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Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria

1558–1618

Born
1558, Wiener Neustadt
Country of birth
Austria
Died
2 Nov 1618, Vienna
facts
9
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

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A life in time

  1. Born · Wiener Neustadt

    Birth, Wiener Neustadt

  2. Event · Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights

    Event

  3. Died · Vienna

    Death, Vienna

What was it like?

The world around Wiener Neustadt, 1558: 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.

Maximilian was Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights from 1590 to 1618.

Known for

Titles held

  • Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights1590–1618
Fashion
Around 1525–1549

Cloth functioned as valuable currency

In the 16th century, cloth was so valuable that it was often used as a form of currency to pay workers. Because clothing was expensive, it was rarely discarded and instead circulated through society via pawning, second-hand markets, and inheritance.

Around 1525–1549

Daily versus festive peasant wear

Peasant women wore a fine linen blouse called a harbene Pfoad on feast days, but used a coarse linen blouse known as a rupferne Pfoad for everyday work. Many peasant dresses were notably shorter than town styles, frequently stopping at mid-calf to allow for easier movement.

Music
Around 1525–1549

Instruments for Civic Parties

Instruments depicted at a 1522 civic garden party included shawms, bombards, slide trumpets, lutes, flutes, bagpipes, and large drums. These ensembles were common for dance music in urban settings.

Around 1525–1549

Paying Musicians for Weddings

City wedding regulations in 1489 set specific fees for musicians, such as two guilders for brass and wind players or half a guilder for bagpipers, fiddlers, and drummers. Status often dictated which musicians could be hired for celebrations.

Getting around
Around 1525–1549

Fast travel via river boats

Travelers used rivers for faster journeys, covering up to 150 kilometers in 24 hours when moving downstream by boat.

Around 1525–1549

Most people traveled on foot daily

Most people traveled on foot, covering between 20 and 40 kilometers per day.

Daily life
Around 1525–1549

Dark and smoky homes

Homes were dark, cold, and smoky, often featuring very small windows that provided little daylight and lacking chimneys for the open fires used for cooking.

Around 1525–1549

Fetching water daily

Water was scarce and had to be fetched from distant public fountains or wells, as only few houses had their own water supply.

Food
Around 1525–1549

Common beverages of the period

Beer was the common daily drink, having completely replaced mead in many areas by 1500, while apple and pear cider (Most) was also traditional. Wine was typically reserved for the upper classes and official gatherings.

Around 1525–1549

Staple diet of ordinary people

Ordinary families relied on staples like soup, porridge (made from oats, barley, or legumes), cabbage, turnips, and bread. Meat was a luxury for commoners, reserved primarily for festive occasions like the slaughtering of pigs or geese.

Prices and wages
Around 1549–1549

Vienna wages and food prices in 1549

By 1549, the daily wage for a worker in Vienna was 6 Kreuzer, with bread costing 0.67 Kreuzer per kilogram and beef costing 2.68 Kreuzer per kilogram.

Around 1525–1549

Vienna day laborer wages, 1525–1549

In 1525, a daily laborer in Vienna earned 6.83 Kreuzer per day. By 1549, this wage had decreased to 6.00 Kreuzer per day.

Work
Around 1525–1549

Daily Distances Covered by Messengers

Foot messengers typically traveled 25 to 40 kilometres a day, while elite runners could cover over 60 kilometres in the same time.

Around 1525–1549

Difficult Working Conditions for Miners

Miners in the community of Schwaz, Tyrol, faced hazardous working conditions, irregular wage payments, and were forced to buy everyday goods at high prices.

News and letters
Around 1525–1549

Communication via Traveling Pedlars

Most ordinary people relied on oral communication carried by pedlars, students, and journeymen, who were known as the legs of the community.

Around 1525–1549

Rapid Mail Delivery Times

Using relay stations where horses and riders were changed, messages could travel from Innsbruck to Brussels in five and a half days, and from Tyrol to Rome in four days.

During their lifetime

  1. 1565

    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.

  2. 1573

    Ban on Croatian settlers in Lower Austria

    In 1573, a general mandate was issued that prohibited any further settlement of Croatian colonists in Lower Austria.

  3. 1595

    Peasant revolts in Upper and Lower Austria

    A major peasant revolt occurred in Upper and Lower Austria between 1595 and 1597, driven by exploitation within the feudal system.

Family

Parents

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.