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Princess Maria Anna of Anhalt-Dessau

Dessau, 14 Sep 1837 – Friedrichroda, 12 May 1906

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 14 Sep 1837

    Born in Dessau

  2. 1855–1865

    5 children are born

  3. 12 May 1906

    Dies in Friedrichroda, aged 68

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 5

During her lifetime

She lived through 8 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

Difficult and slow travel by stagecoach

Traveling by stagecoach in Prussia was often grueling and uncomfortable due to poorly maintained, unpaved roads and cramped, unsprung carriages. A journey from Berlin to Königsberg, spanning 565 kilometers, typically took ten to eleven days by post coach.

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.

Photography is born. The daguerreotype was presented in Paris: for the first time a face or a street could be kept exactly as it looked.Around the world · 1839

Photography is born. The daguerreotype was presented in Paris: for the first time a face or a street could be kept exactly as it looked.

Unknown · public domain

What people wore

Festive attire and heated ruffles

For feast days, women wore black cashmere or silk dresses with a white ruffle at the collar that was permanently set into waves using a heated iron.

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.

Daily life

Homes heated by smoky, open hearths

Peasant homes often lacked chimneys, relying on open hearths that provided both light and heat while filling the living space with smoke. Small bundles of green pine brush, known as Kulelkes, were commonly used as fuel for these fires.