What would a serious investigation be without a bit of outdoor research? True, Archduchess Marianne is not about to examine a genuine crime scene; nevertheless, her urgent need for a certain kind of information requires her to leave behind her usual salons and boudoirs. As a result of a witty and elegant conspiracy carried out with the assistance of Countess Christalnigg, we find the two young ladies exploring nothing less than the imperial laundry house!
In the 18th century, Viennese townsfolk used to wash their laundry to the northwest of the Innere Stadt, in the area now known as the districts of Währing and Alsergrund. There, the Währing brook flowed into the River Als. Today both streams are entirely canalised, but in the age of Maria Theresa their banks were lined with small washhouses and wooden platforms for scooping water and rinsing laundry.
The imperial laundry house was a separate facility located nearby, in what is now Säulengasse. One can almost see long clotheslines of linen fluttering in the summer breeze and hear the cheerful chatter of laundry girls in bonnets and aprons carrying heavy baskets of wet wash.
Access to the Metatext via placing an order for an augmented product. See Terms of Use
