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Baroness Francesca Thyssen-Bornemisza

Born Lausanne, 7 Jun 1958

6 facts1 source

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 7 Jun 1958

    Born in Lausanne

Family

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Parents

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During her lifetime

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

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

The 1950s · Baroness is born in Lausanne

In the news1959

Magic formula government established

In 1959, the four largest political parties adopted the magic formula to permanently divide the seven government seats among themselves.

What people wore

Stocking support methods

During the 1950s, children often used elastic garters to hold up their knitted wool stockings, as tights only became common in the late 1950s.

Daily life

Washing could take two days

In some places, people still relied on communal laundry schedules; one testimony says it took about two days to finish washing because the shared laundry room could be used only every six weeks.

In the news1953

Television begins test operations

In 1953, television began test operations in Switzerland, marking the start of a new era in home entertainment.

Music

Festival music and dance traditions

Traditional music played at festivals included the alphorn, used for mountain calls to cattle, and the bödeler, a rhythmic clog dance from Central Switzerland.

In Europe1948–1952

The Marshall Plan

American aid of some $13 billion rebuilt the ruined economies of Western Europe.

Getting around

Carriages were still used for travel in 1950

In 1950, reaching remote destinations like Our Chalet in Adelboden often required combining train travel with a local bus, followed by a horse-drawn carriage for the final leg.