"In Berlin ist es nichts Ungewöhnliches ...": Heirat und Leben in Lebensgemeinschaft am Ende des 18. Jahrhunderts – eine Fallstudie

Abstract

In this case study we discuss the marriage behaviour and living in medium-term concubinage at the end of the 18th century in Berlin. At the time of "Berlin Enlightenment" we could observe changes in the pattern of marriages. The old pattern of behavior, embedded in the norms of the absolute state and religious rules was loosing its effect in a metropolis like Berlin. The increasing numbers of unmarried, especially among academics and other educated people, and of illegtimate births are a sign of deeper changes. The influences and consequences of different impediments to marriage and the behavior of the family, the church, the court of justice, the Prussian kings, and public opinion, in particular in a case of deviating behavior, are analysed in examining some aspects of the private life of the director of the Prussian Academy of sciences, Franz Carl Achard (1753-1821).