Types
The types are continually being added. If you have any suggestions for additions, please send them by email to the museums in Leek, Lisbon or Vienna.
State Coach
The carosse (state coach) is a four wheel enclosed carriage, much in use in the 17th century. The front and hind axles are connected by one single perch. There are wooden pillars attached to the axles, from which braces extend to the coach body (which is sometimes equipped with
elbow-springs). After 1700 the carosse was more and more displaced by the lighter
berlin, but it was still built and used by european courts as high-class ceremonial vehicle.
Sjees (Dutch)
The Dutch type of a chaise, a light and elegant open two-wheel vehicle used in the 18th and 19th century. They were driven with one horse, by exception with two. There were different varieties used in the Dutch provinces. In Friesland the festive tradition of sjees-riding in traditional costumes is still alive.
Sedan Chair
A chair supported between two poles and carried by two men. Closed sedan chairs were smaller, more manoeuvrable and therefore better suited to city traffic than the heavier carriages. Open sedan chairs served to transport high-ranking personages (especially women) within the palaces. In the second half of the 19th century they became outdated and completely disappeared.
