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Erwein Graf und Edler Herr von und zu Eltz gennant Faust von Stromberg

1863–1936

Born
12 Oct 1863, Vukovar
Country of birth
Croatia
Died
23 Apr 1936, Nuštar
facts
5
sources
1
images and files
0

Facts and their sources

Tap a fact to see where it comes from.

  • Birth12 Oct 1863, VukovarProbable1 source
  • Death23 Apr 1936, NuštarProbable1 source

A life in time

  1. Born · Vukovar

    Birth, Vukovar

  2. Died · Nuštar

    Death, Nuštar

What was it like?

The world around Vukovar, 1863: 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.

Erwein was born around the same time as Rudolf Steiner, Rabindranath Tagore, and Claude Debussy.

Born around the same time
  • Rudolf Steiner

    1861 · Austrian social reformer, occultist and esotericist (1861–1925)

  • Rabindranath Tagore

    1861 · Bengali poet, philosopher and polymath (1861–1941)

  • Claude Debussy

    1862 · French classical composer (1862–1918)

  • Richard Strauss

    1864 · German composer and orchestra director (1864–1949)

  • James Naismith

    1861 · Canadian-American coach; inventor of basketball

  • Max Weber

    1864 · German sociologist, philosopher, and political economist (1864–1920)

Fashion

Archaic horned headpieces of Kupa region

Women in the Kupa River basin villages, such as Donja Kupčina, wore a distinct double-horned headpiece known as rogi or špišnjak. This striking, archaic headwear is reminiscent of styles from the medieval period.

Clothing as a silent social language

In Croatia during the mid-19th century, specific items of clothing served as a silent language, informing the community about a person's age, marital status, or life events. For instance, a young woman in Moslavina wearing a diadem-style headband signaled she was ready for marriage, while a Žumberak daughter-in-law switching to a discreetly embroidered white scarf indicated she had become a mother.

Music

Glagolitic church singing traditions

Traditional Glagolitic singing was a vital part of church life, with specific liturgical and paraliturgical songs including My People and Jesus Rose Up From the Grave.

Public street dancing traditions

At public street dances like the Christmas kolo, girls sang in a circle while the boys indicated their chosen partner by standing directly in front of them.

Getting around

Arduous carriage travel in 19th-century Croatia

Travel by carriage was a slow, arduous process, with a trip from Zagreb to Vienna taking approximately 30 hours of continuous driving. Shorter routes, such as the journey to Varaždin, lasted about ten hours.

Steamships outpaced land travel in the Adriatic

In the northern Adriatic, steamships offered a faster alternative to land travel, with the journey between Trieste and Koper taking 45 minutes, while the land route took two hours. By 1876, steamships operated regularly between Koper and Trieste three times a day, often offering discounts for children.

Daily life

Homes of ordinary people

Houses were often built with straw roofs and single living spaces, featuring open hearths without chimneys to prevent fire, and windows were simple wall openings covered with cloth.

Light and water sources

Lighting was extremely basic, involving handmade wooden splinters (luči) held by the youngest daughter-in-law during dinner, or small oil lamps, while water was hauled from wells by hand, often in wooden vessels called brentas.

Food

A simple breakfast for coastal shepherds

In coastal regions, shepherds sometimes breakfasted on a simple cup of brandy and a few dried figs.

Boiling milk with heated stones

In rural areas, shepherds in mountain regions boiled milk by immersing stones heated in an open fire directly into wooden bowls of milk.

Prices and wages

Wage disparities by gender and age

Women in the late 19th century earned 40-70% less than men, while children earned four to five times less than women and men.

Around 1870–1890

Long work days for Croatian laborers

Between 1870 and 1890, agricultural workers in Croatia labored for 15 to 18 hours per day, while industrial workers toiled for 11 to 16 hours.

Work

Dominance of agricultural labor

The vast majority of people were employed in agriculture, with 81 percent of the population working in that sector in 1857.

Around 1870–1874

Extreme daily working hours

Working days were exceptionally long, with agricultural workers typically laboring for 15 to 18 hours per day, while industrial and craft workers often worked between 11 and 18 hours.

News and letters

Postal station travel time limit

During the 19th century, postal regulations defined that the distance between postal stations could not exceed four hours of travel.

Postage cost and distance

In the 1860s, a 15-kreutzer postage stamp was required for a letter sent over a distance of more than 20 postal miles, which is approximately 150 kilometers.

During their lifetime

  1. 1873

    Agrarian Crisis Hits Region, 1873-1895

    A severe European agrarian crisis hit the region between 1873 and 1895, causing falling grain prices and leading large estates to introduce steam-powered agricultural machinery.

  2. 1880

    Earthquake Destroys Parts of Zagreb, 1880

    A disastrous earthquake struck Zagreb in 1880, sparking the reconstruction and modernization of many shabby city neighbourhoods.

  3. 1883

    1883 Peasant Uprising Against State Symbols

    In 1883, anti-Hungarian peasant uprisings erupted in Zagreb and spread to rural areas, targeting symbols of state control such as railways, telegraphs, and new official documents.

  4. 1891

    First Horse-Drawn Tram, 1891

    The first horse-drawn tram began operating in the streets of Zagreb in 1891.

  5. 1907

    Electricity transforms Zagreb's streets (1907)

    Electricity began powering Zagreb on November 5, 1907, visibly transforming the city's streets with electric lighting.

  6. 1915

    Wartime bread rationing and substitutes (1915)

    Starting in 1915, the Austrian government mandated bread be made with 50 percent ersatz products like potato or sawdust due to severe food shortages.

Family

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.