Princess Victoria, Duchess of Nemours

At the table

Meat Consumption Among Workers

Ordinary workers typically ate meat only twice a week, usually on Saturdays and Sundays.

What people wore

Custom sunshade headscarves

To protect against the sun, women sometimes inserted a strip of paper or cardboard into their headscarves to make the front edge extend further forward.

Getting around

Walking and river travel habits

In the early 19th century, people frequently traveled on foot, with messengers and workers walking between 25 and 40 kilometers daily. On the Danube, cargo boats called ordinari took at least a week to travel the 450 kilometers from Regensburg to Vienna.

What it cost

Extreme food price volatility

Food prices in the Austrian Empire were highly volatile during this period, particularly around 1811 when a bushel of wheat cost 60 florins, compared to just 4 florins in 1812 and 1824. Such sharp fluctuations made it difficult for ordinary people to maintain a stable supply of basic grains like wheat and corn.

Music

Viennese waltz: A controversial partner dance

The Viennese waltz evolved from the regional Ländler dance and became a popular, albeit controversial, ballroom partner dance that allowed close physical contact between couples. During court balls, Archduke Ferdinand famously ordered that each waltz should last exactly eight minutes.

Daily life

Lack of light and running water

In rural homes, light was provided only by tallow lamps or pine splinters because there were no candles or petroleum lamps. Households lacked running water, requiring residents to wash themselves at a cold well located outside the house.