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John, Duke of Saxe-Weimar

Weimar, 1 Jun 1570 – Weimar, 31 Oct 1605

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 1 Jun 1570

    Born in Weimar

  2. 1598–1601

    2 children are born

  3. 31 Oct 1605

    Dies in Weimar, aged 35

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 2

During his lifetime

He lived through 4 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Weimar.

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

The 1570s · John, is born in Weimar

In the news1572

Banking house collapse ruins economy (1572)

The collapse of the major merchant and banking house Loitz in Stettin in 1572 caused widespread economic turmoil throughout the region of Pomerania.

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.

In the news1575

Smallpox and measles epidemic (1575)

A widespread outbreak of smallpox and measles occurred in Holstein in 1575, severely impacting the lives of local families.

Daily life

Beer was safer than water

Drinking water was often unhygienic and contaminated, so beer was frequently consumed instead because brewing made it safer and provided essential calories.

What people wore

Sumptuary Laws Restricting Social Dress

Strict sumptuary laws restricted what citizens could wear based on their social status; for instance, common citizens and artisans were forbidden from using expensive materials like gold, silver, pearls, velvet, or silk. Wives of common citizens were allowed to wear a gold ring valued at no more than five or six guilders and a veil with a golden border no more than two fingers wide.

Music

Town pipers performed music from towers

Civic musicians known as Stadtpfeifer regularly performed music from church towers and town hall balconies, often using loud brass and wind instruments like the cornett, sackbut, and shawm.

At the table

Grains and vegetables as staples

For ordinary families, grains served as the foundation of the diet in the form of porridges or coarse breads. Vegetables such as turnips, cabbage, and onions were essential daily staples, often cooked with lard or bacon.