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Obese yet malnourished toddler mummy sheds light on life in 17th century aristocratic Austria

<p>In a creepy discovery published, a collaboration of German scientists have performed a ‘virtual autopsy’ on a mummified toddler’s body, found in a 17th century Austrian crypt.</p> <p>Buried in a wooden coffin that was slightly too small and deformed the skull, the young child’s body appeared to be both obese and malnourished. Researchers say the findings might provide a rare insight into historical Austrian aristocratic society.</p> <p>By using CT scanning, scientists were able to perform a ‘virtual autopsy’ on the mummy which was naturally mummified in the conditions of the crypt. Well-preserved soft tissue showed the child was a boy, overweight for his age, and radiocarbon dating suggests a date of death between 1550 and 1635 CE.</p> <p>By examining the formation and length of the body’s bones, plus evidence of tooth eruption, the researchers were able to estimate that the child was about one year old when he died. The bones also showed that despite being well-fed, the boy was malnourished, with his malformed ribs displaying signs of rachitic rosary. This condition presents in a pattern of prominent bony knobs at points where the rib joins cartilage and results from diseases associated with specific vitamin deficiencies such as rickets (vitamin D) and scurvy (vitamin C).</p> <p>Vitamin D is found in foods like salmon, tuna, mackerel and beef liver and egg yolks, but we typically only get around 10% of our required Vitamin D from our diets – the rest is made by our bodies when exposed to ultraviolet B (UVB) from the sun.</p> <p>“The combination of obesity along with a severe vitamin-deficiency can only be explained by a generally ‘good’ nutritional status along with an almost complete lack of sunlight exposure,” said Dr Andreas Nerlich of the Academic Clinic Munich-Bogenhausen and lead researcher.</p> <p>The child appears to have died from pneumonia, judging by the evidence of inflammation in the lungs. Rickets is known to make children more vulnerable to pneumonia, suggesting that, sadly, not only was the child malnourished, but that this condition may have also led to his untimely demise.</p> <p>“We have to reconsider the living conditions of high aristocratic infants of previous populations,” said Nerlich.</p> <p>Relatively little is known about aristocratic childhood in the late Renaissance period, so these mummified remains give key insights into life in Europe of a period generally known for its fervent creativity and intellectual development.</p> <p>“This is only one case,” said Nerlich, “but as we know that the early infant death rates generally were very high at that time, our observations may have considerable impact in the over-all life reconstruction of infants even in higher social classes.”</p> <p>To understand more about this period, researchers scoured historical records of the crypt and the family to whom the crypt belonged. Curiously, the child was buried in a simple, unmarked, wooden coffin, although he was dressed in an expensive silk hooded coat. The unmarked coffin appeared to have been slightly too small for the body such that the skull became deformed and was the only infant buried amongst the identifiable adult metal coffins in the crypt.</p> <p>Historical records of renovations on the crypt confirmed the radiocarbon dating, indicating the child was likely buried sometime after 1600 CE.</p> <p>The crypt belonged to the Counts of Starhemberg and traditionally was kept exclusively for the burial of heirs to their titles, and their wives, making the body likely to be that of the first-born (and only) son, Reichard Wilhelm, of Count Starhemberg.</p> <p>“We have no data on the fate of other infants of the family,” Nerlich said, regarding the unique burial. “According to our data, the infant was most probably [the count’s] first-born son after erection of the family crypt, so special care may have been applied.”</p> <p><strong>This article originally appeared on <a href="https://cosmosmagazine.com/history/toddler-mummy-17thcentury-austria/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">cosmosmagazine.com</a> and was written by Clare Kenyon. </strong></p> <p><em>Image: </em><em>Andreas et al. (2022)</em></p>

Travel Trouble

Princess Maria of Austria dead at just 31

<div class="post_body_wrapper"> <div class="post_body"> <div class="body_text "> <p>Princess Maria Galitzine has died suddenly from heart failure and leaves behind her husband and two-year-old son.</p> <p>The 31-year-old, who’s a descendant of Emperor Karl of Austria, was living with her husband in Houston, Texas when she passed away.</p> <p>She had a fatal cardiac aneurysm on May 4th, just six days before her 32nd birthday.</p> <p>The news of her passing was confirmed in the<span> </span><em>Houston Chronicle</em>.</p> <p>“Our Maria passed away in the Houston morning of Monday, May 4, 2020, from a sudden cardiac aneurysm,” the obituary read.</p> <p>“She was born in 1988 to Prince and Princess Piotr Galitzine in the city of Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.” Maria was the daughter of Prince Piotr Galitzine, a Russian aristocrat and Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria, who’s the daughter of the Archduke Rudolf of Austria.</p> <p>Her father was the youngest son of Emperor Karl I of Austria and Empress Zita of Bourbon-Parma, and the couple were the last Emperor and Empress of Austria. They were exiled after World War I.</p> <p>Maria lived in Russia with her family, where she went to the German School of Moscow until she graduated.</p> <p>She went to live and work in Brussels, Chicago and Houston after she attended the College of Art and Design in Belgium.</p> <p>She spoke to<span> </span><em>The Houston Chronicle<span> </span></em>in February 2018, explaining that her parents never publicised their royal status.</p> <p>“My life is completely normal unless we are invited to royal weddings. My mail sometimes says ‘Princess Tatiana’.</p> </div> </div> </div>

News

The Austrian bakery being run by grandmas

<p><span>For centuries, coffee houses have shaped Vienna’s culture. The institution has continued to give the Austrian capital a singular characteristic that can be found nowhere else. </span></p> <p><span>And among the many remarkable cafés in the city, the charmingly retro Vollpension has emerged as one of the most popular. </span></p> <p><span>Vollpension, German for “full pension”is not a regular coffee shop – the staff mainly consist of grandmothers and grandfathers, who are in charge of baking cakes, serving the customers and sometimes sharing the history of the various delicacies from behind the counter.</span></p> <p><span>The ambience is also reminiscent of a grandmother’s home – framed old family pictures covered the walls, complemented by vintage furniture, tiny vases and animal figurines around the room.</span></p> <p><span>“This is more than just a coffee shop,” 31-year-old Hannah Lux, the managing partner of the café and one of its three owners, told <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/travel/article/vollpension-grandma-cafe-vienna-austria/index.html"><em>CNN</em></a>. “I come from the countryside and was raised by my grandparents. Older people are very precious to me. We are working on building a community, a human way of coming together.”</span></p> <p><span>Lux said the venture started out in 2012 as a pop-up and then a travelling show, where 10 grandmas were taken along a tour of the country to go to festivals, beer parties and fairs.</span></p> <p><span>Today, Vollpension stands on Vienna’s 4<sup>th</sup> district with 45 employees, 23 of them being seniors. </span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/BjFH90RHiUE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BjFH90RHiUE/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Oma (@vollpension_wien)</a> on May 22, 2018 at 5:40am PDT</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>“It’s generations coming together,” said 69-year-old Judith Siöberg, a grandmother-of-two who has worked at the café since it opened its doors in 2015.</span></p> <p><span>She said she works part-time, like most of the staff. “We can choose our own days and shifts, and every day is different. Some of us have to be with our grandchildren.”</span></p> <blockquote style="background: #FFF; border: 0; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: 0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width: 540px; min-width: 326px; padding: 0; width: calc(100% - 2px);" class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt-p4uqBn49/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12"> <div style="padding: 16px;"> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #f4f4f4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display: block; height: 50px; margin: 0 auto 12px; width: 50px;"></div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div style="color: #3897f0; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: 550; line-height: 18px;">View this post on Instagram</div> </div> <p style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 17px; margin-bottom: 0; margin-top: 8px; overflow: hidden; padding: 8px 0 7px; text-align: center; text-overflow: ellipsis; white-space: nowrap;"><a style="color: #c9c8cd; font-family: Arial,sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-style: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: 17px; text-decoration: none;" rel="noopener" href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Bt-p4uqBn49/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" target="_blank">A post shared by Oma (@vollpension_wien)</a> on Feb 17, 2019 at 2:07am PST</p> </div> </blockquote> <p><span>All the cakes offered at the café – such as strudels, poppy seed cakes and chocolate tortes – are made based on the bakers’ own recipes. Siöberg’s specialty is American cheesecake, although she also prepares brownies and other treats. </span></p> <p><span>After the success of the Schleifmühlgasse store, Vollpension is set to open a second café next month. Lux said she and her team are considering opening one or two more spots in Vienna.</span></p>

International Travel

“I gave it all up to live as a hermit in the mountains”

<p>A 58-year-old former surveying technician from Belgium has taken up his new post as the official hermit of Saalfelden, living in a hut-sized chapel built into a cliff in the mountains of western Austria.</p> <p>Stan Vanuytrecht was one of about 70 candidates from the United States, India, Australia and several other countries who applied for the unpaid position at one of Europe's last hermitages.</p> <p>The job advertisement specified the candidate must be at peace with oneself" and "a connection to Christian belief".</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">RT <a href="https://twitter.com/MatthiasRoeder1">@MatthiasRoeder1</a>: Beim neuen Einsiedler von Saalfelden. Der 58-jährige Stan Vanuytrecht in der Klause <a href="https://t.co/aGdzLdmxNN">pic.twitter.com/aGdzLdmxNN</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/tourismus?src=hash">#tourismus</a></p> — Martin Schobert (@joebertl) <a href="https://twitter.com/joebertl/status/858749583551332352">April 30, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>The 350-year-old Roman Catholic hermitage, in the province of Salzburg, has no power, no running water and no heat. But it does have stunning views of a snow-covered glacier.</p> <p>The 40-square-metre dwelling is carved into a steep rock face 1001m above sea level.</p> <p>In his new life, Vanutrecht must climb down and than back up an elevation of 250m to fetch water.</p> <p>But sitting on a bench in the early summer sun in front of his chapel, he radiated the serenity of a man who has found all he wants.</p> <p>Puffing on a tobacco pipe and looking out across the Kitzsteinhorn glacier, he said the job ad changed his life.</p> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> <p dir="ltr">Kluizenaar worden, iets voor jou? Wel voor Stan Vanuytrecht (58), een diaken uit het Belgische Diest. <a href="https://t.co/GvDZAXcjyY">https://t.co/GvDZAXcjyY</a> <a href="https://t.co/uhFL0EOqJZ">pic.twitter.com/uhFL0EOqJZ</a></p> — NRC (@nrc) <a href="https://twitter.com/nrc/status/857141235601088515">April 26, 2017</a></blockquote> <p>"I saw an ad on the internet saying that Saalfelden was looking for someone to replace the outgoing anchorite," Vanuytrecht said. "I immediately thought this would be the perfect place for me, but I never thought I'd have a chance."</p> <p>Alois Moser, Saalfelden's Catholic priest, and mayor Erich Rohrmoser, who posted the vacancy, said the idea was born out of necessity.</p> <p>Usually, the Saalfelden hermit lives in the chapel for many years and finds a successor himself. But the most recent hermit unexpectedly decided to leave after only one eight-month season last November, Moser said.</p> <p>"We seriously considered seven or eight candidates we talked to and to whom we showed the hermitage," Moser said. "But when we saw Stan, we knew that he is the one. He was so calm and settled."</p> <p>The applicants were told not to expect complete seclusion as many visitors come to the hermitage to enjoy the view, to pray and to talk.</p> <p>Vanuytrecht is prepared, with a glass of schnapps for hikers and a piece of cake for children always on hand. In his hut, behind the little kitchen, he has a small chapel to which he can lead people wanting to confide in him in private.</p> <p>"I enjoy talking to visitors during the day," he said, scratching his dog Jeanne. "At night and early in the morning I have enough time for myself."</p> <p>Do you think you could ever make the ultimate downsize?</p> <p><em>Written by Kirsti Knolle. First appeared on <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/" target="_blank"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Stuff.co.nz</span></strong></a>.</em></p>

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Obese yet malnourished toddler mummy sheds light on life in 17th century aristocratic Austria

Princess Maria of Austria dead at just 31

The Austrian bakery being run by grandmas

“I gave it all up to live as a hermit in the mountains”