The inner city had about 1300 habitations when Mozart lived in Vienna but many of these were palaces or substantial buildings in which many families lived giving a population of about 50,000. About four times as many people lived in the suburbs. While Vienns boasted some magnificant squares such as Am Hof and wide streets such as the Graben, many of the streets were very narrow and three or four people would be killed each year in accidents involving horses or horse drawn vehicles. The ground floors of buildings were used mainly for commercial purposes and the second floors were usually considered the best for residential purposes, better light and air, not too high for the carriage of wood and water but above most of the dust and smells from the sewers. Prostitutes and lesser criminals sentenced to public penance, even if they were from the ranks of the nobility, had their heads shaved and sent to clean the streets in gangs.
