Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis

Alexander Ferdinand, 3rd Prince of Thurn and Taxis, full German name: Alexander Ferdinand Fürst von Thurn und Taxis was the third Prince of Thurn and Taxis, Postmaster General of the Imperial Reichspost, and Head of the Princely House of Thurn and Taxis from 8 November 1739 until his death on 17 March 1773.

Limited Wardrobes and Sunday Best

For ordinary people, clothing was strictly divided into everyday wear and Sunday best, as a person's wardrobe was very limited three hundred years ago.

Practical Working Clothing and Headwear

Maids wore practical working clothes like shorter skirts, loose bodices, and aprons to move freely while doing heavy chores, while women of all statuses typically wore hair caps for protection and fashion.

Fiddlers earned Nickelgrosken at village celebrations

Fiddlers were central to village life and were paid for their services at weddings and parties with small coins known as Nickelgrosken.

The cornett was a popular civic instrument

Town musicians used the versatile cornett, a wooden instrument with finger holes, for both church services and celebratory civic events.

Water Transport on the Danube

Travel by water was vital, with cargo boats like the Ordinari sailing weekly from Regensburg to Vienna, a journey of 450 kilometers that took at least a week. While downstream travel was faster, upstream journeys were labor-intensive, often requiring horses to tow the boats.

River Travel by Ordinari Boats

Water transport was often more cost-effective; for example, the Ordinari boat from Regensburg to Vienna took at least a week to cover about 450 kilometers. Passengers often spent their nights on land during these boat journeys.

Lighting, Cooking, and Water Access

Lighting was limited to pine torches, tallow candles, or oil lamps, while cooking was done over an open fire or in masonry hearths with a wide chimney hood to collect smoke. Water was typically obtained from community pump wells.

Limited Schooling for Children

Children often attended only winter schools because their labor was required for farming and tending livestock the rest of the year. Teachers were frequently untrained, such as former soldiers or craftsmen, and religious instruction was the main priority.

Simple meals of porridge, soup, and stew

Ordinary families commonly consumed grain-based porridges and soups for breakfast and dinner, while a hearty stew served as the main midday meal. Meat was expensive, so many households reserved it for special occasions like a Sunday roast.

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.

Daily wages of laborers around 1700

Around 1700, a carpenter earned 8 groschen per day, while a day-laborer earned 7 groschen per day.

Food and luxury prices around 1700

In the early 18th century, a pound of beef cost about 1.5 groschen, and a bottle of champagne was 1 thaler and 3 groschen.

Common jobs and daily routines

Most people worked as farmers, often laboring on narrow strips of land or as seasonal laborers; others engaged in cottage industries like spinning and weaving. Their day began at sunrise and continued until dark, often including heavy manual labor with simple tools like scythes and flails.

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.

Thurn and Taxis Managed Imperial Mail

By the early 18th century, relay systems allowed mail to be handed off to fresh riders at post houses, enabling travel day and night. The Thurn and Taxis family operated the Imperial postal service, which by 1701 maintained its center in Frankfurt am Main.

Communication Costs and Delivery Times

Ordinary people increasingly used postal services as costs declined, although for many, information still relied on slow, expensive transport alongside passengers and goods. A letter could still take weeks to reach distant major cities like Venice.