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What people wore

Practical Working Clothing and Headwear

Maids wore practical working clothes like shorter skirts, loose bodices, and aprons to move freely while doing heavy chores, while women of all statuses typically wore hair caps for protection and fashion.

Getting around

Travel by Foot and Early Mail Coaches

Ordinary people typically traveled by walking, as non-private transportation was limited and expensive. Regular mail coach lines for passengers, such as the Nuremberg-Leipzig route, began emerging in the late 17th and 18th centuries.

At the table

Simple meals of porridge, soup, and stew

Ordinary families commonly consumed grain-based porridges and soups for breakfast and dinner, while a hearty stew served as the main midday meal. Meat was expensive, so many households reserved it for special occasions like a Sunday roast.

Music

The cornett was a popular civic instrument

Town musicians used the versatile cornett, a wooden instrument with finger holes, for both church services and celebratory civic events.

Daily life

Limited Schooling for Children

Children often attended only winter schools because their labor was required for farming and tending livestock the rest of the year. Teachers were frequently untrained, such as former soldiers or craftsmen, and religious instruction was the main priority.

Work

Common jobs and daily routines

Most people worked as farmers, often laboring on narrow strips of land or as seasonal laborers; others engaged in cottage industries like spinning and weaving. Their day began at sunrise and continued until dark, often including heavy manual labor with simple tools like scythes and flails.