Margaretha and Eberhardt lived through a period of profound social change, even though this change came slowly to Mistelbach and the larger region of Franconia. They witnessed the end of feudalism. Well, almost. Unbelievably, it was not until the mid 1800s that feudal serfdom finally, although not entirely, ended in Franconia – almost 70 years after the French had abolished serfdom in the French Revolution of 1789.