In the news1770–1771
Migration during the 1770-71 famine
During the great famines of 1770–71, peasants from other parts of Germany migrated to Prussia where food supplies were more accessible.
Hachenburg, 1772 – Vienna, 1827
12 facts3 sources
1772
Born in Hachenburg
30 Oct 1797
A daughter is born
1827
Dies in Vienna
She lived through 6 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Hachenburg.
General history, not a record about the family: each item says where it comes from.
In the news1770–1771
During the great famines of 1770–71, peasants from other parts of Germany migrated to Prussia where food supplies were more accessible.
Getting around
Stagecoach Travel at Walking Speed
In the mid-18th century, the stagecoach was the primary mode of travel for those who could afford it, moving at a walking pace of about 4 to 5 kilometers per hour. A trip from Nuremberg to Leipzig typically took around 70 hours, while the journey from Nuremberg to Regensburg required 20 hours.
In Europe1772–1795
Russia, Prussia and Austria divided Poland among themselves in three steps until, in 1795, it vanished from the map for 123 years.
Daily life
Cooking on open hearths without ovens
Ordinary people typically relied on open fires or basic hearths without ovens for cooking, as these were common in the region before the introduction of modern stoves around 1800. Daily meals were seasonal and often consisted of dairy products, grain-based dishes, and limited meat, with lard being used extensively.
What people wore
Women's Caps Served Many Purposes
Most women, regardless of their status, wore a cap as both a fashionable and practical accessory to protect their hair while working near heat or dust.
Music
Instruments used by common people
Ordinary people commonly played instruments like the fiddle, clarinet, horn, bass, hammered dulcimer, and bagpipes at dances and festivals. Occasionally, other instruments such as the harp, bassoon, oboe, flute, hurdy-gurdy, jew's harp, and zither were also used.
At the table
Kitchen tools for open fire cooking
To save time while cooking soups, housewives used hooks with a sawtooth design to quickly adjust the height of pots over the fire. They also used a specialized iron tool called a Cold Hand to remove hot pots because oven mitts were not yet in use.