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Friedrich Christian I, Elector of Saxony

1722–1763

Born
5 Sep 1722, Dresden
Country of birth
Holy Roman Empire, today Germany
Died
17 Dec 1763, Dresden
facts
9
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 · Dresden

    Birth, Dresden

  2. Child born: Friedrich August I of Saxony

    Birth, Dresden

  3. Child born: Prince Karl Maximilian of Saxony

    Birth, Dresden

  4. Child born: Prince Joseph of Saxony

    Birth

  5. Child born: Anton I of Saxony

    Birth, Dresden

  6. Child born: Maria Amalia of Saxony, Duchess of Zweibrücken

    Birth, Dresden

  7. Child born: Prince Maximilian of Saxony

    Birth, Dresden

  8. Child born: Princess Theresa Maria of Saxony

    Birth, Munich

  9. Event · Prince-Elector

    Event

  10. Died · Dresden

    Death, Dresden

What was it like?

The world around Dresden, 1722: 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.

In 1731, the Prussian government issued an edict forbidding female commoners and maidservants from wearing silk dresses, camisoles, or pinafores to support domestic wool production and restrict luxury.

Known for

Titles held

  • Prince-Elector1763
Fashion
Around 1731–1731

Prussian Silk Ban for Commoners

In 1731, the Prussian government issued an edict forbidding female commoners and maidservants from wearing silk dresses, camisoles, or pinafores to support domestic wool production and restrict luxury.

Limited Wardrobes and Sunday Best

For ordinary people, clothing was strictly divided into everyday wear and Sunday best, as a person's wardrobe was very limited three hundred years ago.

Music

High fines for unauthorized trumpet playing

In the Principality of Anhalt-Zerbst, musicians who performed with unauthorized trumpets or kettledrums at public fairs or taverns faced a fine of fifty Reichsthaler.

Fiddlers earned Nickelgrosken at village celebrations

Fiddlers were central to village life and were paid for their services at weddings and parties with small coins known as Nickelgrosken.

Getting around
Around 1724–1724

Stagecoach travel costs and times in 1724

In 1724, a stagecoach trip from Genthin to Burg took over four hours for a distance of three miles. At that time, a craftsperson earned four to six groschen per day, while the stagecoach fare was three groschen per mile in summer and four groschen per mile in winter.

River Travel by Ordinari Boats

Water transport was often more cost-effective; for example, the Ordinari boat from Regensburg to Vienna took at least a week to cover about 450 kilometers. Passengers often spent their nights on land during these boat journeys.

Daily life

Lighting, Cooking, and Water Access

Lighting was limited to pine torches, tallow candles, or oil lamps, while cooking was done over an open fire or in masonry hearths with a wide chimney hood to collect smoke. Water was typically obtained from community pump wells.

Limited Schooling for Children

Children often attended only winter schools because their labor was required for farming and tending livestock the rest of the year. Teachers were frequently untrained, such as former soldiers or craftsmen, and religious instruction was the main priority.

Food

Simple meals of porridge, soup, and stew

Ordinary families commonly consumed grain-based porridges and soups for breakfast and dinner, while a hearty stew served as the main midday meal. Meat was expensive, so many households reserved it for special occasions like a Sunday roast.

Around 1725–1749

Beverages of Ordinary People

Ordinary people typically drank beer for sustenance and at social gatherings, while coffee began to gain popularity among some segments of the population toward the middle of the century. Barley coffee was also used as a common beverage for afternoon snacks.

Work

Common jobs and daily routines

Most people worked as farmers, often laboring on narrow strips of land or as seasonal laborers; others engaged in cottage industries like spinning and weaving. Their day began at sunrise and continued until dark, often including heavy manual labor with simple tools like scythes and flails.

Around 1725–1749

Common occupations and labor obligations

Most ordinary people were village farmers who worked as fullholders, halfholders, or smallholders, often supplementing farming with cottage industries like spinning, weaving, or basic woodworking. Many were legal subjects of a local lordship, rendering rent through grain, cash, or compulsory labor known as Frondienst.

News and letters
Around 1724–1724

High cost of sending letters

In 1724, sending a letter from Genthin to Magdeburg cost one Groschen, while a letter to Berlin cost one Groschen and five Pfennige. Such postage costs were prohibitively expensive for the common people, as a craftsman earned only four to six Groschen per day.

Communication Costs and Delivery Times

Ordinary people increasingly used postal services as costs declined, although for many, information still relied on slow, expensive transport alongside passengers and goods. A letter could still take weeks to reach distant major cities like Venice.

During their lifetime

  1. 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.

  2. 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

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.