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Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg

Altenburg, 8 Jul 1830 – Saint Petersburg, 6 Jul 1911

8 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 8 Jul 1830

    Born in Altenburg

  2. 1850–1862

    6 children are born

  3. 6 Jul 1911

    Dies in Saint Petersburg, aged 80

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 6

During her lifetime

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

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

The 1830s · Princess is born in Altenburg

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.

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.

Daily life

Child labor and rudimentary schooling conditions

Children in rural areas were often tasked with labor, such as preparing and binding daily bundles of fuel for the household fire, a chore that frequently left their hands bleeding. Schooling was frequently held in the teacher's house, where the teacher was often a poorly paid local craftsman.

In the news1837

First Public Railway Opens in 1837

In 1837, the first public passenger railway opened, running between St. Petersburg and Tsarskoe Selo, marking the beginning of the railway age in Russia.

Music

Daily castle tower music in Königsberg

City tower musicians performed chorales daily from Königsberg's castle tower, such as 'Ich weiß mein Gott, daß all mein Tun' at 11 am and 'Nun ruhen alle Wälder' at 9 pm.

Around the world1832

Cholera spreads around the world

A cholera pandemic from India reached Europe and the Americas; cities learned the hard way about clean water and sewers.

Getting around

Difficult and slow travel by stagecoach

Traveling by stagecoach in Prussia was often grueling and uncomfortable due to poorly maintained, unpaved roads and cramped, unsprung carriages. A journey from Berlin to Königsberg, spanning 565 kilometers, typically took ten to eleven days by post coach.