Skip to content
VitrineRoyal Houses of Europe
Sign in

Emma of Waldeck and Pyrmont

1858–1934

Born
2 Aug 1858, Bad Arolsen
Country of birth
Germany
Died
20 Mar 1934, The Hague
facts
10
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth2 Aug 1858, Bad ArolsenProbable1 source
  • TitleConsort of Luxembourg, 1879–1890Confirmed2 competing claims1 source
  • TitleConsort of the Netherlands, 1879–1890Confirmed2 competing claims1 source
  • TitleRegent of the Netherlands, 1890–1898Confirmed2 competing claims1 source
  • Death20 Mar 1934, The HagueProbable1 source
  • ParentGeorge Victor, Prince of Waldeck and PyrmontConfirmed1 source
  • ParentPrincess Helena of NassauConfirmed1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Bad Arolsen

    Birth, Bad Arolsen

  2. Event · Consort of Luxembourg

    Event

  3. Event · Consort of the Netherlands

    Event

  4. Child born: Wilhelmina of the Netherlands

    Birth, Noordeinde Palace

  5. Event · Regent of the Netherlands

    Event

  6. Died · The Hague

    Death, The Hague

What was it like?

The world around Bad Arolsen, 1858: 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.

Emma was born the same year as Max Planck, Franz Boas, and Giacomo Puccini.

Known for

Titles held

  • Consort of Luxembourg1879–1890
  • Consort of the Netherlands1879–1890
  • Regent of the Netherlands1890–1898
Born the same year

  • Max Planck

    German theoretical physicist (1858–1947)

  • Franz Boas

    German-American anthropologist

  • Giacomo Puccini

    Italian opera composer (1858–1924)

  • Eleonora Duse

    Italian stage actress (1858-1924)

  • Ethel Smyth

    English composer and suffragette (1858–1944)

  • Gustaf V of Sweden

    King of Sweden from 1907 to 1950

Fashion

Children's Footwear in Rural Areas

While better-off families could afford varied clothes, children of the impoverished often went barefoot over stone and stubble during the summer months.

Creative Sewing to Save Fabric

To save money on expensive fabrics, rural women often sewed a piece of linen into the hidden parts of their dresses that were covered by an apron, a practice known as Magsachte.

Music

Music and dance at public festivals

Popular festivities like shooting festivals and local fairs were central to social life, while the educated classes attended balls, concerts, and theater performances.

Rise of male choirs and music festivals

The 19th century saw a massive surge in male choirs, known as Liedertafel, which moved from private social gatherings to public music festivals.

Getting around

Limitations of mail-coach travel

Before railways became dominant, mail-coaches reached speeds of 8 to 12.7 km/h, but their daily range was limited to around 100 kilometers due to frequent stops, meals, and border controls.

Around 1840–1849

Railways revolutionized travel speeds

The emergence of railways in the 1840s revolutionized travel, drastically reducing journey times compared to stagecoaches. For instance, the Cologne-Minden route, which previously took over 60 hours by coach, could be covered in 9 hours by train by 1847.

Daily life

Compulsory schooling and kindergarten costs

Children were required to attend school from ages six to fourteen, often carrying books in long tin satchels. In model kindergartens, families could pay fees between sixpence and three shillings a month for care and meals.

Around 1825–1849

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.

Food

Alcohol as a Daily Staple

Schnapps, distilled cheaply from potatoes, became a daily staple for the poor alongside sugar-sweetened coffee. Beer was also consumed, and by the later part of the period, the invention of bottled beer with swing stoppers made it more accessible.

Potatoes and Bread as Staples

Working-class families relied heavily on potatoes and rye bread as their staple diet, often eating potatoes two or three times a day. Eggs and butter were considered expensive luxuries, with some workers rarely, if ever, having access to an egg.

Prices and wages
Around 1860–1860

Wages and shoes for farm servants

Farm servants received low cash wages, often supplemented by essential goods. A farm maid earned 18–24 Thalers annually and might receive a pair of shoes as part of her compensation.

Around 1852–1853

Survival budget for a rural family

In the early 1850s, a rural worker's family of five needed approximately 76 Thalers annually for basic survival. A typical male day laborer could earn about 8 Mariengroschen per day during peak harvest months.

Work

A monotonous and unappealing diet

While working as a brickyard finisher, one laborer reported that his daily meal consisted of nothing but peas, which caused him to feel queasy even years later.

Grueling 18-hour workdays on Prussian farms

In eastern Prussia, a standard summer workday for farm laborers often stretched from 3 a.m. to 9 p.m. or later, totaling 18 to 19 hours including short rest breaks.

During their lifetime

  1. 1860

    1860 Railway Law Passed

    The government passed the Railway Law in 1860, which provided the funding to expand the railway network to reach every location in the country.

  2. 1871

    The German Empire is proclaimed

    The German Empire was proclaimed in 1871, uniting various states under Kaiser Wilhelm I.

  3. 1872

    1872 Epidemic Diseases Act

    The 1872 Epidemic Diseases Act introduced compulsory smallpox vaccination and monitoring systems, which helped eradicate the disease by the end of the century.

  4. 1873

    Economic crash triggers long crisis

    The Panic of 1873 began with a stock market crash, triggering a period of economic hardship known as the Great Depression.

  5. 1883

    First national health insurance introduced

    Germany became the first country to introduce a national social insurance system with the approval of a worker's health insurance plan.

  6. 1903

    1903 Railway Strike Disrupts Society

    The railway strike of 1903 disrupted the functioning of Dutch society and led to a general strike protesting the government's harsh treatment of workers.

Family

Parents

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.