diff --git a/apps/web/src/lib/word-count.ts b/apps/web/src/lib/word-count.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..5eb2a30
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/lib/word-count.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,22 @@
+/**
+ * Approximate word count from plain text (issue #134). Splits on whitespace
+ * and keeps only tokens that contain a letter or digit, so markdown/HTML
+ * punctuation (`##`, `-`, `|`, `>`) never inflates the count.
+ */
+export function countWords(text: string): number {
+  if (!text) return 0;
+  return text
+    .trim()
+    .split(/\s+/)
+    .filter((token) => /[\p{L}\p{N}]/u.test(token)).length;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Strip HTML to its visible text using the browser's parser (issue #134). Used
+ * by the public read view to derive a word count from the server-rendered HTML
+ * without loading the editor bundle.
+ */
+export function htmlToText(html: string): string {
+  if (!html) return '';
+  return new DOMParser().parseFromString(html, 'text/html').body.textContent ?? '';
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/PageEditorPage.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/PageEditorPage.tsx
index 96d9d77..86918c3 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/PageEditorPage.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/PageEditorPage.tsx
@@ -32,9 +32,11 @@ import { WikilinkAutocomplete } from '../editor/WikilinkAutocomplete';
 import { WikilinkContext, makeWikilinkResolver } from '../editor/wikilink-context';
 import { usePageActionsSlot } from '../layout/page-actions';
 import { useForceSidebarHidden } from '../layout/sidebar-chrome';
-import { ApiError, apiGet, apiPatch, apiPost } from '../lib/api';
+import { ApiError, apiGet, apiGetText, apiPatch, apiPost } from '../lib/api';
 import { hasPrimaryModifier, isTypingTarget } from '../lib/keyboard';
+import { countWords } from '../lib/word-count';
 import { PageActions } from './PageActions';
+import { PageStatusBar } from './PageStatusBar';
 import { recallPage, rememberPage } from '../offline/page-cache';
 import { PluginBlockContext } from '../editor/plugin-block-context';
 import { hasPageTools, PageToolsPanel } from '../plugins/PageToolsPanel';
@@ -360,6 +362,16 @@ export function PageEditorPage(): React.JSX.Element {
     enabled: Boolean(pond.data),
   });
 
+  // Word count for the read-mode status line (#134). Derived from the same
+  // Markdown export the history panel uses (shared query key), fetched only in
+  // reading mode so the editor session pays nothing.
+  const pageMarkdown = useQuery({
+    queryKey: ['page-markdown', page.data?.id],
+    queryFn: () => apiGetText(`/pages/${page.data!.id}/export/markdown`),
+    enabled: mode === 'view' && Boolean(page.data?.id),
+  });
+  const wordCount = useMemo(() => countWords(pageMarkdown.data ?? ''), [pageMarkdown.data]);
+
   // Remember this page's metadata while online so it can be opened offline (#38).
   useEffect(() => {
     if (pond.data && page.data) {
@@ -521,6 +533,11 @@ export function PageEditorPage(): React.JSX.Element {
             onBlur={() => void saveTitle()}
           />
         </div>
+        {/* Status line between the header and the article (#134): last update,
+            word count, reading time — reading mode only. */}
+        {mode === 'view' && page.data && (
+          <PageStatusBar updatedAt={page.data.updatedAt} wordCount={wordCount} />
+        )}
         <div className="editor-page__body">
           <PageEditor
             page={resolved}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/PageStatusBar.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/PageStatusBar.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c58cd1d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/PageStatusBar.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,44 @@
+import { useMemo } from 'react';
+import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
+
+/** Average silent reading speed; reading time = ceil(words / WPM). */
+const WORDS_PER_MINUTE = 200;
+
+/**
+ * A slim status line shown between the page header and the article body
+ * (issue #134): last update, word count, and estimated reading time. Rendered
+ * both in the authenticated read view and the anonymous public view, so it
+ * takes already-derived values as props rather than reaching into the editor.
+ */
+export function PageStatusBar({
+  updatedAt,
+  wordCount,
+}: {
+  updatedAt: string;
+  wordCount: number;
+}): React.JSX.Element {
+  const { t, i18n } = useTranslation('common');
+
+  const updated = useMemo(() => {
+    const date = new Date(updatedAt);
+    if (Number.isNaN(date.getTime())) return null;
+    return new Intl.DateTimeFormat(i18n.language, {
+      dateStyle: 'medium',
+      timeStyle: 'short',
+    }).format(date);
+  }, [updatedAt, i18n.language]);
+
+  const minutes = Math.max(1, Math.ceil(wordCount / WORDS_PER_MINUTE));
+
+  return (
+    <div className="page-statusbar" aria-label={t('statusbar.label')}>
+      {updated && (
+        <span className="page-statusbar__item">{t('statusbar.updated', { date: updated })}</span>
+      )}
+      <span className="page-statusbar__item">{t('statusbar.words', { count: wordCount })}</span>
+      {wordCount > 0 && (
+        <span className="page-statusbar__item">{t('statusbar.readingTime', { minutes })}</span>
+      )}
+    </div>
+  );
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/pages/PublicPageView.tsx b/apps/web/src/pages/PublicPageView.tsx
index 23d9981..1db8ecd 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/pages/PublicPageView.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/pages/PublicPageView.tsx
@@ -1,9 +1,12 @@
 import { useQuery } from '@tanstack/react-query';
+import { useMemo } from 'react';
 import { useTranslation } from 'react-i18next';
 import { useParams } from 'react-router-dom';
 
 import { ApiError, apiGet } from '../lib/api';
+import { countWords, htmlToText } from '../lib/word-count';
 import { NotFoundPage } from './NotFoundPage';
+import { PageStatusBar } from './PageStatusBar';
 
 interface PublicPageContent {
   pondName: string;
@@ -31,6 +34,14 @@ export function PublicPageView(): React.JSX.Element {
     retry: false,
   });
 
+  // Word count for the status line (#134), derived from the server-rendered
+  // HTML — no editor bundle needed. Kept before the early returns so the hook
+  // order stays stable.
+  const wordCount = useMemo(
+    () => countWords(htmlToText(query.data?.html ?? '')),
+    [query.data?.html],
+  );
+
   if (query.error instanceof ApiError && query.error.status === 404) return <NotFoundPage />;
   if (query.isLoading || !query.data) return <div aria-busy="true" />;
 
@@ -40,6 +51,7 @@ export function PublicPageView(): React.JSX.Element {
       <p className="public-page__badge">{t('readOnlyBadge')}</p>
       <p className="public-page__pond">{page.pondName}</p>
       <h1 className="public-page__title">{page.title}</h1>
+      <PageStatusBar updatedAt={page.updatedAt} wordCount={wordCount} />
       {/* The HTML comes from the server's content cache (issue #24), derived
           from the sanitized editor schema — safe to render. */}
       <div className="public-page__body" dangerouslySetInnerHTML={{ __html: page.html }} />
diff --git a/apps/web/src/styles/base.css b/apps/web/src/styles/base.css
index c10aac2..b09634f 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/styles/base.css
+++ b/apps/web/src/styles/base.css
@@ -979,6 +979,29 @@ button {
   outline-offset: 2px;
 }
 
+/* Status line between page header and article (#134). Middot-separated,
+   muted; shared by the authenticated read view and the public view. */
+.page-statusbar {
+  display: flex;
+  flex-wrap: wrap;
+  gap: var(--space-2);
+  margin-top: calc(-1 * var(--space-2));
+  margin-bottom: var(--space-4);
+  color: var(--color-text-muted);
+  font-size: 0.8125rem;
+}
+
+.page-statusbar__item {
+  display: inline-flex;
+  align-items: center;
+}
+
+.page-statusbar__item:not(:first-child)::before {
+  content: '·';
+  margin-right: var(--space-2);
+  color: var(--color-border);
+}
+
 /* The export entries flow inline with the other overflow-menu items. */
 .editor-page__export {
   display: contents;
diff --git a/packages/shared/i18n/de/common.json b/packages/shared/i18n/de/common.json
index 10c9916..0117fa0 100644
--- a/packages/shared/i18n/de/common.json
+++ b/packages/shared/i18n/de/common.json
@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
 {
+  "statusbar": {
+    "label": "Seiteninformationen",
+    "updated": "Aktualisiert {{date}}",
+    "words_one": "{{count}} Wort",
+    "words_other": "{{count}} Wörter",
+    "readingTime": "ca. {{minutes}} Min. Lesezeit"
+  },
   "layout": {
     "sidebar": {
       "expand": "Seitenleiste einblenden",
diff --git a/packages/shared/i18n/en/common.json b/packages/shared/i18n/en/common.json
index 919dcb8..b9e8576 100644
--- a/packages/shared/i18n/en/common.json
+++ b/packages/shared/i18n/en/common.json
@@ -1,4 +1,11 @@
 {
+  "statusbar": {
+    "label": "Page information",
+    "updated": "Updated {{date}}",
+    "words_one": "{{count}} word",
+    "words_other": "{{count}} words",
+    "readingTime": "~{{minutes}} min read"
+  },
   "layout": {
     "sidebar": {
       "expand": "Show sidebar",