Marie Malivánková Wasková
Pilsen’s Cultural Calendar up to the Mid-19th Century (Supplements in the Records of the Municipal Institute for the Poor)
The account records kept by foundations for the poor provide an interesting source of information on cultural events, giving details on fees for licensed dances, benefit performances, and taxi fares for itinerant artists. Josephinist legislation had already established this custom by regulating the closing time of inns and cafés, and by prohibiting certain entertainments starting in 1772, as well as introducing regulations in 1794 on the use of proceeds from charitable dances organized by foundations for the poor. During the period in question, a 1830 decree by the court office setting the rate for entertainment fees according to town populations was still in effect. Account records by the Pilsen Institute for the Poor (Armeninstitut) were kept, with some interruptions, over the period 1835-1850 (and up to 1914). They show not only the number of dances that Pilsen (then population approx. 10,000) managed to hold by the mid-19th century, but also changes in the social atmosphere around the tumultuous year 1848. We find there less evidence of street entertainment on offer, but this can be supplemented by looking at advertisements in the popular press.
Keywords: Czech Lands – 19th century– dances - theatre benefits - street attractions
design by Bedřich Vémola
