Archduke Wilhelm Franz of Austria

At the table

Staple foods of the poor

For the poor, the diet consisted largely of flour-based foods, pulses, and vegetables, with potatoes becoming an increasingly important staple food. Meat was a luxury for common people, typically consumed only on Sundays and holidays.

What people wore

Hairstyles and Straw Hats

In parts of the Ennstal region, women wore their hair in two braids wound around a large hair needle above the nape of the neck. They covered their heads with a wide-brimmed straw hat featuring black trim, which was pinned to their hair and often kept on all day, even during meals.

Getting around

Slow post coach travel between towns

Travel by post coach was slow, with a journey from Linz to Steyr taking ten hours in 1829 for a distance of about 90 kilometers. Passengers paid one gulden and twelve kreuzers for the trip.

What it cost

Salaries in 1825

In 1825, a clerk with neat handwriting earned 200 gulden annually, while teachers at a secondary school in Graz received between 450 and 800 gulden.

Music

Popular folk instruments of the era

Common village instruments included the fiddle and the hammered dulcimer, while the shepherd's pipe and jew's harp were popular for casual entertainment.

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.