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Princess Stéphanie of Belgium

Brussels metropolitan area, 21 May 1864 – Pannonhalma, 23 Aug 1945

8 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 21 May 1864

    Born in Brussels metropolitan area

  2. 23 Aug 1945

    Dies in Pannonhalma, aged 81

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

During her lifetime

She lived through 9 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Brussels metropolitan area.

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

The 1860s · Princess is born in Brussels metropolitan area

In the news1869

Cheap worker train tickets introduced

Belgian railways began offering cheap season tickets for workers in 1869, making commuting more accessible.

What people wore

Black became the standard rural color

During the second half of the 19th century, black became the dominant color for everyday clothing in the Flemish countryside, replacing the colorful styles of previous eras. Typical daily attire for rural men included trousers, vests, smocks, and hats, while women wore skirts, aprons, blouses, and shawls.

Getting around

A Long Journey to the Coast

To travel from Brussels to Ostend, one had to take a stagecoach to Ghent in the middle of the night, ride a canal boat to Bruges, and transfer to another canal boat to reach Ostend by evening.

Italy is unified. Garibaldi, Cavour and Victor Emmanuel joined the Italian states into one kingdom, with Rome its capital from 1871.In Europe · 1859–1871

Italy is unified. Garibaldi, Cavour and Victor Emmanuel joined the Italian states into one kingdom, with Rome its capital from 1871.

Baldassare Verazzi (1819-1886) · public domain

In the news1866

Cholera epidemic in major cities

A severe cholera pandemic struck Belgian cities including Brussels, Ghent, and Antwerp in 1866.

Music

Introduction of the accordion

Starting around 1850, the accordion was introduced, functioning as a small orchestra that allowed playing in multiple keys with the left hand handling the accompaniment.

Daily life

Crowded worker housing near Brussels

In some workers' homes near Brussels, a family of nine lived and slept in a small room barely larger than the space occupied by their two looms. They kept their food and live rabbits in a tiny adjacent space, where the family also slept on a mattress suspended above a loom.