John Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst

John Augustus, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst, was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Zerbst.

Men's multi-functional hat design

The Winkelmann hat for men featured an integrated fabric bag designed to carry items like a prayer book, bread, and a hip flask.

The Tiphoike hooded cloak

The Tiphoike was a distinctive black hooded cloak worn over the head that functioned as a status symbol, with length and adornment varying between social classes.

Church and celebrations used town pipers

In early modern German towns, town pipers’ wind instruments were used at church services and also for special occasions such as weddings or house concerts.

Popular wedding dance needed the fiddle

In Weseke, a record from 1662 calls a local musician “Fidicen” (violinist) whose fiddle provided the energy for festivities, and wedding celebrations were incomplete without dancing.

Mounted post speeds in Germany

Mounted postal services in Central Europe utilized horse relay stations to reach speeds of up to 84 kilometers per day, allowing the 422-kilometer journey between Cologne and Hamburg to be completed in five days.

River travel from Regensburg to Vienna

Starting in 1696, boats called 'Ordinari' transported passengers down the Danube from Regensburg to Vienna, a distance of about 450 kilometers that took at least one week.

Difficult and contaminated water access

Getting drinkable water was labor-intensive, often involving fetching it from ditches or rivers that were also used for sewage disposal. Nearby wells were frequently contaminated by sewage as well.

Poor lighting in winter homes

During the winter, homes were lit by poor-quality light from resin torches, tallow candles, or oil lamps with open flames.

Alcoholic beverages replaced water for safety

People rarely drank water due to contamination risks, relying instead on wine or beer, which were considered safer because of the fermentation process. Milk was almost exclusively for small children, as most of it was processed into butter and cheese for storage.

Porridge was the primary warm meal

Porridge made from oats or millet was the most important warm meal, often prepared in large batches and reheated, which gave it a tough, semi-solid consistency. People typically ate directly from a common bowl at the center of the table using their hands or a wooden spoon.

Common Jobs in Rural Villages

Most common occupations were in agriculture, including fullholders, smallholders, and landless laborers like cottars (Seldner) and day laborers who often combined farming with small-scale craft or wage work. Female labor was essential and included tasks like spinning, sewing, agricultural labor, and working as live-in maidservants.

Memorable Facts: Wages and Quotas

Female servants often earned very low wages, with a 1631 list showing they received only about 3.8 Gulden annually, which was 42 percent of the average male servant's wage. Additionally, compulsory labor duties often included specific quotas, such as women being required to spin 6 pounds of flax per year.

Chaotic cargo on post wagons

Post wagons often carried a chaotic mix of goods, including barrels, crates, and even unpackaged game like deer or pigs.

How letters were prepared for sending

Letters were typically written on large double sheets of paper, fixed with sand instead of blotting paper, and sealed with wax. The folded letter itself served as the envelope, with the sender and recipient written directly on the outer side.