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Erdmuthe of Brandenburg

Berlin, 26 Jun 1561 – Słupsk, 13 Nov 1623

8 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 26 Jun 1561

    Born in Berlin

  2. 13 Nov 1623

    Dies in Słupsk, aged 62

Family

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Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Berlin.

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

The 1560s · Erdmuthe is born in Berlin

In the news1569

The Union of Lublin established the Commonwealth

On July 1, 1569, the Union of Lublin was signed, formally merging the Kingdom of Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania into a single Commonwealth of Both Nations. The process involved 140 senators and envoys from the Crown and 77 from Lithuania placing their seals on the act.

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

The high value of clothing and tailoring

Clothing was highly valuable, often made to measure by tailors, and could be pawned to raise funds quickly. A typical working man's entire wardrobe might be worth only a few shillings to a pound.

Getting around

Uncomfortable carriage travel for the wealthy

While carriages existed, they were largely used by the sick or wealthy, as they were uncomfortable, unsprung, and known for their squeaky axles.

What it cost

Dramatic loss of purchasing power for bread

In 1565, a miner in the Erzgebirge could buy nearly 6 kilograms of bread with his daily wage of 24 pfennige, but by the famine years of the early 1570s, that same wage bought only 1.3 kilograms.

Music

Professional city musicians, the Stadtpfeifer

Stadtpfeifer, or city pipers, were professional musicians employed by councils to perform on towers, in dance halls, and at public festivities using instruments like shawms, sackbuts, and slide brass.

Daily life

School costs in pfennigs

Families sometimes paid quarterly school fees ranging from 12 to 18 pfennigs, while some also had to provide a log of wood during winter.