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Prince Carlos of the Two Sicilies

1870–1949

Born
10 Nov 1870, Gries am Brenner
Country of birth
Austria
Died
11 Nov 1949, Seville
facts
11
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 · Gries am Brenner

    Birth, Gries am Brenner

  2. Event · President of the Council of Orders

    Event

  3. Child born: Infanta María de las Mercedes, Countess of Barcelona

    Birth, Madrid

  4. Child born: Princess María de la Esperanza of Bourbon-Two Sicilies

    Birth, Madrid

  5. Event · Member of the Consultative National Assembly

    Event

  6. Event · Captain General of Catalonia

    Event

  7. Died · Seville

    Death, Seville

What was it like?

The world around Gries am Brenner, 1870: 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.

Prince was born the same year as Franz Lehár, Josef Hoffmann, and Edwin Stanton Porter.

Known for

Titles held

  • President of the Council of Orders1907–1914
  • Member of the Consultative National Assembly1927–1930
  • Captain General of Catalonia1930
Born the same year

  • Franz Lehár

    Komárom-born Austrian music composer (1870–1948)

  • Josef Hoffmann

    Austrian architect and product designer (1870-1956)

  • Edwin Stanton Porter

    American film pioneer (1870–1941)

  • Nino Martoglio

    Italian writer (1870-1921)

  • William G. Morgan

    inventor of volleyball

  • Ivan Bunin

    Russian writer and poet (1870–1953)

Fashion

Swaddling practices and constant headwear use

Infants were placed in swaddling cushions for several months to ensure they grew straight, and male toddlers were dressed in dresses just like girls. Adults of both genders kept their headwear on all day, even while eating meals at the table.

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

Evolution of dance and instrumentation

Dances like the polka, waltz, mazurka, and schottische were increasingly integrated into the repertoire alongside traditional dances, with brass ensembles often replacing older string groups in many performance settings. Although these styles evolved, traditional folk dances remained deeply anchored in daily life and festivals.

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.

Getting around

Railway revolution reduced travel times drastically

For a journey between Vienna and Klagenfurt, passengers relied on slow stagecoaches until the railway expanded; travel time dropped from five days by coach to ten or twelve hours by train after 1864.

Regional coach travel remained slow for years

Before the railway reached Villach, the slow stagecoach between Klagenfurt and Villach took about eight hours to complete the trip.

Daily life

Improved Cooking with the Sparherd Stove

From the mid-19th century, the introduction of the masonry "Sparherd" stove with a chimney, water container, and oven allowed for expanded cooking possibilities. Before this, cooking was simpler, and many households lacked these modern improvements.

Restricted Nature of Public Schooling

Primary education was mandatory for children aged 6 to 12, but country schools were typically restricted to two grades and focused heavily on religious instruction, memorization, and obedience. The curriculum was intentionally designed to reinforce social class rather than provide a path to secondary education.

Food

Meat consumption frequency for workers

Ordinary workers typically ate meat only twice a week, usually on Saturdays and Sundays.

Staple foods of the population

Potatoes were a staple food that helped save the population from famine, and wheat bread had become the dominant bread type in Vienna by mid-century.

Prices and wages

Weekly wages for factory workers

In the late 1860s, unskilled factory workers typically earned 5 to 6 florins per week, while highly qualified workers could earn between 10 and 32 florins depending on their specific trade.

Around 1872–1872

Worker family weekly budget in 1872

In 1872, a worker couple with four children lived on a weekly income of 6 Taler and 15 Silbergroschen. Their weekly household expenses for food, fuel, light, and rent amounted to 7 Taler, 10 Silbergroschen, and 8 Pfennig.

Work

Long Hours and Harsh Working Conditions

Industrial workers typically toiled for 12 to 16 hours a day, with little to no free time during the week as they needed to recover for the next shift. Families often lived in cramped quarters, sometimes even within the employer's home, and many children worked in textile factories despite regulations.

Surprising Facts of Industrial Life

In some textile factories, workers complained of having to work up to 17 hours per day, and female workers were often required to wash the factory floors for free after their shifts ended. In North Bohemia, infant mortality rates in industrial areas exceeded 30 percent, reflecting the dire living conditions of these families.

During their lifetime

  1. 1876

    Metric system becomes mandatory in 1876

    In 1876, the metric system became mandatory for all measurements across Austria.

  2. 1884

    Electric street lighting installed in 1884

    In 1884, the first permanent electric street lighting system in the empire was installed in Temesvár.

  3. 1892

    Gold crown currency introduced in 1892

    In 1892, the gold crown currency was introduced, replacing the old florin system.

  4. 1898

    1898: Spain loses overseas colonies

    In 1898, the Spanish-American War resulted in the loss of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and the Philippines, deeply affecting the national psyche.

  5. 1900

    1900 Work Accident Law established employer responsibility

    The 1900 Work Accident Law made employers legally responsible for workplace accidents, marking a major shift in labor rights.

  6. 1914

    Wartime inflation begins, 1914

    Just after war broke out in 1914, the government began using the printing press to fund military costs, causing the money supply to expand by 977 percent by 1918.

Family

Parents

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.