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Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Kassel

Kassel, 27 Apr 1650 – Charlottenborg Palace, 27 Mar 1714

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 27 Apr 1650

    Born in Kassel

  2. 1670–1699

    Queen consort of Denmark

  3. 1671–1687

    8 children are born

  4. 27 Mar 1714

    Dies in Charlottenborg Palace, aged 63

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 8

During her lifetime

She lived through 7 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Kassel.

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

The 1650s · Charlotte is born in Kassel

In the news1654

Legally binding serfdom in Mecklenburg

The Servants Law of 1654 legally anchored serfdom in Mecklenburg, divesting serfs of personal freedoms and allowing them to be sold with property.

Getting around

Travel speeds for foot passengers

Most travelers were foot passengers who could expect to cover about 100 kilometers in a week, accounting for rest days and potential travel obstacles like bad weather or floods.

In the news1659

Plague epidemic strikes Denmark in 1659

A plague epidemic broke out in 1659, causing the death of 25% to 30% of the population.

Daily life

Dark and smoky rural homes

Rural homes often lacked chimneys, causing smoke from open hearths to fill living areas with poor air. Many houses were dark, with only small windows or simple peep-holes.

What people wore

Wedding shirts as burial shrouds

The funeral custom was so precise that couples carefully preserved the shirts worn on their wedding day to be used as their burial garments. Additionally, deceased women were often buried with one of their caps, such as the communion cap.

Music

Musical Cradle Devotions and Festive Processions

During Christmas, Jesuits organized cradle devotions, where a constructed cradle containing a figure of the Christ child was rocked to the sound of music. Music was also used in processions, often involving bells, trumpets, military drums, and even the discharge of muskets and cannons.

At the table

Daily Porridge Habits

Because meat was expensive and rarely eaten, families often relied on a thick, long-cooking grain porridge as their primary warm meal. To stretch the food, they frequently reheated it, resulting in a thick, semi-solid consistency.