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Archduchess Margaretha of Austria

Wiener Neustadt, 4 Feb 1567 – Madrid, 5 Jul 1633

8 facts2 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 4 Feb 1567

    Born in Wiener Neustadt

  2. 5 Jul 1633

    Dies in Madrid, aged 66

Family

See the tree

Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Wiener Neustadt.

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1560s · Archduchess is born in Wiener Neustadt

In the news1565–1571

Danube River permanently changes course near Vienna

Between 1565 and 1571, severe ice jams and floods caused the Danube to permanently relocate its main current to the northern Wolf arm, radically altering the landscape near Vienna.

At the table

Bread was the staple food

Bread made from grains like rye, wheat, and barley was the essential daily staple for the common people, often consumed with humble sides like fatback, legumes, or onions.

What people wore

Festive Accessories for Women

On feast days, rural women decorated their modest outfits with modest silver crosses, necklaces made of jet, coral, or amber, and ribbons that adorned their chests. While they often worked barefoot, these festive accessories allowed them to appear much more elegant than on regular working days.

Getting around

Daily travel distances on horseback

Travelers typically covered four to six leagues per day on horseback, with exceptional days reaching seven or eight leagues. A league was a unit of distance used in Spain during this period.

What it cost

Daily wages in Seville in the 1550s

A casual laborer in Seville typically earned about 74 maravedíes per day during the 1550s.

Music

Popular dances and their instruments

The zarabanda was a popular but controversial folk dance accompanied by the guitar, tambourine, and castanets, and was often banned for its provocative nature. A common Spanish proverb of the time stated that there is no wedding without a tambourine (tamborino).

Daily life

Food costs and daily wages

For the price of just one blanca—half a maravedí—it was possible to purchase 9 fresh or salted sardines. An average laborer earned about 17 maravedís per day.