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Princess Adelheid-Marie of Anhalt-Dessau

Dessau, 25 Dec 1833 – Königstein im Taunus, 24 Nov 1916

7 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 25 Dec 1833

    Born in Dessau

  2. 1852–1864

    5 children are born

  3. 24 Nov 1916

    Dies in Königstein im Taunus, aged 82

Family

See the tree

Partner

Children · 5

During her lifetime

She lived through 9 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Dessau.

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

The 1830s · Princess is born in Dessau

In the news1834

Zollverein customs union founded in 1834

The Zollverein was founded to eliminate customs duties between German states, fostering economic integration under Prussian leadership.

Getting around

Faster express coaches were costly

The introduction of the "Diligence" or express post coach in 1821 allowed for faster travel at speeds of around 10 km/h, making trips of 100 km possible in a single day. However, travel remained expensive, with a short trip from Berlin to Magdeburg costing four talers, nearly a schoolteacher's monthly salary.

Around the world1825–1830

The first passenger railway

In England a steam locomotive pulled the first public train in 1825; within decades railways crossed every continent.

Daily life

Child labor and rudimentary schooling conditions

Children in rural areas were often tasked with labor, such as preparing and binding daily bundles of fuel for the household fire, a chore that frequently left their hands bleeding. Schooling was frequently held in the teacher's house, where the teacher was often a poorly paid local craftsman.

What people wore

Saving fabric with the Magsachte patch

Women saved money on expensive fabric by sewing a hidden patch of coarser linen, called a Magsachte, onto their dresses where it would be covered by an apron.

Music

Daily castle tower music in Königsberg

City tower musicians performed chorales daily from Königsberg's castle tower, such as 'Ich weiß mein Gott, daß all mein Tun' at 11 am and 'Nun ruhen alle Wälder' at 9 pm.

At the table

Daily wheat cake despite poverty

In some villages, even the poorest people ate wheat cake daily, fresh from the oven, which was criticized by doctors for supposedly damaging their digestion.