Duke Maximilian Joseph in Bavaria

What people wore

Resourceful Dressmaking and Festive Attire

Women sometimes used a fabric insert called a Magsachte, meaning that may do it slowly, to cover the hidden parts of their dresses and save on expensive material. For special occasions, they wore black cashmere or silk dresses with white ruffles at the neck that were waved using a hot iron.

Getting around

High cost of travel

A short stagecoach trip from Berlin to Magdeburg cost four Taler, which was nearly the entire monthly wage of a village schoolteacher.

At the table

Potatoes as the staple food

Ordinary rural families typically ate three meals a day, relying heavily on potatoes, buckwheat porridge, or milk with bread. Potatoes were so central to the diet that they were often eaten boiled in their jackets, sometimes without salt.

Music

Singing at church and parish gatherings

For many people in the Prussian lands, Sunday church service was a weekly routine, and singing could also happen at church occasions. Beyond worship, people spent leisure time with games like bowling and cards, and with dancing at local fairs and shooting festivals.

Daily life

Typical rural home layout and construction

Ordinary rural homes were low-ceilinged wooden structures with small, round glass windows and floors made of stone or brick. Cooking often took place in the living room using a masonry hearth, while a single large room served as a bedroom for the entire family and sometimes even the servants.

What it cost

Marriage requirements and net worth

To obtain permission to marry, a couple often needed to prove a minimum net worth of 100 to 200 guilders.