Tuesday and Saturday are market days – crafts, markets and food supplies in medieval Vienna

Most of what was produced by medieval craftsmen, from groceries and means of transport to luxury goods, was intended to cover the needs of the local population. Today there are still many street names which show that the representatives of one particular craft or trade were often to be found in one particular street. People in Vienna ‘went shopping’ either directly to the workshops of craftsmen or to markets, some of which specialized in one type of product, for example fish, meat, horses or charcoal. Dairy products and eggs were offered for sale at a number of places.

Cereals, which came mainly from the area surrounding the city, were essential for the production of food. Especially if the harvest failed, shortages could arise very quickly. Once the flour, which was produced in mills along the nearby Vienna River (Wienfluss), had been delivered, it was processed by bakers specializing in black, white or luxury bread. Every Tuesday and Saturday there was a market for cereals and products made from them and for pulses. Pulses were especially used by the poor, whose staple diet was made up of peas, beans, lentils and cabbage, together with bread, clarified butter and millet gruel. Wealthy people in Vienna not only could buy high-quality food but also had much greater choice, including, for example, meat and fish, the latter being very popular because of the many days of fasting. Their menus could also include such exotic foods as almonds, figs and rice and olive oil as well as spices and herbs like pepper, nutmeg, caraway, cinnamon, basil and thyme. The consumption of salt was particularly high, because it was used to preserve meat.

Like food, clothes were also a basic need. As these were expensive, they were often altered and passed on. In the middle of the fifteenth century the Vienna city council issued regulations governing dress, and these reflected the divisions in a social order based on privilege.

Most of what was produced by medieval craftsmen, from groceries and means of transport to luxury goods, was intended to cover the needs of the local population. Today there are still many street names which show that the representatives of one particular craft or trade were often to be found in one particular street. People in Vienna ‘went shopping’ either directly to the workshops of craftsmen or to markets, some of which specialized in one type of product, for example fish, meat, horses or charcoal. Dairy products and eggs were offered for sale at a number of places.
Cereals, which came mainly from the area surrounding the city, were essential for the production of food. Especially if the harvest failed, shortages could arise very quickly. Once the flour, which was produced in mills along the nearby Vienna River (Wienfluss), had been delivered, it was processed by bakers specializing in black, white or luxury bread. Every Tuesday and Saturday there was a market for cereals and products made from them and for pulses. Pulses were especially used by the poor, whose staple diet was made up of peas, beans, lentils and cabbage, together with bread, clarified butter and millet gruel. Wealthy people in Vienna not only could buy high-quality food but also had much greater choice, including, for example, meat and fish, the latter being very popular because of the many days of fasting. Their menus could also include such exotic foods as almonds, figs and rice and olive oil as well as spices and herbs like pepper, nutmeg, caraway, cinnamon, basil and thyme. The consumption of salt was particularly high, because it was used to preserve meat.
Like food, clothes were also a basic need. As these were expensive, they were often altered and passed on. In the middle of the fifteenth century the Vienna city council issued regulations governing dress, and these reflected the divisions in a social order based on privilege.