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Elisabeth of Anhalt

Zerbst, 25 Sep 1563 – Krosno Odrzańskie, 8 Nov 1607

10 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 25 Sep 1563

    Born in Zerbst

  2. 1581–1598

    11 children are born

  3. 8 Nov 1607

    Dies in Krosno Odrzańskie, aged 44

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 11

During her lifetime

She lived through 5 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Zerbst.

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

The 1560s · Elisabeth is born in Zerbst

In the news1569–1574

Famine and price crisis of 1569-1574

Between 1569 and 1574, a severe famine and price crisis struck the region, causing mass death among the poorest residents, while wealthy nobles remained largely unaffected. During 1573 and 1574, a 2.2-kilogram loaf of rye bread cost an unskilled worker in Krakow between 32% and 40% of their daily wage.

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.

What people wore

Commoner daily attire and accessories

Ordinary men wore simple tunics, pants often made of wool or linen, and carried belt pouches, while women commonly wore dresses with aprons, sometimes carrying keys or knives on their belts. For warmth or adornment, women added capelets, and unmarried girls were known to wear velvet headbands.

Getting around

Fast river travel downstream

Travelers could use rivers to move faster, sometimes reaching up to 150 kilometers in 24 hours when traveling downstream.

What it cost

Mass bread distribution during 1572 famine

During the 1572 famine in Nuremberg, the city council distributed 10,400 loaves of bread in a single day to support the needy, accounting for about one-third of the population.

Music

Wedding musician pay based on social status

City councils regulated the musicians employed for weddings based on social status, with pay for brass and wind players reaching two guilders, while bagpipers and fiddlers received half a guilder.

Daily life

Cooking with embers and kettles

Kitchens often featured a large metal kettle for boiling, while smaller quantities were baked in bowls placed on a grid and covered with glowing embers.