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Princess Therese of Thurn und Taxis

31 Aug 1830 – 10 Sep 1883

7 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 31 Aug 1830

    Born

  2. 10 Sep 1883

    Dies, aged 53

Family

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Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 6 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

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

The 1830s · Princess is born

In the news1834

Zollverein customs union founded in 1834

The Zollverein was founded to eliminate customs duties between German states, fostering economic integration under Prussian leadership.

Getting around

Faster express coaches were costly

The introduction of the "Diligence" or express post coach in 1821 allowed for faster travel at speeds of around 10 km/h, making trips of 100 km possible in a single day. However, travel remained expensive, with a short trip from Berlin to Magdeburg costing four talers, nearly a schoolteacher's monthly salary.

Around the world1825–1830

The first passenger railway

In England a steam locomotive pulled the first public train in 1825; within decades railways crossed every continent.

Daily life

Homes heated by smoky, open hearths

Peasant homes often lacked chimneys, relying on open hearths that provided both light and heat while filling the living space with smoke. Small bundles of green pine brush, known as Kulelkes, were commonly used as fuel for these fires.

What people wore

Saving fabric with the Magsachte patch

Women saved money on expensive fabric by sewing a hidden patch of coarser linen, called a Magsachte, onto their dresses where it would be covered by an apron.

Music

The noisy brummtopf folk instrument

The brummtopf was a peculiar noise-making instrument used by groups of young people during winter festivities; it was made of a small wooden barrel covered with calfskin and played by rubbing horsehair strands inserted into the skin with wet hands.

At the table

Daily wheat cake despite poverty

In some villages, even the poorest people ate wheat cake daily, fresh from the oven, which was criticized by doctors for supposedly damaging their digestion.