A Whiff of Europe’s Past

What would you have smelled walking down a city street in the Netherlands hundreds of years ago? A foul odor wafting from canals. How about while attending a ball in England in the 1800s? A flood of rich, flowery perfumes.

A team of researchers recently uncovered these answers—and more. The group has created the first online database of smells from Europe’s past. It is part of a project called Odeuropa.

The scents in the database range from herbs thought to protect against the plague in the 1600s to gunpowder on battlefields in the early 1900s. To compile them, researchers used artificial intelligence to scour books and artwork for references to smells.

Odeuropa data can be searched by scent (like rotting fish or juicy peaches) and even location (from castles to coffeehouses). Since scents can’t be smelled through a screen, the results are written descriptions or paintings.

The researchers also put together a digital tool kit to help museums re-create scents for exhibits. Their goal is to help people understand Europe’s history.

“Smells shape our experience of the world,” says project lead Inger Leemans. Odeuropa helps users “discover the key scents of Europe and the stories they carry, then bring them back to our noses today.”