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Luise Caroline Reuss of Greiz

1822–1875

Born
3 Dec 1822, Greiz
Country of birth
Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, today Germany
Died
28 May 1875, Ernstbrunn
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 · Greiz

    Birth, Greiz

  2. Child born: Prince Albert of Saxe-Altenburg

    Birth, Munich

  3. Child born: Queen Eleonore of Bulgaria

    Birth, Trzebiechów

  4. Died · Ernstbrunn

    Death, Ernstbrunn

What was it like?

The world around Greiz, 1822: 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.

Luise was born the same year as Heinrich Schliemann, Fritz Müller, and César Franck.

Born the same year

  • Heinrich Schliemann

    German businessman and archaeologist (1822–1890)

  • Fritz Müller

    German-Brazilian biologist (1822–1897)

  • César Franck

    Belgian-French composer and organist (1822–1890)

  • Adelaide Ristori

    Italian actress (1822–1906)

  • Louis Pasteur

    French chemist and microbiologist (1822-1895)

  • Ulysses S. Grant

    president of the United States from 1869 to 1877

Fashion

Industrious Spinning in Rural Winter Life

Young women in rural Prussia were often famous for their industriousness, frequently spinning two or even three pieces of yarn daily after completing their domestic chores and farm work. This spinning took place in communal spinning rooms, which served as the center of winter life.

Limited Resources for Rural Children

Children from poorer families often wore clothes made from their parents' discarded garments and frequently went barefoot over stones and stubble during the summer. In some villages, a single umbrella was considered a rare luxury owned by the entire community.

Music

Singing at church and parish gatherings

For many people in the Prussian lands, Sunday church service was a weekly routine, and singing could also happen at church occasions. Beyond worship, people spent leisure time with games like bowling and cards, and with dancing at local fairs and shooting festivals.

Around 1825–1849

The noisy brummtopf folk instrument

The brummtopf was a peculiar noise-making instrument used by groups of young people during winter festivities; it was made of a small wooden barrel covered with calfskin and played by rubbing horsehair strands inserted into the skin with wet hands.

Getting around
Around 1819–1819

Berlin travel times in 1819

In 1819, a traveler starting from Berlin could reach Potsdam in four hours by stagecoach, while Leipzig took 23 hours.

High cost of travel

A short stagecoach trip from Berlin to Magdeburg cost four Taler, which was nearly the entire monthly wage of a village schoolteacher.

Daily life

Daily lighting and water access challenges

Lighting was scarce and provided by tallow candles, oil lamps, or pine splinters that were often held in the hearth. Water for daily needs was typically retrieved from village pumps or springs, and chores like fetching water could be time-consuming, requiring one to wait for buckets to fill under a slow stream.

Seasonal schooling and untrained teachers

Compulsory primary schooling existed, but children often only attended school in winter because they were needed for farm work and animal herding the rest of the year. Teachers were often untrained individuals, such as former soldiers or weavers, who were appointed by local churches.

Food

Potatoes as the staple food

Ordinary rural families typically ate three meals a day, relying heavily on potatoes, buckwheat porridge, or milk with bread. Potatoes were so central to the diet that they were often eaten boiled in their jackets, sometimes without salt.

The rise of potato schnapps

Potato-based schnapps became a widespread and essential daily pleasure for the poor, as it was much cheaper to produce than grain-based spirits. Some observers noted that after market days, many farmers returned home in a state of intoxication.

Prices and wages
Around 1800–1820

Marriage requirements and net worth

To obtain permission to marry, a couple often needed to prove a minimum net worth of 100 to 200 guilders.

Work

The daily life of servants

The 1810 master and servant code permitted corporal punishment of servants and required them to submit to the master's will in all tasks. Servants lived in the employer's household, often sleeping in chambers above stables, and shared meals at the farmer's table.

Common jobs in rural Prussia

By 1800, free agricultural laborers were the largest group in the rural workforce, while live-in servants (Gesinde) also performed essential domestic and farm duties.

News and letters
Around 1824–1824

Cost and Expense of Sending Letters

In 1824, postage costs were based on distance, ranging from 1 Silbergroschen for distances up to 2 miles to a maximum of 19 Silbergroschen. Sending a letter daily could have consumed up to a quarter of a person's annual income.

Faster Travel and Express Mail

The introduction of express mail in 1821 significantly improved travel times, with the Berlin-Cologne route being completed in 102 hours, saving 30 hours. Previously, travel was often grueling, with some journeys between cities like Danzig and Königsberg taking 72 hours.

During their lifetime

  1. 1831

    Cholera epidemic of 1831

    A cholera epidemic struck the area around Vienna in 1831, causing significant mortality and leading to systematic expansions of the sewage system.

  2. 1834

    Zollverein customs union founded in 1834

    The Zollverein was founded to eliminate customs duties between German states, fostering economic integration under Prussian leadership.

  3. 1837

    First steam railway in 1837

    The first steam railway line in the empire opened in 1837, connecting Vienna to Deutsch-Wagram and marking a new era for travel.

  4. 1842

    Freedom of movement laws in 1842

    Prussia introduced new laws enabling greater freedom of movement and settlement for individuals not dependent on public relief.

  5. 1844

    Weaver uprising in 1844

    Handloom weavers in Upper Silesia led a famous protest against their publishers due to harsh competition from mechanized factories.

  6. 1846

    Hunger crisis of 1846-1847

    A severe potato blight caused a major hunger crisis across Europe, leading to unrest in Prussian markets and bakeries.

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.