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Leopoldine Hofmann, Baroness of Waideck

1842–1891

Born
29 Nov 1842, Krems
Country of birth
Austrian Empire, today Austria
Died
29 Nov 1891, Rainier Palace
facts
9
sources
1
images and files
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Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Krems

    Birth, Krems

  2. Died · Rainier Palace

    Death, Rainier Palace

What was it like?

The world around Krems, 1842: 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.

Leopoldine was born around the same time as Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, Antonín Dvořák, and Edvard Grieg.

Born around the same time

  • Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky

    1840 · Russian composer (1840–1893)

  • Antonín Dvořák

    1841 · Czech composer (1841–1904)

  • Edvard Grieg

    1843 · Norwegian composer and pianist (1843–1907)

  • Émile Zola

    1840 · French novelist, journalist, playwright, and poet (1840–1902)

  • Claude Monet

    1840 · French painter (1840–1926)

  • 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.

Prices and wages
Around 1834–1834

Food prices in 1834

In 1834, a 4-pound loaf of bread cost 30 kreuzer, while one pound of pork cost 27 kreuzer and veal 22 kreuzer.

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. 1854

    First mountain railway opens in 1854

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

  4. 1858

    New silver florin introduced in 1858

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

  5. 1867

    Compromise of 1867 creates Dual Monarchy

    The 1867 Compromise established the Dual Monarchy, granting Hungary autonomy and creating a shared government between Austria and Hungary.

  6. 1876

    Metric system becomes mandatory in 1876

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

Family

Parents

Spouses

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.