Skip to content
VitrineVitrine
Sign in

Wilhelmine, Gräfin von Lichtenau

Potsdam, 29 Dec 1753 – Berlin, 9 Jun 1820

9 facts2 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 29 Dec 1753

    Born in Potsdam

  2. 1770–1780

    5 children are born

  3. 9 Jun 1820

    Dies in Berlin, aged 66

Family

See the tree

Parents

Children · 5

During her lifetime

She lived through 8 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Potsdam.

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

The 1750s · Wilhelmine, is born in Potsdam

In the news1756–1763

Seven Years' War casualties and destruction

During the Seven Years' War, some 160,000 Prussian soldiers died in battle or from disease, devastating the population.

Getting around

Dangers and Hardships of 18th-Century Travel

Travel was often physically demanding and dangerous, with carriages that were frequently uncomfortably sprung or unsprung, causing travelers to suffer from motion sickness or injury. Due to the poor state of roads and the threat of highwaymen, travelers often carried weapons or avoided unnecessary trips, with some prominent figures never leaving their home region.

In Europe1755

Lisbon is destroyed by an earthquake

On All Saints’ Day an earthquake, a tsunami and fires levelled Lisbon and killed tens of thousands; Europe’s thinkers argued over it for decades.

Daily life

Homes with Sanded Floors and Lead Windows

In homes with stone or brick floors, families often scattered sand across the floor and stairs. Windows featured small round glass panes set within lead frames.

What people wore

Noble Men Preferred Wigs Over Beards

In the 18th century, noble men famously wore wigs and makeup, while facial hair was strictly shunned for most men, marking a major departure from later masculine standards.

Music

Regulated music at weddings and funerals

Weddings were major social events where music was highly regulated by status, dictating the number of performers and the duration of the celebrations. Musicians often played at these weddings and funerals, with societies in places like Leuben attending up to 18 weddings annually.

At the table

Kitchen tools for open fire cooking

To save time while cooking soups, housewives used hooks with a sawtooth design to quickly adjust the height of pots over the fire. They also used a specialized iron tool called a Cold Hand to remove hot pots because oven mitts were not yet in use.