Marie Blich-Sulzer

Getting around

Trains slashed travel times drastically

In the late 19th century, trains significantly reduced travel times; for instance, the journey from Vienna to Graz took nine hours by train, compared to twenty-nine hours by post coach.

At the table

Survival diet of poor families

Many poor families survived on dry bread and potatoes, often unable to afford enough meat even for basic hunger. Workers sometimes earned no more than 1 Gulden per day to support their large families.

What people wore

The versatile Gugl shawl and headgear

In winter, women wore a large, triangular wool shawl called a Gugl, which was crossed over the chest and tied at the back because they did not have coats. They also wore this shawl over their heads to protect their face, or inserted cardboard into a colored headscarf to create a sunshade during summer.

Music

Popular instruments of the mid-19th century

During the 1850s, the zither became highly popular as a folk-music counterpart to the bourgeois piano. By 1860, the introduction of hand-held squeeze-box instruments like the accordion and harmonica allowed a single person to provide full orchestral accompaniment for entertainment.

Daily life

Shared water taps in Vienna apartment buildings

In urban Vienna, many apartments lacked private water or toilets, requiring residents to fetch water from a shared tap in the corridor called a bassena.