Catherine II of Russia

Catherine II, known as Catherine the Great, was Empress of Russia from 9 July 1762 until her death in 1796. Before her accession, Catherine had been a royal consort as the wife of Emperor Peter III, whom she overthrew in a coup d'état.

Elaborate Festive Headgear

During festive occasions, women in regions like Chełmskie wore elaborate headpieces constructed from vinca garlands, colorful wool weavings, and ribbons to signify status and abundance. This ritualized headwear was carefully removed after church services and stored for future use.

Essential Peasant Clothing Materials

Peasant clothing for both men and women relied on basic, durable materials like linen shirts, wool garments, and sheepskin coats for warmth. Women often wore aprons and wrapped headcloths, while footwear varied from simple leather shoes to boots.

Music for peasants and festivals

Peasants and local gentry danced at inn parties and harvest festivals to the sound of instruments like bagpipes, often performing at celebrations following the completion of agricultural work.

Stryjanka dance etiquette at home

In the dance known as Stryjanka, which was accompanied by the violin at home, respectable people often only performed the first march-like part, leaving the lively second half to others.

Common modes of transportation and travel speeds

Travelers used various wheeled vehicles, such as carriages for the wealthy and simple carts called kolasa for commoners, while poorer people generally traveled on foot. In the 18th century, the expansion of the postal system allowed stagecoaches to travel 60 to 100 kilometers per day on main roads.

Splendid processions of the magnates

Magnates displayed their immense wealth by traveling in elaborate caravans that included dozens of wagons, hundreds of horses, and sometimes exotic animals like camels and pack mules. These processions were grand spectacles that required hundreds of attendants to manage, protect, and serve the noble traveler.

Lighting and cooking tools

Light depended on cost: poorer households used tallow candles made from animal fat, while wealthier homes burned more expensive beeswax candles. Cooking tools included suspended cauldrons or three-legged pots used over fires, and iron frying pans.

Peasant homes and cooking smoke

Peasant homes were often smoky huts where smoke escaped through roof holes, though some had chimneys to heat and cook simultaneously. Noble homes separated kitchens from living areas to avoid smoke and heat.

Buckwheat as a Local Delicacy

Buckwheat porridge was a popular delicacy among urban residents, who sometimes used it to bake a cake called tatarczuch.

Preserving Cabbage in Tree Trunks

Middling townspeople often stored sauerkraut in hollowed-out tree trunks to preserve it for winter.

Uniform cost for a militia guard

In Toruń during the mid-18th century, a city militia guard had to save about 1 złoty polski to purchase missing parts of his uniform.

Diet of the moderately wealthy town dweller

A typical moderately wealthy town dweller consumed grain-based products like bread, groats, and noodles more frequently than peasants, while meat was rarely eaten by them.

Hardship and Discipline for Serfs

Some peasants consumed poppy seeds to cope with their misery, as they were often left without basic furniture and forced to sleep on straw with their cattle. Travelers reported that field overseers monitored work progress daily and used whips to punish those who failed to meet their tasks.

Industrial Labor and Transport

Zinc ore, or galman, was a major industrial product in the Tenczyn area, with an annual production of 600 to 800 barrels. Peasants were obligated to transport this ore by sledges during winter to river ports on the Vistula.

Efficient and Secure Postal Service

During the 18th century, the Polish postal system was remarkably efficient and fast, with regular mail routes allowing for swift delivery even during times of war. Letters and documents were highly secure, and the system often surpassed international standards for confidentiality.

Mail Dispatch Frequency Varies

Postal delivery frequency varied by route importance; while major routes like Warsaw to Breslau (Wrocław) had mail dispatches twice a week, other connections, such as the route between Warsaw and Vilnius, were serviced only once every 14 days in the early 18th century.