Princess Joséphine Caroline of Belgium

Getting around

Punctual Canal Boat Travel

Canal barges were slow, typically moving at 3 to 4 km per hour, but they were remarkably punctual, as skippers followed a strict schedule and did not wait for latecomers.

At the table

Bread Spending Gap Between Classes

While laboring families spent roughly 30 percent of their total income on bread, wealthy families spent less than 2 percent.

What people wore

Festive Sunday attire for rural Belgians

Rural residents typically owned one set of festive Sunday clothes used for both church services and mourning. Men often wore a shiny blue smock on Sundays, while women wore a traditional regional cap.

Music

Introduction of the accordion

Starting around 1850, the accordion was introduced, functioning as a small orchestra that allowed playing in multiple keys with the left hand handling the accompaniment.

Daily life

Crowded worker housing near Brussels

In some workers' homes near Brussels, a family of nine lived and slept in a small room barely larger than the space occupied by their two looms. They kept their food and live rabbits in a tiny adjacent space, where the family also slept on a mattress suspended above a loom.