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Fiaker!
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| Photo Information |
Copyright: Ana Frantz (AnaFrantz)
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 120 W: 5 N: 118]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-n-g.gif) (617) |
| Genre: People |
| Medium: Black & White |
| Date Taken: 2006-10-08 |
| Exposure: f/3.2, 1/350 seconds |
| More Photo Info: [view] |
| Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop |
| Date Submitted: 2006-11-03 6:13 |
| Viewed: 544 |
| Points: 6 |
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| [Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note |
The name fiaker actually comes from Paris, where cabs for hire were lined up outside the Auberge Saint Fiacre, an inn whose portal was decorated with a painting of the Irish monk, St. Fiacrius.
The system of putting cabs for hire was introduced there in the 17th century by Nicole Sauvage, and before long, cabs were plying for trade in cities all over the Continent. Elsewhere, other names were developed for cabs, but in Vienna they have always been called fiaker.
The first Viennese fiaker license was issued in 1693 during the reign of Leopold I. It specifically forbade cabbies to undertake journeys of more than four miles out of the city. Not until 1822 was this strange restriction lifted, but even then, no traveler could hire a cab without presenting proof of identity. There were other rules too. For instance, no passenger was permitted to carry a torch or lamp through a town or forest unless it was extinguished.
Every applicant for a fiaker license had to show that he had been in the transport trade for several years and that he knew how to drive. He also had to own a reasonable amount of property and be of good character. At the same time, he was not permitted to be associated with any other form of commerce, and he was exempted from military service. Clearly, driving a cab was considered a position of great responsibility and importance. Widows of cabbies were permitted to carry on their late husbands’ business, to which they could take full title.
If a cab owner refused to accept a fare, he was liable to 48 hours behind bars. An employee was punished ten lashes with a birch branch. Smoking during a journey was forbidden. Overcharging was punishable by confiscation of the fee plus a 5-guilder fine or by 24 hours in jail for a cab owner - or a birch whipping of an employee.
Until the introduction of fiaker cabs in Vienna, the normal way of carrying Viennese who did not own a carriage was by sedan chair. The traditional cry of " Trag ma Euer Gnaden? " ( " May I carry you, Sir ") is still the fiaker driver’s announcement of the availability of his cab.
Since a ride by a fiaker was anything but cheap, it was seldom used by ordinary Viennese. Realizing this, an enterprising citizen named Zeisel put covered coaches with benches for 20 people into service. Three coaches were inevitably nicknamed " Zeiserlwagen " and represented the first attempt to provide a means of mass transport for the public. Eventually, these were replaced by horse-drawn and then electric streetcars.
Today, a traditional use of the fiaker by the Viennese is at Confirmation, when youngsters are brought from St. Stephen’s to the Prater amusement park by horse-drawn cabs. They are frequently used to transport wedding parties.
A fiaker ride is almost obligatory for the visitor to Vienna. Each cabby is well-versed in local history and is always delighted to tell visitors stories of the buildings they pass on their horse-drawn tour of his beloved city. |
bach37, Tezic, memphis1972 has marked this note useful
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Hello Ana.
Nice note. This is really what TE is all about: learn about the world using the photography as a transport! Well done.
The photo:
I really don't know what atracts me to this picture, but i like it a lot! Maybe the color, i love B&W pictures, but the light is wrong! You can't see the face of this men and the face is very important! If you can't see the bottons in the jacket it's not important, or the details in the the statues in the backgroung it's ok, no problem, but you must show the men's face!
But i like it anyway!
I've posted a workshop and tryed to correct the shadows.(this is my way to see the things, it doesn't meen that is the correct one!)
Thanks for sharing!
Best regards,
Márcio Costa
- Tezic
(14972)
- [2006-11-04 7:23]
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Hello Ana,
nice POV and nice different composition... well done..
the steel cable, the thick cloth & old hat,the headlight & hand gesture contrast the buiding is great, show case daily of street scene. & the darker tone in the middle is good & this not human portrait therfore is right not to focus on man's gface..i call it movement[car & people] against stillness [building].
![Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Workshop Editor/Silver Note Writer [C: 56 W: 69 N: 26]](http://i1.trekearth.com/misc/g-g-s.gif){kind=small}