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Margareta of Romania

b. 1949

Born
26 Mar 1949, Montchoisi Clinic
Country of birth
Switzerland

Living person. The family sees only the name, dates and photo; everything else stays private unless they choose to share it.

facts
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sources
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Facts and their sources

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A life in time

  1. Born · Montchoisi Clinic

    Birth, Montchoisi Clinic

What was it like?

The world around Montchoisi Clinic, 1949: 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.

Margareta was born the same year as Meryl Streep, Valery Leontiev, and Sigourney Weaver.

Born the same year

  • Meryl Streep

    American actress

  • Valery Leontiev

    Russian singer

  • Sigourney Weaver

    American actress (born 1949)

  • Arsène Wenger

    French football manager (born 1949)

  • Benjamin Netanyahu

    Prime Minister of Israel (born 1949), (1996–1999; 2009–2021; 2022–present)

  • António Guterres

    Secretary-General of the United Nations since 2017

Fashion

Women wearing trousers in the 1940s

In the 1940s, a woman in Wädenswil was nicknamed the Manewiib for being the only person seen in public wearing gray trousers instead of a skirt.

Around 1950–1959

Stocking support methods

During the 1950s, children often used elastic garters to hold up their knitted wool stockings, as tights only became common in the late 1950s.

Music

Pressure to modernize folk bands

During the 1930s and 1940s, Ländler bands were frequently pressured by event organizers to incorporate modern instruments like saxophones and drums to satisfy dancers.

Around 1939–1939

Record-breaking song sales in 1939

In 1939, a specific yodel-fox song called Landidörfli was released and sold a remarkable 55,000 copies.

Getting around
Around 1950–1950

Carriages were still used for travel in 1950

In 1950, reaching remote destinations like Our Chalet in Adelboden often required combining train travel with a local bus, followed by a horse-drawn carriage for the final leg.

Around 1950–1969

Cars became mass transport in mid-century Switzerland

In the 1950s and 1960s, the automobile became a mass transport mode, significantly expanding the travel radius of ordinary people compared to the mid-century period when most needs were met locally.

Daily life
Around 1950–1959

Electrification made appliances commonplace

By the 1950s, electrification let Swiss households buy and use more electric appliances, including washing machines and refrigerators, directly in their apartments and houses.

Around 1950–1959

Water often came from wells

In the early 1950s, most people obtained drinking, washing, and cooking water from wells rather than having household connections, which slowed social development.

Food

War created the Ragusa chocolate bar

After the war, the popular Ragusa chocolate bar was created by stretching limited cocoa supplies with nuts imported from Italy.

Around 1939–1948

Food rationing required coupons and cash

During World War II, families required both money and ration coupons to purchase staple foods like bread, and some had to visit different bakeries to find one that would accept their available coupons.

Prices and wages
Around 1950–1950

Gasoline versus bread prices in 1950

In 1950, one liter of gasoline in Switzerland cost 62 rappen, which was more expensive than a kilogram of brown bread. A skilled worker could earn no more than the equivalent of 4.5 liters of gasoline per hour.

Around 1946–1946

Bread and meat prices in 1946

In March 1946, a rationed kilogram of bread cost 48 centimes, while a kilogram of meat ranged from 5 to 8.25 Swiss francs.

Work
Around 1950–1950

Long working hours in the 1950s

In 1950, the average working year was 2,400 hours, compared to 1,600 hours today, with the typical work week lasting nearly 50 hours.

Around 1954–1954

Demanding conditions for domestic workers

In 1954, domestic service contracts could legally require a 15-hour workday and a six-day workweek, with only eight hours of rest allowed per week.

News and letters
Around 1939–1945

Military and prisoner mail services

During the world wars, postage-free field post for military personnel became vital, accounting for up to 25 percent of all domestic letters after mobilizations in 1914 and 1939. Additionally, Swiss Post acted as an intermediary to process millions of postage-free consignments for prisoners of war and internees.

Around 1950–1964

Apprentices memorized complex postal geography

To cope with sorting, apprentices had to memorize the entire geography of Swiss post offices, a challenging skill known as Pöstlergeographie.

During their lifetime

  1. 1953

    Television begins test operations

    In 1953, television began test operations in Switzerland, marking the start of a new era in home entertainment.

  2. 1959

    Magic formula government established

    In 1959, the four largest political parties adopted the magic formula to permanently divide the seven government seats among themselves.

  3. 1971

    Women gain voting rights

    Women were granted the right to vote in federal elections for the first time in 1971.

  4. 1980

    Zurich youth riots erupt

    In May 1980, youth riots erupted in Zurich against city funding for the opera house, triggering a wave of similar protests across Swiss cities.

Family

Parents

Spouses

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.