around

Horse-drawn posting and boat transport

In the mid-19th century, travelers used the government-organized posting system (skyssvesenet) to hire horses and carriages from designated farms, with a boy accompanying them to return the equipment. Along the coast, travelers relied on boat transport (båtskyss) where routes were not connected by road.

Work

Agriculture as the primary occupation

In 1870, two-thirds of the population worked in agriculture, making small-scale subsistence farming the most common practice.

Music

The dominance of the polska dance

By the mid-19th century, the polska had evolved as the primary dance and tune style for the fiddle in Sweden's provinces.

Daily life

Homes and heating with cast-iron stoves

In many rural homes, the main room served as a multi-purpose living space where the family gathered around a hearth or, increasingly, a cast-iron stove, which was considered a luxury item. Kitchens began to separate from the living area, though in many homes, the stove remained the primary source of heat for the entire household.