Princess Louise of Denmark
1726–1756
- Born
- 19 Oct 1726, Copenhagen
- Country of birth
- Denmark
- Died
- 1756, Hildburghausen
- facts
- 11
- sources
- 3
- images and files
- 0
Facts and their sources
Tap a fact to see where it comes from.
- Birth19 Oct 1726, CopenhagenProbableDisputed1 competing claim1 source
- Death1756, HildburghausenProbableDisputed1 competing claim1 source
- ParentChristian VI of DenmarkConfirmed1 source
- ParentSophia Magdalene of Brandenburg-KulmbachConfirmed1 source
- UnionErnest Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-HildburghausenConfirmed1 source
A life in time
Born · Copenhagen
Birth, Copenhagen
Died · Hildburghausen
Death, Hildburghausen
What was it like?
The world around Copenhagen, 1726: 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.
Men switched from tall conical hats to low, broad-brimmed black felt hats during the 1700s.
Louise of Denmark and Norway was a Danish and Norwegian princess, the daughter of King Christian VI of Denmark and his wife Sophie Magdalene of Brandenburg-Kulmbach. Following her marriage to Ernest Frederick III, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, she became Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
Men's hat styles changed
Men switched from tall conical hats to low, broad-brimmed black felt hats during the 1700s.
Skirt colors indicated status
Women used skirt colors to signal status: red for unmarried girls, green for married women, and blue for festive occasions.
Common Instruments for Village Dancing
Village dances commonly featured the violin as the main instrument, alongside traditional drone instruments like the hurdy-gurdy, bagpipes, and drums.
Minuet Popularity Among Ordinary People
In the 1740s, peasants danced the minuet at fine occasions, and authorities even caught guests dancing it at a suburban Copenhagen inn in 1736.
Long school days and restricted access
Formal schooling for boys in Danish towns involved long days, typically running from 6:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m., except on Wednesdays when it ended at 8:00 a.m. Girls were generally barred from these schools, though some were taught by female teachers who were restricted to instructing girls regardless of age.
Naval school pay in rye
At the Nyboder naval housing, school was integrated into naval service, and part of the boys' pay was 4.5 kg of rye per month. Boys entered school at 6 years old and remained until confirmation, focusing on training for future work as sailors or specialists.
Clarifying coffee with fish skin
Coffee was boiled in copper kettles and sometimes clarified with a piece of dried flounder skin, as coffee filters did not exist.
Herring was the common daily meal
For ordinary people, salted herring eaten with water porridge was the most common daily meal, often consumed morning, noon, and evening.
Day laborer earnings in Odense
A common day laborer in Odense earned 16 skilling for a 12-hour workday during summer, and 12 skilling during winter.
Mail collection in Aabenraa
Residents of Aabenraa had to pick up their mail at the customs house in Toldsted until the first royal postmaster was appointed in the town in 1729.
Travel time by carriage and foot
In the early Danish postal system, the route between Copenhagen and Hamburg used carriages, while others were served by foot messengers with a travel time of 8 days.
During their lifetime
- 1728
1728 Copenhagen fire destroys city infrastructure
In 1728, a massive fire in Copenhagen destroyed 74 streets and 1,670 of the city's 4,087 houses, leading to the creation of a fire insurance company.
- 1731
Guild autonomy abolished by law
The Imperial Diet passed a law that ended the autonomy of craft guilds, making it easier for people to enter trades.
- 1733
1733 stavnsbånd law restricts peasant movement
In 1733, the state introduced the stavnsbånd, a law forbidding men between 14 and 36 years old from leaving the estate where they were born.
- 1740
1740s cattle plague destroys livestock numbers
Beginning in the mid-1740s, a devastating cattle plague killed between 300,000 and 400,000 animals by the time it subsided in 1752.
- 1756
Seven Years' War casualties and destruction
During the Seven Years' War, some 160,000 Prussian soldiers died in battle or from disease, devastating the population.
Family
Ancestors and children
Open the full treeFour generations back to the right, the children to the left. The number beside a child counts the generations of descendants known after them.