Prince Frederik's carriages
These days, just about everyone owns one or more cars. We hop on a train, a bus, or a plane without giving it a second thought. We consider it normal to head out the door and travel long distances. But in Prince Frederik’s day, this was anything but a given. In fact, ordinary people did everything on foot and never went anywhere. Long journeys and pleasure rides in a carriage were a luxury reserved only for the wealthy.
In the 19th century, owning a carriage required a substantial amount of money: a carriage was usually drawn by two horses, with the coachman sitting on the box and often a groom standing in the back. Carriages had to be maintained, horses needed shelter and feed, and staff had to be paid. Moreover, there were often multiple carriages; Prince Frederik may have had between 15 and 25. Historians deduce this from the enormous coach house that belonged to De Paauw, which had room for 15 carriages.
A Different Carriage for Every Purpose
Each carriage had its own purpose. Luggage was transported in a luggage van, and the staff traveled in a large omnibus—a long carriage big enough to accommodate them all. Ladies often boarded a Victoria for a leisurely ride: a semi-open carriage with a low step, so they wouldn’t trip over their long gowns. And wealthy men went hunting in sporty carriages or showed off their driving skills in a Phaëton: a light, open sports carriage where they sat on the box themselves. A closed carriage was ideal for longer journeys.
Carriages Subject to Fashion Trends
Did you know that you can tell what era a carriage is from by looking at its construction? New technological developments led to ever-improving comfort. Moreover, the appearance of a carriage was subject to changing fashions. As a result, carriages were regularly replaced with more modern models, even though the older vehicles were still perfectly serviceable. Prince Frederik, too, was regularly tempted to purchase a new carriage. So the elite of that era weren’t all that different from today’s car enthusiasts!
Wanderlust
The lives of the aristocracy revolved around visiting one another. It was a way to conduct business, maintain social ties, and arrange marriages. Travel was also a way to escape the heat of the city. Prince Frederik, too, was an avid traveler. He traveled with ease from his city palace in The Hague to his estates in Wassenaar and Bad Muskau, a town on the Oder River in what is now the German-Polish border region. Although roads continued to improve throughout the nineteenth century, travel was slow. A carriage could cover about ten to twelve kilometers per hour.
Little spontaneity
Do you ever decide to go out on a whim? In Prince Frederik’s day, that would have been unthinkable. Every trip, no matter how short, required a great deal of preparation: stablehands polished the carriage, brushed the horses, and harnessed them. Servants packed the belongings, and the coachman and grooms donned their immaculate uniforms. Even trips abroad were planned step by step by Prince Frederik’s secretary or court marshal (head of the household). Setting out was therefore a time-consuming affair that was always announced well in advance.
Fun Trips to Impress People
Prince Frederik had a magnificent landscape park built on his estates in Wassenaar. He loved to impress his guests during a leisurely carriage ride with everything the park had to offer: breathtaking views, large meandering ponds, exciting vistas, and much more. Paths were laid out specifically for the carriages, so that his guests could experience the park in a magnificent way while riding through it. Would you like to imagine yourself as a nobleman or noblewoman for a moment? Then walk or bike (parts of) the Park Route and experience its beauty just as they did in the nineteenth century!
Traveling by Train
On May 1, 1843, a train station opened in Voorschoten. It was an extension of the Amsterdam–Haarlem–Leiden–The Hague railway line. From then on, Prince Frederik used the train regularly to pay visits. It also allowed him to reach his family in Berlin or his estate in Bad Muskau much more quickly. Of course, he didn’t ride in a compartment with other passengers. It may be hard to imagine today, but he had his own railcar, which was then coupled to the train. Now that was traveling in luxury and style! The railcar that Frederick used regularly had been built for Queen Anna Paulowna, wife of William II, but she died before she could use it. You can admire this car (a miniature palace on wheels) at the Railway Museum in Utrecht.