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Louise Katharina von Langenstein und Gondelsheim

1826–1900

Born
3 Mar 1826, Karlsruhe
Country of birth
Grand Duchy of Baden, today Germany
Died
1 Jan 1900, Neuchâtel
facts
7
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 · Karlsruhe

    Birth, Karlsruhe

  2. Child born: Count Ludvig Douglas, 12th Count of Skenninge and Stjernorp

    Birth, Zurich

  3. Died · Neuchâtel

    Death, Neuchâtel

What was it like?

The world around Karlsruhe, 1826: 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.

Louise was born around the same time as Jules Verne, Henrik Ibsen, and Henry Dunant.

Born around the same time

  • Jules Verne

    1828 · French writer (1828–1905)

  • Henrik Ibsen

    1828 · Norwegian playwright and theatre director (1828–1906)

  • Henry Dunant

    1828 · Swiss businessman and co-founder of the Red Cross (1828-1910)

  • Dante Gabriel Rossetti

    1828 · English poet, illustrator, painter, and translator (1828-1882)

  • Hippolyte Taine

    1828 · French literary critic and historian (1828-1893)

  • Nikolay Chernyshevsky

    1828 · Russian writer and nihilist philosopher (1828–1889)

Fashion

Festive attire and heated ruffles

For feast days, women wore black cashmere or silk dresses with a white ruffle at the collar that was permanently set into waves using a heated iron.

Head-carried baskets with embroidered rings

Deliverers carried their goods in round white baskets called Mange on their heads, supported by embroidered cloth rings that served as both cushions and decorative accessories.

Music
Around 1833–1833

The 1833 Prussian Music Festival in Marienburg

In 1833, the first Prussian Music Festival took place in Marienburg, featuring over 200 participants including 49 singers and 143 musicians and singers from across East and West Prussia.

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.

Difficult and slow travel by stagecoach

Traveling by stagecoach in Prussia was often grueling and uncomfortable due to poorly maintained, unpaved roads and cramped, unsprung carriages. A journey from Berlin to Königsberg, spanning 565 kilometers, typically took ten to eleven days by post coach.

Daily life

Child labor and rudimentary schooling conditions

Children in rural areas were often tasked with labor, such as preparing and binding daily bundles of fuel for the household fire, a chore that frequently left their hands bleeding. Schooling was frequently held in the teacher's house, where the teacher was often a poorly paid local craftsman.

Homes heated by smoky, open hearths

Peasant homes often lacked chimneys, relying on open hearths that provided both light and heat while filling the living space with smoke. Small bundles of green pine brush, known as Kulelkes, were commonly used as fuel for these fires.

Food

Daily wheat cake despite poverty

In some villages, even the poorest people ate wheat cake daily, fresh from the oven, which was criticized by doctors for supposedly damaging their digestion.

Potato schnapps among common men

Potato schnapps was a popular and widespread drink among common men in East Prussia, so much so that some would sell their last chicken to afford it.

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
Around 1810–1824

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 19th-century Prussia

Common jobs included agricultural work, such as farm laborers and servants (Gesinde), as well as home-based textile work like weaving. Many also worked as day laborers in both rural and growing urban areas.

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.

Around 1800–1824

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. 1832

    Uster factory fire in 1832

    In 1832, home workers burned down the new Corrodi & Pfister factory in Uster to protest the introduction of mechanical looms.

  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. 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.

  4. 1844

    Weaver uprising in 1844

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

  5. 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.

  6. 1847

    First Swiss railway line opened, 1847

    The first railway line in Switzerland opened in 1847, marking the start of a major transformation in transport and economic growth.

Family

Parents

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.