Characteristics of Poor Elderly People in the Early 19th Century Included in the System of Formal Care – the Case of the Provincial Centre of Ljubljana

Newer approaches to the analysis of old age, shaped by the cultural turn, emphasise the individual’s perspective and the experience of ageing “from below.” An examination of the life trajectories of applicants for poor relief in Ljubljana confirms the hypotheses that elderly people combined various sources of subsistence and sought to maintain independence, yet those who entered the system of formal care were generally physically weak and almost invariably without a kin network that could support them. Nevertheless, some applicants possessed a highly developed social network. The analysis shows that in the context under study, old age was not understood as a chronological category but primarily as a matter of work capacity, physical strength, and the ability to support oneself.