Princess Cecilia of Sweden

Getting around

The mandatory horse-switching system at inns

Travelers relied on a system of roadside inns, where they were required to switch horses at every station to continue their journey. If no horses were available, travelers had to wait or search for replacements from nearby farms, which could take hours.

At the table

Stretching flour with fillers during food shortages

When grain supplies ran low in spring, peasants stretched their flour by adding ingredients like chaff, bark, nettles, or even straw.

What people wore

Aprons were essential for women

Until the mid-19th century, it was considered immoral for a woman to appear outside her farm without an apron, which served both as protection during work and as decoration on festive occasions.

Music

The long-distance vocal technique kulning

Women working at mountain pastures used a distinctive high-pitched vocal technique called kulning to communicate with animals and people over distances of up to 5 kilometers.

Daily life

Diet and coffee restrictions

Coffee was a rare luxury that children and servants often did not taste; one boy was even paid two riksdaler banko annually by his father to abstain from it and sugar. Meals were commonly prepared and eaten by the hearth using simple tools, often consisting of potatoes, herring, and bread.