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Princess Eugenia Maximilianovna of Leuchtenberg

Saint Petersburg, 1 Apr 1845 – Biarritz, 4 May 1925

8 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 1 Apr 1845

    Born in Saint Petersburg

  2. 4 May 1925

    Dies in Biarritz, aged 80

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

During her lifetime

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

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

The 1840s · Princess is born in Saint Petersburg

In the news1848

Cholera and Crop Failures in 1848

In 1848, a major cholera epidemic, coupled with a bad harvest and dry weather that caused widespread town fires, severely disrupted the lives of the agrarian population.

Getting around

Travel times to Siberia varied wildly

In 1827, traveling by road from Moscow to Irkutsk took 23 days, which was considered extremely fast for that time. In mud-prone seasons, however, the same journey could take up to nine months.

In Europe1845–1852

The Great Famine in Ireland

Potato blight ruined harvests: a million Irish people died and a million more emigrated, many to America.

Daily life

Low rates of peasant literacy and education

Literacy among serfs was extremely low, with estimates not exceeding 1%. Education was largely confined to home training by local sextons or clerks, often limited to reading, writing, and basic arithmetic.

What people wore

A single lifetime festive outfit

Peasants often prepared one high-quality outfit in their youth that was kept for their entire lives to be worn only on the most important feast days.

Music

The origins of the Russian garmon

In 1839, a Tula gunsmith purchased an imported harmonica for 40 roubles and used it to create the garmon, an instrument that became central to Russian village celebrations.

At the table

Meal Customs in Peasant Households

Peasant families frequently ate from common dishes without individual cutlery, often eating in a set order led by the head of the household. Hygiene was minimal; dishes were typically rinsed in cold water after use rather than thoroughly washed.