Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Marie Eleonore Windisch-Graetz

1795–1876

Born
1795, Prague
Country of birth
Holy Roman Empire, today Czechia
Died
10 Mar 1876, Graz
facts
8
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Prague

    Birth, Prague

  2. Child born: Prince Hugo, 2nd Prince of Windisch-Graetz

    Birth, Vienna

  3. Died · Graz

    Death, Graz

What was it like?

The world around Prague, 1795: 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.

Women wore a padded sack called a sorcik under their skirts, which was stuffed with hay to help the skirts maintain a fuller, fashionable shape.

Fashion

Hay-stuffed pads shaped women's skirts

Women wore a padded sack called a sorcik under their skirts, which was stuffed with hay to help the skirts maintain a fuller, fashionable shape.

Village wedding coats were shared assets

A high-quality blue, green, or black cloth coat worn by wealthy farmers for weddings was often passed down through generations and borrowed by entire villages for festivities.

Music

Herdsman's horn in Christmas music

The herdsman's horn was a common rural folk instrument used in Christmas Pastorella music to depict scenes from the birth of Christ.

Payment for folk musicians

Folk musicians in the countryside often performed at events in exchange for food, drink, or grain, rather than just monetary payment.

Getting around

Carriage travel between cities

Wealthier travelers used carriages, but a journey between Prague and Vienna still required 4–5 days under good weather conditions.

The dangers of carriage travel

Carriage passengers frequently faced a difficult choice between the risk of being bruised inside the vehicle or spraining an ankle while walking alongside it on poor roads.

Daily life

Clever sleeping benches for large families

Large families often slept together on wooden benches, which were designed with tipping backs to prevent young children from falling off while sleeping.

Homes of mud bricks and packed earth

Ordinary homes were frequently built from sun-dried mud bricks (vepřovice) and featured thatched roofs, small windows, and floors made of packed earth.

Food

Common diet of staple crops

Ordinary families primarily relied on staple foods like legumes, cabbage, potatoes, and cereals prepared as gruels or mashes. Black bread was a fundamental component of the daily diet.

Eating patterns and communal meals

While urban dwellers ate multiple times a day, rural families often ate only one large meal in the evening after returning from field work. Members would typically eat together from a single large dish using wooden spoons.

Prices and wages

Annual wages of farmhands and laborers

A common farmhand in the 18th century earned an annual salary of 10 to 20 goldens, although they also received free room and board. In comparison, a regular daily laborer might earn between 50 and 100 goldens per year.

Cost of basic clothing items

A pair of shoes typically cost about 1 golden, while a winter fur coat could cost between 3 and 15 goldens.

Work

Combining Multiple Seasonal Occupations

Because single trades often failed to provide enough income, many people combined jobs, such as working as a bricklayer in summer and a weaver in winter.

Minimal Compensation for Forced Labor

On the Lessonitz estate, workers performing required labor were sometimes compensated with minimal rations, such as half a pound of meat and a glass of beer after the harvest.

News and letters

Postal delivery times in Europe

By the late 18th century, the Thurn und Taxis postal service, which used horses and horn-blowing couriers to announce their arrival, could deliver express mail from Paris to Brussels in only 36 hours. A standard letter from Brussels to Naples took approximately 14 days.

Rural news dissemination and newspaper costs

Beyond official posts, rural inhabitants often received information from long-haul carriers and market vendors who shared news they had heard in foreign cities. Subscription to newspapers like Kramerius's was modest, costing four gold sovereigns a year.

During their lifetime

  1. 1831

    Cholera epidemic of 1831

    A cholera epidemic struck the area around Vienna in 1831, causing significant mortality and leading to systematic expansions of the sewage system.

  2. 1832

    First railroad in the empire opened

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

  3. 1836

    Northern Railway Company founded

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

  4. 1837

    First steam railway in 1837

    The first steam railway line in the empire opened in 1837, connecting Vienna to Deutsch-Wagram and marking a new era for travel.

  5. 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.

  6. 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.

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.