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Rudolf von Sinzendorf

1620–1677

Born
29 Mar 1620, Ernstbrunn
Country of birth
Austria
Died
2 Sep 1677
facts
7
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Ernstbrunn

    Birth, Ernstbrunn

  2. Child born: Marie Elisabeth Gräfin von Sinzendorf

    Birth

  3. Died

    Death

What was it like?

The world around Ernstbrunn, 1620: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Sumptuary laws strictly regulated attire, prohibiting ordinary people from wearing items like silk, velvet, silver-embroidered items, or pearls to maintain social hierarchy. Clothing for commoners was limited to basic wool, linen, and leather materials, with shoes costing no more than 10 or 12 florins.

Fashion
Around 1626–1626

Strict Laws Regulated Everyday Clothing

Sumptuary laws strictly regulated attire, prohibiting ordinary people from wearing items like silk, velvet, silver-embroidered items, or pearls to maintain social hierarchy. Clothing for commoners was limited to basic wool, linen, and leather materials, with shoes costing no more than 10 or 12 florins.

Children’s rigid clothing standards

Children from poorer families typically wore only a long simple shirt, while children past the age of four were dressed in the same uncomfortable, restrictive clothing styles as their parents.

Music
Around 1618–1618

Noble dance music in Graz

Around 1618, nobility in Graz enjoyed ensemble dance music, such as the pieces in Posch's collection, often featuring four string instruments for feasts.

Domestic music in early 17th-century Austria

The Linzer Orgeltabulatur, compiled between 1611 and 1613, contains 108 pieces that were intended for domestic recreation on the regal, a small reed-organ, rather than for church use.

Getting around

River travel was faster than land transport.

Travel by boat downstream was the fastest method, with one vessel type covering 450 kilometers from Regensburg to Vienna in at least a week. Boats could reach up to 150 kilometers in 24 hours under optimal downstream conditions.

Typical travel times and rest points.

A 115-kilometer journey between St. Pölten and St. Florian typically required 20 to 28 hours. Travelers often stayed at posting stations located about every 25 kilometers to rest and change horses.

Daily life

Children treated as adults

Children were typically treated like small adults and were expected to emulate adult behavior as they learned crafts and chores from their parents.

Education for children

In rural areas, formal schooling was rare, whereas children of urban artisans and craftsmen received elementary education.

Food

Common beer consumption

Beer was the standard daily beverage for most people, and by the 16th century, many taverns brewed their own dark, top-fermented beer. Wine was generally reserved for the wealthy or special occasions, as it was significantly more expensive.

Festive treats for the poor

Nonnenfürzle, a small, deep-fried pastry made from choux dough, was a rare and valued treat for the rural population on festive occasions. These delicacies were prepared in hot lard and rolled in sugar when enough money was available.

Prices and wages
Around 1625–1625

Daily wages for workers in 1625

In 1625, a male mason or carpenter in Zwettl earned 24 Kreuzer per day without food, while a day laborer earned 6 Kreuzer with food.

Candle Prices

In the early 17th century, one pound of tallow candles cost 6 Kreuzer, while a pound of table candles cost 28 Kreuzer.

Work

Fraudulent practices in vineyard labour

Vineyard labourers sometimes committed a fraud called Bärenanbinden, where they would take a wage advance and then leave their job before the work was finished.

Mining work schedules and breaks

Miners in Schwaz worked twelve-hour shifts that included approximately four hours of breaks, resulting in an effective eight-hour workday.

News and letters

People as the legs of communication

Most people could not read or write, so they relied on traveling journeymen, students, and peddlers to pass news by word of mouth. Peasants were often obligated by their feudal lords to carry messages and letters for them.

Postal delivery times and speed

Average travel times for letters included 12 to 15 days to reach Vienna and 20 to 25 days to reach Paris from Rome. Important political news could travel much faster via extraordinary couriers who would stop for nothing.

During their lifetime

  1. 1626

    Peasant Rebellion of 1626

    In 1626, peasants revolted against re-Catholicization and heavy taxation, laying siege to the city of Linz for nine weeks.

  2. 1631

    Massive abandonment of farmsteads in 1631

    A 1631 survey of the Archduchy of Austria below the Enns found 8,980 farmsteads abandoned due to war and religious pressures.

  3. 1645

    Plague epidemic in 1645

    A plague epidemic struck the market town of Traismauer in 1645 and 1646, resulting from the ongoing warfare.

  4. 1669

    Expulsion of Jews from Vienna

    Emperor Leopold I expelled all Jews from Vienna, converting their former ghetto into a settlement known as Leopoldstadt.

Family

Spouses

Children

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.