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Barbara Woroniecka

Warsaw, 18 Sep 1571 – 5 Jun 1615

8 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 18 Sep 1571

    Born in Warsaw

  2. 5 Jun 1615

    Dies, aged 43

Family

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Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 5 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Warsaw.

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

The 1570s · Barbara is born in Warsaw

In the news1569–1574

Famine and price crisis of 1569-1574

Between 1569 and 1574, a severe famine and price crisis struck the region, causing mass death among the poorest residents, while wealthy nobles remained largely unaffected. During 1573 and 1574, a 2.2-kilogram loaf of rye bread cost an unskilled worker in Krakow between 32% and 40% of their daily wage.

At the table

Beer as a daily staple

Beer was the most common everyday drink, often served as soup with breadcrumbs or given to children and pregnant women for strength.

What people wore

Cost of Peasant Clothing

A full set of peasant clothing, including a shirt, trousers, a woollen outer garment, a sheepskin coat, and boots, was valued at 26.5 Polish gold coins.

Getting around

Security for goods in transit

A merchant in 1586 paid four guilders to hire two Tartars to transport his goods, reflecting common practice to ensure security during travel.

What it cost

Cost of Clothing and Footwear

A pair of shoes cost between 7 and 8 groschen, which meant a laborer had to work for about four days to afford them. A high-quality sheepskin coat was much more expensive, costing 21 groschen, or about two weeks of work.

Music

Social rules in the stryjanka dance

In the dance known as stryjanka, the violinist led the household members in the first part, while respectable people refrained from dancing the second, more lively part to observe others instead.

Daily life

Cooking and lighting challenges

Cooking happened in multipurpose living spaces or entryways using cauldrons suspended on complex, expensive iron hooks that allowed height adjustment over the fire. Because light was poor and candles were prohibitively expensive, many food preparation tasks were performed outdoors.