Skip to content
VitrineVitrine
Sign in

Friederike von Bretzenheim

9 Dec 1771 – Schloss Oberhausen, 2 Mar 1816

8 facts1 source

Facts and their sources

A life in time

  1. 9 Dec 1771

    Born

  2. 2 Mar 1816

    Dies in Schloss Oberhausen, aged 44

Family

See the tree

Parents

During her lifetime

She lived through 5 decades. Pick one to hear and see what it was like.

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

The 1770s · Friederike is born

In the news1770–1771

Migration during the 1770-71 famine

During the great famines of 1770–71, peasants from other parts of Germany migrated to Prussia where food supplies were more accessible.

Getting around

Dangers and Hardships of 18th-Century Travel

Travel was often physically demanding and dangerous, with carriages that were frequently uncomfortably sprung or unsprung, causing travelers to suffer from motion sickness or injury. Due to the poor state of roads and the threat of highwaymen, travelers often carried weapons or avoided unnecessary trips, with some prominent figures never leaving their home region.

In Europe1772–1795

Poland is partitioned

Russia, Prussia and Austria divided Poland among themselves in three steps until, in 1795, it vanished from the map for 123 years.

Daily life

Open Hearth Cooking and Pump Well Water

Cooking took place in the living room over an open fireplace or a masonry hearth with a recessed grate, using wood or brown coal for fuel. Drinking water was typically sourced from communal pump wells located in the village center.

What people wore

Men’s Sunday Black Coat

Working men typically wore a simple black coat called a Rock for their Sunday attire, which was usually fastened with hooks rather than buttons.

Music

Popular instruments and dances for festivals

In the late 18th century, common people enjoyed dancing to instruments such as the violin, clarinet, horn, bass, hammered dulcimer, and bagpipe, often played by small groups at fairs, weddings, and festivals.

At the table

Meat was a rare and precious luxury

While fresh meat was a rare luxury, some households relied on salted or smoked pork and beef, often cooking bones in sauerkraut when meat was scarce.