Princess Ileana of Romania

Music

Four-day wedding musical traditions

In rural Romania, weddings were significant musical events lasting four days, featuring professional musicians such as Roma fiddlers who played for dances and accompanied ritual moments like the crowning of the bride.

Daily life

Early indoor water and baths

In 1901, Bucharest had only 5,000 water subscribers for a population of 300,000, and households were taxed based on the number of rooms rather than actual water usage. Early indoor bathrooms were considered such novelties that friends would visit specifically to admire them.

What it cost

Cost of a pair of boots

At the beginning of the 20th century, a pair of custom-made boots cost 10 to 11 lei, and by 1913, the price of a pair of men's boots rose to 15 lei.

What people wore

Massive 10 kg wedding shirt

A wedding shirt made for the Junii Brașovului was so elaborate that four women spent four months embroidering it with 40,000 sequins, weighing nearly 10 kg.

Getting around

Travel could mean standing in corridors

After World War I, memoirs describe crowded trains where some passengers were forced to ride in luggage compartments or even stand in corridors for parts of the trip.

At the table

Harvests often converted into alcohol

To produce high volumes of alcohol, peasants frequently converted significant portions of their fruit and corn harvests into brandy.