Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Alexander, Prince zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn

b. 1943

Born
22 Nov 1943, Salzburg
Country of birth
Nazi Germany, today Austria

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

facts
6
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

A life in time

  1. Born · Salzburg

    Birth, Salzburg

What was it like?

The world around Salzburg, 1943: who ruled, who else was alive, how people lived. This is general history, not a record about the family, and every item shows where it comes from.

Alexander, was born around the same time as John Lennon, Pelé, and Bruce Lee.

Born around the same time

  • John Lennon

    1940 · British musician (1940–1980)

  • Pelé

    1940 · Brazilian footballer (1940–2022)

  • Bruce Lee

    1940 · Hong Kong–American martial artist and actor (1940–1973)

  • Muhammad Ali

    1942 · American boxer (1942–2016)

  • Joe Biden

    1942 · 46th President of the United States (2021–2025)

  • Stephen Hawking

    1942 · British theoretical physicist, cosmologist and author (1942–2018)

Fashion
Around 1945–1949

Clothing Scarcity Post-War

Following World War II, clothing was so scarce that grandmothers would rip small pullovers apart to re-knit them using only a little extra wool. Children’s shoes that became too small were simply kept in use by cutting the front part open.

Four Sets of Traditional Clothes

People traditionally owned four sets of clothes: daily workwear, clothes for ordinary feast days, Sunday attire, and special outfits for high religious holidays. Many people were even buried in their wedding suit, which served as their formal holiday attire.

Music

Traditional Austrian Folk Instruments

Traditional musical instruments used in regional Austrian folk music included violins, harps, zithers, dulcimers, wind instruments, and the diatonic button-key accordion known as the Styrian harmonica.

Around 1950–1957

Jukeboxes were popular and expensive in Austria

In the 1950s, US jukeboxes became popular in Austrian espresso bars, with 2,790 units installed by 1957. These machines cost between 40,000 and 80,000 Austrian schillings, while a small Steyr-Puch 500 car cost 30,000 schillings.

Getting around
Around 1933–1938

Rail Travel in the 1930s

During the 1930s, a rail journey from Munich to Reit im Winkl took approximately 5 hours.

Around 1934–1937

Steamship Travel Times on the Danube

Traveling by Danube steamer from Linz to Vienna took between 17 and 19 hours upstream, while the return downstream journey lasted only 7.5 to 8.75 hours.

Daily life
Around 1946–1947

Teaching in a one-room rural school

In a single-room rural school in 1946, a teacher instructed 28 children across 8 grade levels simultaneously. The classroom was heated by an iron stove, and water had to be manually pumped from a 20-meter deep well located outside.

Around 1945–1949

Insufficient salaries for basic survival costs

In the post-war period, food costs for a family were so high that a monthly salary of 1,516,000 Kronen was insufficient to cover the basic needs, leaving a monthly deficit of 695,000 Kronen.

Food
Around 1946–1946

Caffeine surprise from CARE packages

American CARE packages contained powdered milk and instant coffee; the latter was so new that some people consumed too much and stayed awake for three days.

Around 1946–1946

Coffee in CARE packages caused sleeplessness

When families received CARE packages containing instant coffee, many were unfamiliar with the product and consumed too much of it, causing them to stay awake for three days. The packages were highly prized for rare luxuries like milk powder, cocoa, and sugar.

Prices and wages
Around 1946–1946

Jeep driving jobs were highly desired

In 1946, a jeep driver for the American Army was one of the most sought-after jobs in Vienna, paying 5.25 dollars for a 50-hour week and including one meal a day.

Around 1946–1946

Meager food rations in 1946 Vienna

In 1946, the official ration for a normal citizen in Vienna provided only 1,131 calories, far below the 2,200 calories recognized as the minimum to ward off disease.

Work
Around 1946–1946

Working for the American Army

In the mid-1940s, a highly sought-after job was driving jeeps for the American Army, which paid five dollars and a quarter for a 50-hour work week and included a meal without needing ration points.

Around 1950–1959

Limited household technology for working women

Working women in the 1950s often managed multiple household roles alongside their jobs, but only 23% owned a hoover or fridge, 7% a blender, and 4% a washing machine by 1959.

News and letters
Around 1949–1949

Postage restrictions in late 1949

By late 1949, letters sent between Western Austria and Western Germany could not contain money and were restricted to a maximum weight of 500 grams.

Around 1949–1949

Telegram service limitations in 1949

As of late 1949, international telegrams from Austria could not include money-order, luxury, express, or code services, and urgent telegrams cost double the standard rate.

During their lifetime

  1. 1955

    Austria State Treaty signed in 1955

    In 1955, the Austrian State Treaty was signed, ending the Allied occupation and restoring Austrian sovereignty.

  2. 1959

    First Steyr tractor introduced in 1959

    The introduction of the first Steyr tractors in 1959 revolutionized agricultural work, making many manual farm roles obsolete.

  3. 1961

    Washing machines became household standard in 1961

    In 1961, washing machines became more affordable for broader social classes, transforming household chores for many women.

  4. 1995

    Austria joined European Union in 1995

    Austria joined the European Union in 1995, significantly shifting the country's economic and political landscape.

Family

Parents

Spouses

Ancestors and children

Open the full tree

Four generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.