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Christian IX of Denmark

1818–1906

Born
8 Apr 1818, Gottorf Castle
Country of birth
Germany
Died
29 Jan 1906, Amalienborg
facts
10
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth8 Apr 1818, Gottorf CastleProbable1 source
  • TitleMonarch of Denmark, 1863–1906Confirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • TitleDuke of Lauenburg, 1863–1864Confirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • TitleDuke of Schleswig, 1863–1864Confirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • TitleDuke of Holstein, 1863–1864Confirmed3 competing claims1 source
  • Death29 Jan 1906, AmalienborgProbable1 source
  • UnionLouise of Hesse-KasselConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Gottorf Castle

    Birth, Gottorf Castle

  2. Child born: Frederik VIII of Denmark

    Birth, Yellow Palace

  3. Child born: Alexandra of Denmark

    Birth, Yellow Palace

  4. Child born: George I of Greece

    Birth, Copenhagen

  5. Child born: Maria Feodorovna (Dagmar of Denmark)

    Birth, Yellow Palace

  6. Child born: Thyra, Crown Princess of Hanover

    Birth, Yellow Palace

  7. Child born: Prince Valdemar of Denmark

    Birth, Bernstorff Palace

  8. Event · Duke of Lauenburg

    Event

  9. Event · Duke of Schleswig

    Event

  10. Event · Duke of Holstein

    Event

  11. Event · Monarch of Denmark

    Event

  12. Died · Amalienborg

    Death, Amalienborg

What was it like?

The world around Gottorf Castle, 1818: 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.

Christian was born around the same time as Friedrich Engels, Theodor Mommsen, and Jacques Offenbach.

Known for

Titles held

  • Monarch of Denmark1863–1906
  • Duke of Lauenburg1863–1864
  • Duke of Schleswig1863–1864
  • Duke of Holstein1863–1864
Born around the same time

  • Friedrich Engels

    1820 · German philosopher, sociologist and economist (1820–1895)

  • Theodor Mommsen

    1817 · German classical scholar and historian (1817–1903)

  • Jacques Offenbach

    1819 · German-born French composer (1819–1880)

  • Clara Schumann

    1819 · German musician and composer (1819–1896)

  • Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha

    1819 · Consort of Queen Victoria from 1840 to 1861 (1819–1861)

  • Fyodor Dostoyevsky

    1821 · Russian novelist (1821–1881)

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

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.

During their lifetime

  1. 1834

    Zollverein customs union founded in 1834

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

  2. 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.

  3. 1844

    Weaver uprising in 1844

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

  4. 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.

  5. 1847

    First Railway Line Opens

    Denmark's first railway line opened on June 26, 1847, connecting Copenhagen and Roskilde.

  6. 1849

    1849 Constitution ends absolute monarchy

    The 1849 Constitution abolished absolute monarchy, fundamentally changing the legal and political status of all Danish inhabitants.

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.