In the news1832
Cholera epidemic hits Brussels
A cholera epidemic struck Brussels in 1832, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 people.
Buda, 23 Aug 1836 – Spa, 19 Sep 1902
9 facts3 sources
23 Aug 1836
Born in Buda
1858–1872
4 children are born
1865–1902
Consort of the Belgians
19 Sep 1902
Dies in Spa, aged 66
She lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Buda.
General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.
In the news1832
A cholera epidemic struck Brussels in 1832, resulting in the deaths of over 3,000 people.
What people wore
Women's Festive Skirts and Petticoats
Women often wore multiple petticoats (pendely) for a fashionable silhouette, and festive skirts for young women were sometimes costly, reaching prices of 20 to 25 Hungarian florins.
Getting around
Post-coach travel between Buda and Vienna
In the first half of the 19th century, traveling between Buda and Vienna by express post-coach (diligence) typically took 24 to 30 hours. These coaches were the primary mode of long-distance passenger travel until the expansion of the railways.
Around the world · 1839Photography is born. The daguerreotype was presented in Paris: for the first time a face or a street could be kept exactly as it looked.
In the news1830
On August 25, 1830, riots broke out in Brussels after an opera performance, triggering a revolution that led to Belgium's independence from the Netherlands.
Music
Automatic Music in Bourgeois Homes
In bourgeois homes, automatic musical clocks and pictures were popular, playing waltzes, polkas, and Hungarian verbunkos melodies. These mechanisms were often decorated with idyllic scenes and reflected the musical tastes of the period.
Daily life
Peasant straw-thatched cottage living
Peasant homes were typically straw-thatched cottages built of compressed earth or unbaked bricks, featuring a kitchen with a large open fireplace and chimney, and only one or two small windows. Inside, the parlour held the family's valuables in a carved chest, while the bedroom contained a bed with feather pillows stacked to the ceiling.