The colorful world of public houses . Ownership , clientele and leisure time activities in 18

Timi oara became a rightful provincial capital of an Austrian domain during the 18 Century. In this period an important number of citizens chose to build and run inns or taverns as landlords or just as leaseholders. The archive documents from Timi oara put together the puzzle pieces that recreate the stories of old public houses; they also contain information regarding all sorts of activities connected to the microcosm of taverns. Therefore the aim of this paper is to discover who the owners of inns were, why did they choose this trade and what was their place in Timi oara’s society. The clientele, less highlighted in documents, also plays a role through the choices of spending their leisure time in such places, through activities they fancied: music, gambling, billiards, bowling and the products they ordered for consumption. All these aspects enable us to shed light one of the most vivid parts of 18 century urban life.


Introduction
In 1718 the Austro-Turkish War, following which the House of Habsburg considerably expanded its territories, ended; included in the areas annexed from the Turks is the Banat 40 .Because of its status at the time of the Austrian conquest (lack of land owning aristocracy), the region was subordinated completely to the sovereign and the government in Vienna, becoming a laboratory for Habsburg experiments in the period 1716-1778.
The seat of the Provincial Administration -Timi oara -would be greatly changed to Austrian speciÞ cations in all aspects.Timi oara would beneÞ t from an elaborate reconstruction program, turning it into a true baroque city.In addition, what the House of Austria intended for this region could not be translated into reality without the help of colonists coming from the Holy Roman Empire and 40 An historical province bordered by the rivers Tisa, Mure , the Danube and the Carpathian Mountains, today most of it belongs to Romania DOI: 10.15503/jecs20152.337.349 Habsburg domains in order to help boost the economy of the newly conquered province.Their trades would enrich Timi oara's eighteenth-century urban life.The establishment of inns and taverns, gathering venues for citizens and resting places for foreigners visiting the city, were also a part of the reconstruction.
The study of the Timi oara's eighteenth century public houses has attracted the attention of several historians, mostly during in the interwar period.The main published reference was Leo Hoffmann's short work: Die Wirtshäuser Temeswars von 1717-1755[The Public Houses of Tim oara 1717-1755] (1923).Also counted are Bela Schiff's articles in Temesvarer Zeitung newspaper in which he refers more or less to several eighteenth century establishments: Der Aufbau der Stadt Temesvar [The Reconstruction of Timi oara] (1932), Eine alte Hauschronik.Aus dem des Stadtrichters Lebensroman Solderer [An Old House Chronicle.From Mayer's Solderer Life] (1934), and some studies grouped and improved in his book Unser Alt--Temesvar [Our Old Timi oara] (1937); Viktor Orich's article, Nekrolog über das Hotel Nekrolog "Zum goldenen Hirschen" [Obituary of the Hotel "Golden Stag"] (1932) can also be found in the Temesvarer Zeitung.The merit of these publications is that they make use of original archival documents that have been lost since.
There are still plenty of untapped, original documents in Timi oara's archive regarding some taverns or inns; these can be letters of approval for the right to open a pub, regulations of the local administration regarding their operation, sale documents or wills with inventories, requests of owners or leaseholders to the authorities, etc.
As such, we consider a more in depth study dedicated to Timi oara's public houses during Austrian rule to be opportune 41 .The present research focuses on those establishments on which there is more information available, on those that maintain them (owners, leaseholders) as well as on the reasons that led to the choosing of this trade as a livelihood.We will also try to gather information about customers, about the available selection, and especially about the activities in the public houses microcosm.
In general, these topics can be approached from the perspective of economic history (although inn-keeping is not precisely included in any sector), social history (the social rank occupied by innkeepers in that society), but also from a perspective of what is called cultural history (the study of alcohol consumption, food, sociability and not the least, in daily life).Numerous themes and subthemes generated by this topic require that the researcher chooses the boundaries.Our article will be outlined by the direction of historical anthropology, for studying public establishments is a special topic in the larger subject of leisure in the public sphere.In short, we intend to come as close as possible to the lifestyle of city dwellers from 300 years ago, where we Þ rst include those who attend to the establishments, then those who frequent them, meaning practically any category of the city's inhabitants.

The public houses. inns, taverns, cafés
To successfully start a foray into the world of public places 300 years ago, we must establish their typology and the names they carry in documents of the era.The establishments allowed to offer accommodation -Schildgerechtigkeit -are called Inns [Schildwirtshäuser], while Buschengerechtigkeit is the right to sell liquor in common taverns.In the analyzed documents there are the following names: In what follows we will get acquainted with pubs and inns of eighteenth century Timi oara.
We start the virtual tour of Timi oara's public establishments with Zum weißen Ochsen [The White Ox], mentioned in a document from March 18 th 1718 by which the butcher Hans Georg Premmer/Prenner received approval for building a house, with the dimensions indicated, that was also to serve as pub (PMT, 8/1718).A few years later, the owner at the time, Andreas Haan, sells the establishment, including with the accommodation license obtained in 1719; the new owner Frantz Conrad, the pub landlord At the Elephant, petitions the local Administration on this occasion, asking to be included among the city's German citizens at the same time as the approval of the sale (PMT, 2/1729).
The establishment Zum goldenen Hirschen [At the Golden Stag], a company that disappears only in the 20 th century, can serve as an example of longevity.It is Þ rst mentioned in 1720, when the owner Johann Preckl exchanges the establishment for money with trader Johann Arnoldt (PMT, 1/1729).At the Golden Stag, both the building and the brand, are sold 11 years later by Moritz Hausenbaum to Paul Verhasch for for 5150 ß orins (ß .);part of this sum would go to master builder Dißl; along with the building, Verhasch also acquired the movable property, which was in an acceptable condition (PMT, 2/1731, f. 3, f.3v).After conclusion of the sale, the new owner wanted conÞ rmation of the old company's license to sell alcohol, which the Administration approved on an interesting condition: the guest room should not be at the front towards the parish church (this refers to the Jesuit Church in the immediate vicinity), in order not to disturb the religious services (PMT, 2/1731, f. 1, f. 1v, f. 2v).The Þ rst difÞ culties of the pub are experienced in 1738 by leaseholder Andreas Prener which requests a solution from the authorities for the debts accumulated over the 3 years he attended to the leased establishment; we also discover that he Þ tted out the establishment with wine and all necessities (PMT, 2/1731, f. 4, f. 4v), which assures us that he had a license to sell alcohol, as attested by the 1741 document42 .During the 40s and 50s we know the pub had been owned by the Leibnitzer family, because the list of pubs approved in 1743 contains a Joseph Leibnitzer and Konstanzia Leibnitzerin is one of the signatories to a Memorandum of pub owners, which will be discussed below (Hoffman, 1923, p. 6, p. 12).Furthermore, attested in December 1740 is the payment of a debt from Leibnitzer to the Jesuits, part of the sum of 3500 ß ., the worth of the pub bought by the aforementioned owner (Schiff, 1937, p. 12).We also know speciÞ cally that an artistic program (dances, music) was also part of the establishment's offer (PMT, 6/1756, f. 1).
We continue the series of public places opened during the Þ rst decades of the century with Zum goldenen Rößl [At the Golden Horse].From the Þ rst document, dating back to 1720, we only learn that a certain Sebastian Dieboldt attends to the establishment (PMT, 2/1720, f. 1).The owner in 1721 is Maria Francisca Dewaldin, a widow who would marry Johann Thanner, innkeeper at Zum weißen Schwan [The White Swan], with a marriage contract also signed by mayor Peter Solderer (PMT, 1/1721).This same mayor will Þ nd his end in one of the rooms of the inn, on February 22 nd 1741 (Schiff, 1934, p. 24).It appears that this restaurant has also changed its initial location, because in 1744 the company Zum goldenen Rößl is transferred to the newly built home of Johann Georg Supper, a City Hall councillor (Schiff, 1932;p. 5;Hoffmann, 1923, p. 7-8).
Zur Weintraube [At the Grape], an establishment whose name is closely linked to the alcohol products it offered, is also found inside the city walls.The building in which this pub existed was built by Marx Donauer, a shoemaker and one of the oldest citizens of Timi oara -as he calls himself after obtaining approval from the Administration.He stated that he wanted a building to house the above mentioned company and to offer his customers good, quality wine at a fair price.Added to his advantage is his mention that he had a recommendations from governor Mercy himself43 (PMT, 3/1726, f. 3, f.3v, f.4v).Three years later Georg Marx Donauer (now a councillor) wanted to renew the license to own an inn, granted in 1726; the ofÞ cial reply reconÞ rms the license to sell wine as self evident (PMT, 3/1726, f. 1, f. 2v).The pub appears as an approved company on the list of locations authorized to organize dances under the name Zum goldenen Weintrauben in 1741 and as Zur Trauben in 1756, with Anton Schweiger, whose name appears on the Memorandum, as innkeeper at the time (Hoffman 1923, p. 12).
An establishment that changed profoundly and survived through the cen-turies is the Zum Trompeter [At the Trumpeter].Its story can be derived more from secondary sources; thus we Þ nd that it was one of the Þ rst establishments along with Schildgerechtigkeit, owned by Friedrich Gram in 1719.Johann Anton Seltmann (councillor) requested to receive his neighbour's Johann Lechner's (master leatherer) land for the purpose of expanding the above mentioned inn is approved on June 11 th 1752; for this, Seltmann had to present the establishment's plan to the Administration.This does not appear on the list of approved establishments in 1741, appearing only in 1743 when Andreas Ring is innkeeper.Apparently Seltmann returned or remained in charge of the inn because he also signed the Memorandum submitted by Timi oara's innkeepers (Hoffman 1923, p. 2, p. 6, p. 8-9 p. 12).Interestingly, some Þ rms have moved from their original location, usually from a suburb to inside the city.One example is Zum roten Ochsen [At the Red Ox], originally located outside the walls.Mentioned earlier, the company had been taken over by a foreman named Nikolaus Wiedmesser in 1742 and moved from the Große Pallanka to his home in the city (Hoffman, 1923, p. 5;Schiff, 1932, p. 5).The Þ rst original source that we have available about this place dates from 1750 and represents a tenancy agreement between the owner of the house and guest houses, Joseph Schiller (butcher and pub owner) and innkeeper Johann Stephan Hann; under the contract, the mentioned house was on the main street in the Fabric suburb and would be leased for 3 years with all the outbuildings and chattels, which were in good condition (PMT, 1/1750, f. 1 f.1V).
An early establishment situated outside the city was the Zum weißen Schwan (At the White Swan).Located in front of the Belgrade (Petrovaradin) Gate, it received approval from the Administration on March 22 nd 1719, when the tavern was attended by Johann Donner (Hoffman 1923, p. 2).We also have a marriage contract from 1721, cited above, by which a certain Johann Thanner from Zum weißen Schwan marries the owner of Zum goldenen Rößl.This establishment was attended by Adalbert Grünwald sometime during the 4 th decade (Hoffman 1923, p. 7).
With a more eccentric name, the pub Zum wilden Mann [At the Wild Man] was also located outside the central district, somewhere in the Große Pallanka, and it was oppened early according to Hoffmann.With the passing of Johannes Hochholtzer in August 1728, we also Þ nd "Ein schiltwyrthshauß Zum wilden Mann in der großen Pallanka" [An inn named At the Wild Man in the Große Pallanka] in the inventory of his fortune (PMT, 4/1728, f. 1).It seems that this company was also transferred by Anton Schweiger in the 1740s to a house in the city, and in 1743 the owner or landlord here is Wenzl Lechner (master builder) (Hoffman, 1923, p. 5-6).
An establishment located from the beginning in one of the central districts of the inner city was Zu den goldenen Schlüßel [At the Golden Keys].Its Þ rst owner was the city mayor Peter Solderer and in 1743 the following Stadtrichter, namely Andreas Pfann, attends to the establishment.Skipping a few years, in 1754 a signatory to the innkeepers' Memorandum for Zu den goldenen Schlüßel is Johann Joseph Carpentier (Hoffman, 1923, p. 2, p. 6).He receives a license to sell beer and brandy at his establishment on September 18 th 1756 (PMT, 6/1756, f. 3).
One of the certiÞ ed establishments at the beginning of the century but for which we have an original act only for a later date is called Zum weißen Engel [At the White Angel].On the 1743 list of owners of approved establishments appears the name of Eusebiu Rauch (binder).At the time of the inkeepers' petition, the signatory (thus publican) was Maria Anna Hetzin (Hoffman, 1923, p. 6, p. 12).We add that a contract for the sale of this establishment was made on November 12 th 1757: trader Joseph Kulterer sold the establishment to innkeeper Joseph Klang for 7500 ß ., payable by instalments.Ten years later this Klang died, apparently after becoming a councillor at City Hall, and leaves a last will and testament with an inventory; his wealth was left to his widow Margareta and daughter Anna Maria (PMT, 8/1773, f. 4, f. 5).
In one of the most imposing palaces of the city operated the Zur goldenen Krone or Zu den drei Kronen [At the Golden Crown or At the Three Crowns].This was the initiative of Mayor Solderer, apparently begun in 1739, being the second most costly building after the Town Hall, in which temporarily lived travellers, great merchants, ofÞ cials and clergymen.But what interests us is that this building also had public establishments functioning there during the period discussed.Thus, a part of House Solderer was leased to innkeeper Gregor Taffner in exchange for 1300 ß .per year (PMT, 6/1745, f. 64, f. 68, f. 74, f. 94), a place that had music and dancing all night, as attested by our 1756 source.The existence of an active pub on the bottom ß oor of the building is also conÞ rmed; for the period June-August 1745 publican Frantz Zwirner pays a rent of 16 ß .for one large room, one small room, a pantry and a cellar, with the one that followed after him, Rudolph Krauthaan having to pay the sum of 48 ß .for the period August 1745-February 1746; for the months from January to December of 1748, publican Frantz Gumberth having to pay a rent 83 ß .and 32 cr.(PMT, 6/1745, f. 86, f. 80).An inventory of the property of the deceased Michael Constantin shows that he attended to a Gaststube called "drey Cronen" (PMT, 6/1745, f. 98).
Among Timi oara's 18 th century cafeterias, a special place belongs to the City Hall 44 [Stadtwirtshaus].The Þ rst mention of it occurs in the German Magistrate applications of January 1 st 1718, when the existence of the Town Hall canteen is approved (PMT, 5/1718, f. 1, f. 1v).This canteen was granted special privileges: it could play music in the summer and in winter, dances were organized there, and from a spatial point of view the tavern was at ground ß oor level while the dance ß oor was on the Þ rst ß oor; we know the names of leaseholders who attended the establishment: Wolfgang Krauthaan (1753) and Thomas Eberhardt (1755) (Hoffman, 1923, p. 9;Schiff, 1937, p. 38).Also from the second half of the century we have the documented approval for the sale of alcohol (beer and brandy) for the Town Hall's establishment and that of the city hospital (PMT, 2/1756, f. 2).
Naturally, there were more such places, but we chose to present those whose story was sketched more fully.From the legal documents mentioned at the beginning of the chapter it is clear that the city also had cafes, which have fewer reliable 44 Habsburg Timi oara had two mayors/ magistrates sharing authority: the German Magistrate and the Rascian one (Rascians -name given to the city's Serbian, Romanian, generally Orthodox Christian inhabitants).
sources.Two travellers visiting the town mention the name of cafes: die Kaschine, the cafe from the Demelmayer house, At the Golden Peacock in the Fabric suburb (Lehmann, 1785, p. 152;Korabinsky, 1786, p. 754, p. 757).The only cafe on which we have reliable information (namely the inventory) was situated in the Rascian Town Hall's building, which gives surprising details for the period.

Publicans, custumers, tender
Perhaps one of the most difÞ cult aspects to clarify is the people that populated these places, namely the "living" side of our subject.As noted before, data on those who attended to these businesses (owners or tenants) is found in primary sources; a little harder to describe is the clientele, because we have not found documents on this subject but we can still highlight several aspects.
Publicans.The Þ rst detail one can extract from the document regarding this category is of course the name; besides this, oftentimes we Þ nd the job of those signing those papers (either because the habit was to write down their occupation beneath the signature or because the actual text of the document speciÞ ed the previous or related occupation of citizens that are or want to become innkeepers).Thus we follow the prevailing trades and, where appropriate, the rank in the city's leadership of each innkeeper on which we have information.
What we have already noted in the study of these establishments is that often the owner is involved in the city government.So we Þ rst mention those publicans who were simultaneously or subsequently mayors.Tobias Balthasar Hold -one of the Þ rst settlers to arrive in town, campaign medic from Bavaria, he spent his last years in Timi oara (he died in 1721).Peter Solderer, a trader from Saxony, follows him at the helm of the city for the next 19 years.Andreas Pfann, another of the great traders arrived in the city in 1730, will lease several factories in the Banat for a short period.Joseph Leibnitzer, born in Graz, by trade a master bricklayer, also gets appointed as councillor and then mayor of the city.An interesting story is that of Pietro Antonio del Pondio, who settled in these lands in the 1730s while practicing the trade of a chimney sweep and in the second half of the century he is elected mayor twice.We conclude the series with Joseph Anton Kulterer, a trader before being elected mayor.Added here are those who held the rank of Town Hall councillor: Johann Anton Seltmann, Georg Marx Donauer (shoemaker by trade), Johann Georg Supper (Baker), Joseph Klang.
On the other hand we see a number of publicans who do other jobs alongside that of pub or innkeeper.Well represented are traders, like one of the Þ rst citizens of Habsburg Timi oara -Johann Arnold.Among the early settler publicans we mention the butchers Hans Georg Prenner and Sebastian Diebold.An occupation that matches owning a canteen is that of baker, like those attested for 18 th century Timi oara.The practice of publican sometimes attracted people with a completely different training, such as master builder and councillor Wenzl Lechner, who along with his brother was responsible for the construction of the fortress during 1752-1754.Alongside those described in the above lines are also included two bookbinders, one shoemaker, one saddler, one sausage merchant, one glass maker, and two former military ofÞ cers 45 .
What is speciÞ c for this period in Timi oara is a diversiÞ cation of occupations, as a direct result of colonization, the numerous construction projects and the building of manufactories.In general, the Provincial Administration ensured that nothing was lacking in the city, so that its economic needs would be met by local production as much as possible.Despite this, even at this point some people had difÞ culties earning a living.It may be that one trade or another did not bring enough income (either because there were too many in the same sector or that trade was no longer sought), giving a possible reason why many were becoming innkeepers.One explanation from that time for choosing that occupation comes from the citizen Peter Firmez, who requested approval for opening an establishment on Castle Street, arguing that his trade of saddler could not ensure his livelihood (PMT, 2/1742, f. 1).
Similarly, Pietro Antonio Del Pondio sent a request to the Administration, asserting that he wanted to continue his trade of chimney sweep but that it did not bring enough income, and therefore he wanted a pub license (PMT, 1/1735, f. 1).There are cases where a woman runs an establishment, usually if widowed and having to continue the husband's business; a certain Ottilia from Fabric, the widow of Adam Wagner and mother of 4 children asks the Rascian Magistrate to grant a license for selling of alcohol for the pub started by her husband in the Fabric district, as she had no other income or means to support her family (PMT, 3/1747, f. 1).As we have seen in the history of the premises, the tavern At the White Angel was run at some point by a woman, Maria Anna Hetzin, an establishment later inherited in 1767 by Joseph Klang's widow, Margaret.Another example is provided by hostess Maria Francisca Dewaldin from The Golden Horse.
We also found a situation in which a citizen wanted to abandon innkeeping because after 19 years of this profession he slipped into poverty; this refers to Joseph Muck from the Three-Leaf Clover Fabric suburb, who addressed the Rascian Magistrate requesting the license to become a butcher, and also because the former butcher had died (PMT, 3/1776, f. 1, f. 1v).An interesting tale is provided by the traveller Johann Kaspar Steube who, during his European itinerary, eventually also passed through the Banat for a while; we learned from his writings that he requested release from military service, which he served at Mehadia, in order to become an innkeeper, speciÞ cally in order to help a widowed friend who had just leased the establishment in front of the Vienna Gate.Steube gives up innkeeping after 21 months (at the death of the leaseholder) because he considered himself unsuitable for the job, stating that he did not drink nor did he smoke (Steube, 2008, p. 63, p. 70-71).
From vintage papers we could conclude that often those who served alcoholic beverages were considering their own interest and not that of the client, as shown in repeated complaints against the quality of wine (PMT, 2/1726, f. 2).To remain united, but also in the absence of other privileges, Timi oara's pub owners were grouped in a fraternity (Bruderschaft), also certiÞ ed by the Þ rst organization regulation, Wirtshaus Einrichtungs-Norma from 1719 (Hoffman, 1923, p. 10;Kakucs, 2008, p. 21).We need to put this form of solidarity in relation to the fact that Habsburg Timi oara guilds were not permitted.Publicans were also united in the matter of the previously mentioned Memorandum: in 1754 the Banat Administration ordered that all publicans provide only one type of drink in their establishments.Their reaction is manifested in the said petition; this paper emphasizes the disadvantages of selling a single type of alcohol (they would lose clientele, which is diversi-Þ ed and therefore consumes all types of alcoholic beverages: women drink beer, local residents, soldiers and servants drink Banat wine, while visitors from other social strata prefer the Buda wine).Most publicans signed this petition addressed to the mayor (Hoffman, 1923, p. 11-13).
Customers.The people that inhabited and frequented Timi oaras inns 300 years ago would have been colourful and heterogenous; we have in mind, Þ rst of all, the inhabitants of the town, who according to social status frequented certain places, but with no real differences between the offers and the comfort level of inns.Timi oara's inhabitants were joined by travellers, those just passing through or remaining in the city for short periods.In the following we will attempt to show a rough sketch of the clientele of public establishments.As the number of these establishments was relatively high, we believe that there was a signiÞ cant segment of the townspeople that regularly spent some of their leisure time in pubs drinking alcohol and taking part in certain activities, which we described in the section on products and offers.
One of the few places that refers to those attending these pubs (or rather who should not attend) is the act of 1726: "otherwise frivolous get-togethers should not be tolerated, in order to prevent God's wrath, in those days once speciÞ ed as solemn feast days that no Þ ddlers should be near before the prior named time or during prohibited days, which stay in the entourage loose women in exchange for money" (PMT, 2/1726, f. 1v).The signatories of the 1727 document express themselves similarly: "here loose women are often stopped as well" (PMT, 3/1727, f. 1).Therefore guests in pubs often tried to avoid unpleasant or unhealthy company.The control exerted by the authorities on time spent in such places, lest it overlapped with the time devoted to the church is obvious in this case.This way of strict allotment of time is speciÞ c to areas controlled by the Habsburgs, one of the main promoters of Catholicism.
Returning to Timi oara, the Town Hall's and the civilian hospital's cafeterias were the meeting places of some high-standing people foremost Cameral und Militär Stands Persohnen (Higher class civilian and military ofÞ cials) but also of ordinary people living near the hospital (Hoffmann, 1923, p. 12-13).Those who were stopped and rested in Timi oara only also had plenty of inns to choose from.The authors from which travel notes have remained generally list the names of the places worth seeing (J.M. Korabinsky and J. Lehmann), and sometimes expressed their view, as in the case of Lehmann: "from the many well ordained inns I choose At the Trumpeter" (Lehmann, 1785, p.142), which makes us believe that he even went there.From an original document we know that At the Trumpeter attracted customers from high society; thus, on May 28 th 1755 Þ eld marshal Bohn wrote to major Stockhausen from Timi oara to announce his upcoming visit to the capital of the Banat; Bohn, although he had received an invitation from the Roman Catholic bishop Franz Anton Engl, Count of Wagrain, preferred to be housed at an inn and asked the major to make reservations for some rooms, "at the best inn, which as it is known is the so-called Trumpeter, he should book and keep prepared 2 to 3 rooms" (DDF, I, 25/1755, f.1, f.1v).Unsurprisingly, this inn would host high-ranking people even in the following centuries.
Moving on from the heart of the city to the suburbs, a tragicomic story that happened in a pub in Pallanka was remembered centuries later.During late summer of 1728, six friends, starting in the morning, were drinking and enjoying the music of Þ ddlers in a Rascian pub.Danilo, one of them, boasted about his drinking performance and was challenged to drink as much as possible.After the third pint of wine, the man falls dead.The incident causes reactions among those present, as some accuse each other of murder, but after the autopsy and witness statements no one is punished for murder, with only two of his companions having to pay the widow of the deceased, due to the fact that they encouraged him to drink.Moral judgment sent here by the author of the document is: Qui amat periculum, peribit in illo (The one that loves danger, shall perish in it) (CGB, II, 36/1728).
Products and tender.Vintage documents refer to mentioning offers when talking about liquor.It is mainly about the offer of available alcoholic drinks at Timi oara's public places; so we know what products were served, their quality and the Administration's standards in regards to them.Besides this, we will try to Þ nd out which of the taverns and inns had a more complete offer, including their prices.Alcoholic beverages served in Timi oara's pubs were wine, beer and brandy.
We know that wine was of two kinds, depending on its origin: Buda wine and Banat wine, understanding that Þ rst was of superior quality.Even since the Þ rst half of the 18 th century there are letters of the Administration containing instructions to the mayor which underline the importance of an honest rapport between the quality and price of wine, preferring a low number of pubs that however served drinks of an acceptable quality (PMT 2/1726, 3/1727, 1/1741, 2/1756).Wine is also the focus in the second half of the century, when the publicans protest against the measure taken by the Administration, which obliged them to serve only one type of wine.On January 28 th 1755 a new ruling demands that wines must have seals and the door was required to have a board on it displaying the establishment's prices for drinks (Hoffman, 1923, p. 14).The issue of wine quality can be traced to its origin and the difÞ culties of acquiring a genuine batch, as traders did not always sell what they claimed.Besides wine from Hungary, the local wine came from Banat vineyards.
Beer in Timi oara's pubs came, of course, from the local brewery, one of the Þ rst manufactories established after the Austrian conquest, given its importance especially for military consumption.Selling beer was closely linked to that of brandy because they were produced together.We might believe that the quality of the beer did not please the authorities, at least in the beginning, as they demanded its improvement (Hoffman, 1923, p. 15), which also explains customer complaints regarding beer in pubs.The deceptive habit of diluting alcoholic beverages with water is mentioned outside of archival documents by Steube 46 .
Other drinks popular eve 300 years ago were coffee, tea and hot chocolate, the spread of which we know because of inventories from some of Timi oara's public places.Therefore, coffee and tea cups, roasters, chocolate pot for boiling are cer-tiÞ ed to have existed (PMT, 2/1773, f. 1v.).For example, the Klang family owned a dining room service of 12 porcelain cups with teapot and coffeepot and other coffee cups, tea or chocolate cups (PMT, 8/1773, f. 7).
Although we do not have more concrete data, we deduce that in some places meals were also served; in this respect we only have traveller Lehmann's testimony showing Timi oara's offer, where accommodation would cost 15 kreuzer47 room/day during summer and 30 kr. during winter; a meal at Trumpeter was 10 kr.(Lehmann, 1785, p. 142-143).
We also include here another kind of offer, namely activities that the nature of the establishments allowed; this refers to constant activities (gambling, billiards, bowling) or occasional ones (music, dance, and carnival dances respectively).In Habsburg Timi oara, townspeople listened to Þ ddlers playing music, while having a drink or playing cards with friends.Moreover, they could spend their time in a game of billiards or bowling in the Rascian Town Hall café or other such places in the city and suburbs.Customers in the said café had a green billiard table at their disposal; in the next room, guests could enjoy coffee in Viennese porcelain cups while sitting on a leather covered bench (PMT, 2/1773, 8/1776).Carnival is a phenomenon only tangentially related to public establishments, but we wanted to mention it because it is part of leisure time activities and because its connection the life of Timi oara's taverns is attested: in 1752 the Banat Administration approves extended hours for cafes and taverns, more speciÞ cally during the last 14 days of carnival (PMT, 7/1755, f. 1v).Eager for fun, Timi oara's inhabitants often took part in dances organized in pubs such as At the Grape, At the Golden Stag, At the Golden Keys, At the Three Crowns (PMT, 6/1756, f. 1), while prominent citizens chose dances in the German City Hall cafeteria (Hoffman, 1923, p. 9) 48 .

Conclusions
The study of 18 th century establishments touches many issues, as we have seen: types of establishments existing at one point in the city, serving regulations regarding products, open hours, the allowed or disallowed activities in a pub, etc.This research focused on identifying the main establishments of Timi oara as well as the identity of owners/ leaseholders, their customers and their supply.Of course, our approach to Þ nding them is not a complete one, with information still lacking, while other matters (the exact location of establishments, appearance, staff, full menu) remain unclear.
We noticed that there are cases where an innkeeper practices an additional profession or occupies an elected position in the city government.We tried to discern the reasons for choosing this occupation, with concrete examples from the era.We believe that the services sector was well represented and chosen as a parallel job as it ensured a a steady income, as the unclean water led to high alcohol consumption.The increasing number of taverns built after the Austrian conquest reinforces this.The customers from ordinary townspeople or travellers to high-ranking ofÞ cials or soldiers, all enjoyed the same offers once one crossed the waiters' threshold.The products served are those one would expect to Þ nd in such an establishment.But details concerning pub or inn related activities unexpectedly complement much of the colourful picture of Timi oara's taverns.
With the help of archival documents we can make a real journey into the past, we can conceptually approach the lifestyle of city dwellers 300 years ago, Þ nding their preferences when it comes to leisure time activities in public establishments.Thus we have learned that in Timi oara people consumed beer from the city's brewery, imported wine, coffee and hot chocolate; citizens often spent their days (and sometimes late nights) in pubs, playing cards or other games, some preferring billiards or bowling, while others just prefer to listen to music.The establishments are sometimes the venues of quarrels, Þ ghts or other manifestations caused by excess alcohol.Travellers' comments lead us to the belief that Timi oara's inns offered good accommodation for the era.
Because in Habsburg Timi oara the authorities had the role to oversee every area of public or private life, we Þ nd that a triad of interests emerges, joining the main subjects of our study: the publicans -the customers -the offer.The authorities considered innkeepers or publicans responsible for their establishments from two perspectives: what the clientele consumes (quality/authenticity of the products and value for money) and what the customers do (games, dances, schedule).The intention was to reduce poor quality alcohol consumption, as well as time spent in these establishments.As a generally valid fact, subjects had the duty to see to their trades, going to church and not to waste too much time in pubs.
We believe that we have managed to show an interesting image (partial as it is) of the fascinating world of Timi oara's public establishments of the era, which we described as "coloured" due to its diversity: the people that inhabit them, the offers, but also of the surprising details that archival document study has revealed.