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John, Duke of Saxe-Weimar

Weimar, 1 Jun 1570 – Weimar, 31 Oct 1605

9 facts3 sources

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 1 Jun 1570

    Born in Weimar

  2. 1598–1601

    2 children are born

  3. 31 Oct 1605

    Dies in Weimar, aged 35

Family

See the tree

Parents

Partner

Children · 2

During his lifetime

He lived through 4 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like around Weimar.

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

The 1570s · John, is born in Weimar

In the news1572

Banking house collapse ruins economy (1572)

The collapse of the major merchant and banking house Loitz in Stettin in 1572 caused widespread economic turmoil throughout the region of Pomerania.

Getting around

Walking as the primary mode of transport

Most ordinary people traveled on foot, often covering 20 to 30 kilometers in a day.

In the news1575

Smallpox and measles epidemic (1575)

A widespread outbreak of smallpox and measles occurred in Holstein in 1575, severely impacting the lives of local families.

Daily life

Kitchen stoves and built-in water cisterns

Many modest kitchens lacked open hearths, instead using a large, soot-covered stove in a separate room that served for both cooking and heating. Some of these stoves featured built-in water cisterns that provided hot water and a place to boil food like dumplings.

What people wore

Sumptuary Laws Restricting Social Dress

Strict sumptuary laws restricted what citizens could wear based on their social status; for instance, common citizens and artisans were forbidden from using expensive materials like gold, silver, pearls, velvet, or silk. Wives of common citizens were allowed to wear a gold ring valued at no more than five or six guilders and a veil with a golden border no more than two fingers wide.

Music

Wedding musician pay based on social status

City councils regulated the musicians employed for weddings based on social status, with pay for brass and wind players reaching two guilders, while bagpipers and fiddlers received half a guilder.

At the table

Grains and vegetables as staples

For ordinary families, grains served as the foundation of the diet in the form of porridges or coarse breads. Vegetables such as turnips, cabbage, and onions were essential daily staples, often cooked with lard or bacon.