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Anne Catherine of Brandenburg

Halle (Saale), 26 Jun 1575 – Copenhagen, 8 Apr 1612

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 26 Jun 1575

    Born in Halle (Saale)

  2. 1597–1612

    Queen consort of Denmark

  3. 1598–1611

    7 children are born

  4. 8 Apr 1612

    Dies in Copenhagen, aged 36

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 7

During her lifetime

She lived through 5 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Halle (Saale).

General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.

The 1570s · Anne is born in Halle (Saale)

In the news1575

Smallpox and measles epidemic (1575)

A widespread outbreak of smallpox and measles occurred in Holstein in 1575, severely impacting the lives of local families.

Getting around

Walking as the primary mode of transport

Most ordinary people traveled on foot, often covering 20 to 30 kilometers in a day.

In the news1572

Banking house collapse ruins economy (1572)

The collapse of the major merchant and banking house Loitz in Stettin in 1572 caused widespread economic turmoil throughout the region of Pomerania.

Daily life

Kitchen stoves and built-in water cisterns

Many modest kitchens lacked open hearths, instead using a large, soot-covered stove in a separate room that served for both cooking and heating. Some of these stoves featured built-in water cisterns that provided hot water and a place to boil food like dumplings.

What people wore

Sumptuary Laws Restricting Social Dress

Strict sumptuary laws restricted what citizens could wear based on their social status; for instance, common citizens and artisans were forbidden from using expensive materials like gold, silver, pearls, velvet, or silk. Wives of common citizens were allowed to wear a gold ring valued at no more than five or six guilders and a veil with a golden border no more than two fingers wide.

Music

Town pipers performed music from towers

Civic musicians known as Stadtpfeifer regularly performed music from church towers and town hall balconies, often using loud brass and wind instruments like the cornett, sackbut, and shawm.

At the table

Rare Festive Pastries

For ordinary families, sweet pastries fried in fat, known as Nonnenfürzle, were rare festive delicacies served on special occasions like church festivals. They were made from choux pastry and, according to local tradition, were named for the hissing sound they made as steam escaped in the hot fat.