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Prince Friedrich of Saxe-Meiningen

1861–1914

Born
12 Oct 1861, Meiningen
Country of birth
Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, today Germany
Died
23 Aug 1914, Tarcienne
facts
6
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 · Meiningen

    Birth, Meiningen

  2. Child born: Princess Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen

    Birth, Kassel

  3. Child born: Georg, Prince of Saxe-Meiningen

    Birth, Kassel

  4. Died · Tarcienne

    Death, Tarcienne

What was it like?

The world around Meiningen, 1861: 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.

Prince was born the same year as Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal, Rabindranath Tagore, and Georges Méliès.

Born the same year

  • Infanta Marie Anne of Portugal

    Grand Duchess consort and regent of Luxembourg (1861-1942)

  • Rabindranath Tagore

    Bengali poet, philosopher and polymath (1861–1941)

  • Georges Méliès

    French filmmaker and illusionist (1861–1938)

  • James Naismith

    Canadian-American coach; inventor of basketball

  • Fridtjof Nansen

    Norwegian polar explorer (1861–1930)

  • Alfred North Whitehead

    English mathematician and philosopher (1861–1947)

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
Around 1850–1860

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 1870–1870

Costly travel between Prussian villages

While railways connected major cities, travel between Prussian villages often required hiring traps, which could cost more for a short trip than a full railway journey between cities like Berlin and Dresden.

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.

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.

News and letters
Around 1865–1874

Pneumatic tube mail in Berlin

Starting in 1865, Berlin introduced a pneumatic tube system where metal canisters carrying messages were shot through underground pipes at 40 to 50 km/h, aiming for delivery within one hour.

During their lifetime

  1. 1866

    Cholera epidemic in major cities

    A severe cholera pandemic struck Belgian cities including Brussels, Ghent, and Antwerp in 1866.

  2. 1869

    Cheap worker train tickets introduced

    Belgian railways began offering cheap season tickets for workers in 1869, making commuting more accessible.

  3. 1871

    The German Empire is proclaimed

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

  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. 1879

    Arrival of the telephone

    The telephone arrived in Belgium between 1879 and 1883, transforming communication in the Belle Epoque.

  6. 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.

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.