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Karl Fürst von und zu Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg

1845–1921

Born
5 Sep 1845, Oberwaltersdorf
Country of birth
Austria
Died
9 Nov 1921, Horšovský Týn
facts
9
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth5 Sep 1845, OberwaltersdorfProbable1 source
  • TitleMember of the House of Lords (Austria), 1870–1918Confirmed2 competing claims1 source
  • TitleMember of the Bohemian Diet, 1883–1885Confirmed2 competing claims1 source
  • TitleMember of the Bohemian Diet, 1902–1913Confirmed2 competing claims1 source
  • Death9 Nov 1921, Horšovský TýnProbable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Oberwaltersdorf

    Birth, Oberwaltersdorf

  2. Child born: Therese Gräfin von Trauttmansdorff-Weinsberg

    Birth, Oberwaltersdorf

  3. Event · Member of the House of Lords (Austria)

    Event

  4. Event · Member of the Bohemian Diet

    Event

  5. Event · Member of the Bohemian Diet

    Event

  6. Died · Horšovský Týn

    Death, Horšovský Týn

What was it like?

The world around Oberwaltersdorf, 1845: 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.

Karl was born around the same time as Edvard Grieg, Otto Lilienthal, and Buffalo Bill.

Known for

Titles held

  • Member of the House of Lords (Austria)1870–1918
  • Member of the Bohemian Diet1883–1885
  • Member of the Bohemian Diet1902–1913
Born around the same time
  • Edvard Grieg

    1843 · Norwegian composer and pianist (1843–1907)

  • Otto Lilienthal

    1848 · German aviation pioneer (1848-1896)

  • Buffalo Bill

    1846 · American soldier and showman (1846–1917)

  • W. G. Grace

    1848 · English amateur cricketer (1848-1915)

  • Octave Mirbeau

    1848 · French writer, art critic and journalist (1848–1917)

  • William McKinley

    1843 · president of the United States from 1897 to 1901 (1843-1901)

Fashion

Hairstyles and Straw Hats

In parts of the Ennstal region, women wore their hair in two braids wound around a large hair needle above the nape of the neck. They covered their heads with a wide-brimmed straw hat featuring black trim, which was pinned to their hair and often kept on all day, even during meals.

Infant Swaddling and Dress

Infants were kept in a swaddling pillow for several months to ensure they would grow straight, a practice that prevented them from moving or kicking. As young children, boys were dressed in the same types of garments as girls.

Music

Music in taverns and on streets

Ordinary people frequently enjoyed music in taverns where instruments like the violin, zither, guitar, and dulcimer were often available for visitors to play themselves. Public street musicians, such as harpists and hurdy-gurdy players, were also common fixtures of everyday life in the city.

Viennese waltz: A controversial partner dance

The Viennese waltz evolved from the regional Ländler dance and became a popular, albeit controversial, ballroom partner dance that allowed close physical contact between couples. During court balls, Archduke Ferdinand famously ordered that each waltz should last exactly eight minutes.

Getting around

Railways drastically cut travel times

The introduction of railways significantly reduced travel time, such as the journey from Vienna to Graz dropping from twenty-nine hours by coach to nine hours by train.

Around 1850–1874

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.

Daily life

Compulsory schooling and social control

Education was compulsory for children aged 6 to 12, but country schools often operated only half the year so children could work, and crowded classrooms sometimes forced half-day schooling. Curriculum emphasized religious instruction over reading, writing, and arithmetic to ensure students learned their station in society.

Cooking without stoves or ovens

Cooking was performed on an open fire without a stove or oven, meaning roasted dishes and cakes were not part of the standard menu. All household tasks were carried out by human or animal muscle power without the aid of machines.

Food

Refreshing drinks and ice for everyone

While the wealthy enjoyed fruit ice cream in cafes, the common population could only access it starting in the 1860s, when street vendors sold portions served in cups and spoons made of edible hard dough. During hot summers, poor women who could not afford wine frequently drank water mixed with vinegar for refreshment.

Staple foods of the poor

For the poor, the diet consisted largely of flour-based foods, pulses, and vegetables, with potatoes becoming an increasingly important staple food. Meat was a luxury for common people, typically consumed only on Sundays and holidays.

Work

Agricultural work dominated the empire

Over 70% of the population worked in agriculture, where family life and work were inseparable. Household servants, known as Gesinde, were typically young people between 15 and 30 who lived and worked on farms.

Innovative methods for timber transport

Woodcutters lived in simple huts made of rough trunks and bark, moving from site to site with their tools. To create a sled path in winter, they used a "water cat" device to pour water on the forest slide, which froze into a smooth ice track for transporting logs.

News and letters

Mandatory postilion travel pace

A postilion was required to cover one Austrian post-mile (approximately 15.2 km) in no more than two hours.

Around 1850–1874

Postage stamps and the new correspondence card

In 1850, Austria introduced adhesive postage stamps, and by 1869, the country pioneered the correspondence card, which allowed people to send short messages for only two kreuzer.

During their lifetime

  1. 1848

    Abolition of serfdom in 1848

    The law for the final abolition of serfdom was passed on September 7, 1848, ending a feudal system that had existed for over 1,000 years.

  2. 1848

    Revolution of 1848 in Vienna

    On March 13, 1848, revolution broke out in Vienna, resulting in the overthrow of Metternich and the granting of press freedom and a constitution.

  3. 1848

    Abolition of serfdom in 1848

    In 1848, the revolution led to the abolition of serfdom across the empire, fundamentally changing the lives of rural people.

  4. 1854

    First mountain railway opens in 1854

    In 1854, the first mountain railway in the world was opened, connecting Vienna to the Semmering pass.

  5. 1858

    New silver florin introduced in 1858

    In 1858, a new silver florin became the official currency in Austria, replacing the previous Convention currency.

  6. 1858

    Introduction of new silver florin currency

    The silver florin Austrian currency was introduced into circulation in 1858, replacing the previous Convention currency.

Family

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.