Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Hugo III. Henckel von Donnersmarck

1857–1923

Born
19 Feb 1857, Siemianowice Śląskie
Country of birth
Poland
Died
11 Jun 1923, Krowiarki, Silesian Voivodeship
facts
6
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth19 Feb 1857, Siemianowice ŚląskieProbable1 source
  • Death11 Jun 1923, Krowiarki, Silesian VoivodeshipProbable1 source
  • UnionAnna von FabriceConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Siemianowice Śląskie

    Birth, Siemianowice Śląskie

  2. Child born: Anna Baronin Henckel von Donnersmarck

    Birth

  3. Died · Krowiarki, Silesian Voivodeship

    Death, Krowiarki, Silesian Voivodeship

What was it like?

The world around Siemianowice Śląskie, 1857: 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.

Hugo was born the same year as Edward Elgar, Ruggero Leoncavallo, and Charles Scott Sherrington.

Born the same year

  • Edward Elgar

    English composer (1857-1934)

  • Ruggero Leoncavallo

    Italian composer (1857–1919)

  • Charles Scott Sherrington

    English footballer, neurophysiologist and Nobel Prize recipient (1857–1952)

  • William Howard Taft

    27th President of the United States from 1909 to 1913 (1857–1930)

  • Joseph Conrad

    Polish-British writer (1857–1924)

  • Pius XI

    pope of the Catholic Church from 1922 to 1939

Fashion
Around 1861–1861

Patriotic Mourning Fashion in 1861

Following political unrest in 1861, a widespread fashion for mourning attire emerged, where women wore modest black dresses and jewelry with patriotic motifs as a sign of protest. Mourners even wore their wedding rings on the ring finger of the right hand rather than the left.

Peasant Men's Everyday Attire

Ordinary peasant men wore baggy linen trousers, known as portki or gacie, and shirts made of simple homespun cloth. For everyday work, they wore durable garments made from coarse, homespun linen, often opting for straw hats in the summer.

Music

Popular dances at social gatherings

People danced the polonaise, waltz, contredanse, and mazurka at balls, with the mazurka's rhythm often emphasizing the second beat and sometimes accompanied by rhythmic foot stamping. These dances were central to both peasant culture and urban social gatherings during this period.

Instruments used in everyday folk music

Villagers used simple instruments like willow flutes, whistles, reed pipes, or trumpets bought at fairs, while adults played violins, bagpipes, or drums at dances. Musical ensembles at festive events often included violins, basses, clarinets, and sometimes tsimbls.

Getting around

Railways significantly reduced travel time

Traveling between Moscow and St. Petersburg by train took 22 hours, whereas a carriage journey previously took 4 to 5 days.

Around 1862–1874

Transfers between Warsaw railway stations

In Warsaw, passengers traveling between the St. Petersburg and Vienna railway lines had to transfer by horse tramway because the stations were on opposite banks of the Vistula River.

Daily life

Childhood education and seasonal school attendance

Many children received their first education at home from their parents or through secret, informal teaching to preserve the Polish language and spirit. Formal schooling was often irregular, sometimes limited to winter months because children were needed for farm work during the summer.

Home utilities and lighting in urban areas

Ordinary urban homes lacked piped water, requiring residents to fetch it from public wells or rely on water carriers. Lighting was provided by simple means like brass candlesticks, as kerosene lamps and electricity were rare or non-existent in common households.

Food

Everyday drinks and supplements

Water and buttermilk were common daily drinks, though some households prepared bread kvass or beer; coffee made from roasted barley and chicory was also a caloric supplement.

Rare holiday luxuries

Meat was a luxury, typically consumed only on major holidays like Christmas and Easter, while coffee and tea were often viewed as rare, expensive, or even sinful luxuries.

Prices and wages

Cost of basic food items

A pound of bread cost approximately 4 kopeks, while a pound of meat cost about 15 kopeks.

Cost of theatre entertainment

Theatre tickets in Warsaw varied widely, with the most expensive stalls costing about 8 rubles and cheaper seats costing only a few dozen kopeks.

Work

Low Peasant Wages and Goods Prices

Peasant labor under the manorial system was severely undervalued; a day of work with draft animals earned 24 grosz, while foot labor earned 12 grosz. For perspective, at that time a goose cost 15 grosz, a rooster 12 grosz, and a hen 10 grosz.

Peasant Life: Sunrise to Sunset Labor

Peasant families lived by a sun-to-sun schedule, with men often starting work at 4 a.m. or sunrise and women sometimes laboring for 16 to 18 hours daily during the summer. Winter tasks for women included spinning flax or wool, while men focused on animal care, wood chopping, and repairing tools or footwear.

News and letters
Around 1862–1862

Long-distance mail routes in 1862

A letter sent from Warsaw to Hämeenlinna in Finland in 1862 traveled approximately 1,700 kilometers, partly by train.

Around 1825–1849

Private alternatives to state mail

Because the state postal service could be unreliable and prone to losing correspondence, people often hired servants or used private contacts to deliver their letters securely.

During their lifetime

  1. 1864

    Peasants granted freedom by 1864 reform

    The abolition of serfdom in 1864 granted peasants legal freedom and equality, a major step in building a modern nation.

  2. 1870

    Railway connections expand to Russia

    Railway expansion linked Poland to the Russian interior, with connections established to Moscow in 1870 and Kiev in 1871.

  3. 1899

    Lublin launches public water supply system

    After cholera epidemics, a water supply system was finally launched in Lublin on July 1, 1899.

Family

Spouses

Children

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.