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Countess Gabriele of Waldstein-Wartenberg

1827–1890

Born
10 Sep 1827, Šťáhlavy
Country of birth
Czechia
Died
14 Jan 1890, Florence
facts
5
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth10 Sep 1827, ŠťáhlavyProbable1 source
  • Death14 Jan 1890, FlorenceProbable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Šťáhlavy

    Birth, Šťáhlavy

  2. Child born: Berthe de Rohan

    Birth, Teplice

  3. Died · Florence

    Death, Florence

What was it like?

The world around Šťáhlavy, 1827: 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.

Countess was born around the same time as Abdülaziz, Eadweard Muybridge, and Hans von Bülow.

Born around the same time

  • Abdülaziz

    1830 · 32th Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (1861–1876)

  • Eadweard Muybridge

    1830 · English-American photographer (1830–1904)

  • Hans von Bülow

    1830 · German conductor and pianist (1830–1894)

  • Jules Verne

    1828 · French writer (1828–1905)

  • Henrik Ibsen

    1828 · Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828–1906)

  • Emily Dickinson

    1830 · American poet (1830-1886)

Fashion

The pride of layered petticoats

In the early nineteenth century, women's pride was displayed through the sheer volume of their petticoats, with some older peasant women wearing as many as ten at once to create a wide, wheel-like silhouette.

Wealthy farmers' coin-studded belts

Wealthy farmers often wore leather belts embroidered with peacock quills and silk, which were uniquely studded with coins on the inside.

Music

Herdsmen's horns played during church services

In church, liturgical works known as Pastorellas featured parts for a rustic herdsman's horn to evoke scenes of the shepherds at the birth of Christ.

Paying musicians by the song at festivals

At feast dances, musicians were paid six kreutzers per song, and they would only play what a patron requested and paid for.

Getting around

Walking and stagecoaches were standard travel methods

For common people like peasants, students, or soldiers, walking was the most frequent way to travel, covering 20 to 30 kilometers daily. Wealthier travelers used coaches, but a trip from Prague to Vienna still took four to five days under good conditions.

Horse-drawn railway cut travel time significantly

The 129-kilometer horse-drawn railway between České Budějovice and Linz reduced travel time to 14 hours, replacing a three-day journey. It featured Europe's first railway restaurant at the Kerschbaum station, where trains stopped for lunch.

Daily life

School attendance reality and seasonal patterns

Although school was legally compulsory for children aged 6 to 12, many village children only attended during the winter months when there was no farm work. By 1830, approximately 90 percent of eligible children were officially enrolled in school.

Sleeping arrangements in the family home

Large families often slept together in the kitchen on benches or on top of the large oven used for heating and baking. Benches were cleverly designed with backs that tipped forward to prevent children from falling while they slept.

Food

Meat was a rare luxury food

Meat was a rarity for ordinary families, with annual per capita consumption around 14 kilograms, and meals often consisted of flour-based dishes, potatoes, or pulses.

Poor families ate dark potato dumplings

Poor families made dense dumplings from raw grated potatoes and rye or oat flour, known as blue dumplings or bosáky, which had a dark, slimy appearance.

Prices and wages

Journeyman Weaver Wages

In the mid-19th century, a journeyman weaver typically earned about 1 silver groschen or 20 kreuzer per day for manual work. For piece-work, they might earn around 8 groschen per piece plus meals, totaling roughly 1 thaler per week.

Work

Weaver's earnings and daily routine

Between 1820 and 1840, a journeyman weaver earned 8 silver groschen per piece plus meals, working from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. In total, he earned about 1 thaler per week, whereas a typical daily diet consisted of bread for breakfast, soup for lunch, and cabbage or apples for dinner.

Long hours for domestic servants

Domestic servants in burgher households during the 19th century faced a grueling existence, with a typical working day lasting between 16 and 18 hours.

News and letters

Faster mail coach travel introduced

Accelerated mail coaches, or 'post wagons', began operating in 1823, significantly reducing travel times; for instance, the 144-kilometer route between Vienna and Brno took only 14 hours.

Letters carried by private messengers

Letters not sent through the official post were often carried by private messengers or trusted travelers; those carried for free by a friend were marked with the note 'Durch Güte!' (By kindness!).

During their lifetime

  1. 1832

    First railroad in the empire opened

    The first railroad in the Austrian Empire opened between Linz and Budweis (today České Budějovice) in 1832.

  2. 1835

    Deadly cholera epidemic hits Italy in 1835

    A cholera epidemic struck Italy between 1835 and 1837, resulting in over 140,000 deaths, including nearly 20,000 in Naples alone. Poor sanitation in urban centers favored the spread of the disease, which disproportionately affected the poor.

  3. 1836

    Northern Railway Company founded

    The Emperor Ferdinand Northern Railway Company was founded in Vienna in 1836, connecting major regions including Moravia.

  4. 1842

    First seaside medical hostel opens in 1842

    In 1842, a seaside hostel was opened in Viareggio, Tuscany, specifically for treating children suffering from tuberculosis. This was the first facility of its kind in Italy, marking an early attempt at marine therapy.

  5. 1847

    First telegraph line established in 1847

    The first Italian telegraph line connecting Florence, Pisa, and Livorno was established in 1847. This technology represented a major leap in communication speed across the region.

  6. 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.

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.