Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Count Ferdinand von Wilczek

1893–1977

Born
28 May 1893, Dobroslavice
Country of birth
Czechia
Died
5 Jul 1977, Q28024217
facts
5
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth28 May 1893, DobroslaviceProbable1 source
  • Death5 Jul 1977, Q28024217Probable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Dobroslavice

    Birth, Dobroslavice

  2. Child born: Countess Georgina von Wilczek

    Birth, Graz

  3. Died · Q28024217

    Death, Q28024217

What was it like?

The world around Dobroslavice, 1893: 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.

Count was born the same year as Vladimir Mayakovsky, Mae West, and Lillian Gish.

Born the same year

  • Vladimir Mayakovsky

    Russian and Soviet poet (1893–1930)

  • Mae West

    American actress, singer, screenwriter, and writer (1893–1980)

  • Lillian Gish

    American actor, actress, motion picture producers and director, screenwriter

  • Amílcar Barbuy

    Brazilian footballer and manager (1893–1965)

  • Mao Zedong

    1st chairman of the Chinese Communist Party and founder of the People's Republic of China (1893–1976)

  • Joan Miró

    Spanish painter, sculptor, and ceramicist (1893–1983)

Fashion

Intricate apron embroidery

Peasant women created aprons with elaborate embroidered blossom borders that could take an experienced worker more than a full week to complete.

Men's work jacket

Men frequently wore a short, waist-length, form-fitting jacket called a spenzl for work, which was typically blue or red and lacked a collar.

Music

Paying six kreutzers for a song

At local village feasts, musicians were paid six kreutzers per song. Some attendees would dance all day without paying, leading to frequent fights with the young people who hosted the events.

Around 1875–1890

Harpist hired for tavern dances

A blind harpist from the village of Syrovín continued to be hired by local youths to play at tavern dances until around 1890. It was common for folk musicians to perform for intimate occasions, sometimes playing alone while singing and stomping to keep the rhythm.

Getting around

Faster travel between Vienna and Graz

Taking the train from Vienna to Graz took nine hours, which was a significant improvement over the twenty-nine hours required by post coach.

Horse-drawn railway journey and restaurant stop

The horse-drawn railway from České Budějovice to Linz took 14 hours, with a midday break at the Kerschbaum station, which hosted the first railway restaurant in Europe.

Daily life

Homemade lighting and fire safety precautions

In the 19th century, the cheapest source of light was a simple wooden piece known as a torchlight, which burned for about ten minutes and had to be constantly replaced. To prevent fire in wooden homes, children kept the light over a vessel filled with water so the burning end would drop safely into it.

Around 1900–1924

Bathing rituals in the household

Families used a single tin bathtub brought into the kitchen, which was filled with water heated on a stove. To conserve resources, the entire family bathed in the same water, typically with children going first, followed by the wife, and finally the husband.

Food

Coffee substitutes for families

When coffee was too expensive, families brewed substitutes from ingredients like chicory, malt, or rye.

Meat consumption habits

Working-class families typically ate meat only twice a week, usually on Saturdays and Sundays.

Prices and wages

Food and footwear prices

At the turn of the century, 1 kilogram of bread cost 0.20 to 0.30 crowns, and 1 kilogram of pork cost 1.20 to 1.50 crowns. A pair of shoes was priced at 5 to 10 crowns, which was a significant expense for a modest family.

Worker earnings and housing costs

In 1900, an average worker earned between 60 and 120 crowns per month, while mid-19th-century workers typically brought home about 20 gold coins monthly. Rent often consumed nearly half of these earnings.

Work

Common Skilled Trades

The most common skilled trades included shoemakers, bakers, tailors, carpenters, locksmiths, plumbers, butchers, barbers, and glaziers.

Difficult Living and Working Conditions

In a Prague glove workshop, inspectors found 20 apprentices for only 26 workers, while some bakers locked their apprentices in cellar dormitories at night to prevent theft. Workers in Vienna often spent up to one-third of their earnings just on rent for cellar or attic dwellings.

News and letters

Fast delivery of postal cards

In the late 19th century, a postal card mailed by 9:00 a.m. within Vienna could be delivered to an address in the city on the same day. Cards sent elsewhere in the empire typically arrived by the next day.

Postal costs and bicycle delivery

By 1892, sending a standard inland letter weighing up to 20 grams cost 3 kreuzer for local delivery or 5 kreuzer for longer distances. Modernization efforts included the introduction of bicycle mail delivery starting in 1896.

During their lifetime

  1. 1903

    First electric railway opens (1903)

    The Krizik company completed the first electric railway line in the region between Tabor and Bechyne.

  2. 1907

    Universal suffrage introduced (1907)

    Emperor Franz Joseph ratified new electoral laws that introduced direct universal suffrage for the Empire's council.

  3. 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.

  4. 1915

    Ersatz bread introduced, 1915

    In early 1915, the government forced citizens to eat bread made with ersatz ingredients like sawdust because food supplies were severely depleted.

  5. 1919

    Women gain vote, 1919

    The new Republic introduced women's suffrage, with women voting for the first time in the February 1919 national assembly elections.

  6. 1923

    Hyperinflation peak, 1923

    In 1923, the cost-of-living index soared to 1,183,600 compared to 100 in 1914, reflecting the catastrophic hyperinflation after the war.

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.