Micro View of the World of Woyzeck

• Darmstadt is a city in the Bundesland (federal state) of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine Main Area.
• The sandy soils in the Darmstadt area, ill-suited for agriculture in times before industrial fertilisation,^[2] prevented any larger settlement from developing, until the city became the seat of the Landgraves of Hessen-Darmstadt in the 16th century.
•  Darmstadt is one of few cities (as opposed to smaller towns) in Germany which does not lie close to a river, lake or coast. It can also boast being the sunniest city in the state of Hesse.^[4]
• The length of the first train track that was built in Bavaria in 1836 between Nuremberg and Furth was only 6 miles, but by 1840 that had expanded to more than 500. (1)
• 1834 German Customs Union treaty (Zollverein) creates economic unification by removing tarriff and trade barriers among 18 of the German States.(1)
• 1836 the predecessor of the present-day university (Technische Universität Darmstadt) was founded. Source  
• German Romantics disagreed with Goethe and Kant that there were rules and limitations in one's moreal life and literature.(1)
• In 1836 Hesse-Darmstadt was an absolute monarchy with full power resting in the person of the Grand Duke (properly styled Your Royal Highness). This was, of course, Ludwig II at the time- second of Hesse-Darmstadt's Grand Dukes. The Grand Duke controlled all aspects of government. He directed the state in both internal and foreign affairs, was head of the national (Lutheran) church, was head of the only government ministry (the Department of State), and created and implemented all laws from his palace in the capital city of Darmstadt. He was commander of the military and director of the large and well-funded constabulary force that patrolled the cities and towns. The various justices who presided over the nation's courts were also hand-selected by the Grand Duke as well. Source

• The people of Hesse-Darmstadt could be divided into two simple catagories: those living in the rural areas of the county and those living in it's cities and towns. In 1836 Hesse-Darmstadt had a population of 1,463,000. Of this number more than three quarters were farmers living in rural communities, with only 365,000 inhabiting the Grand Duchy's cities and towns. Source
• Economically Hesse-Darmstadt was heavily dependent on the goods produced by it's farmers. There were many orchards and ranches in the Grand Duchy and the fruit and cattle they produced made up nearly all of Hesse-Darmstadt's exports. The only other goods produced on the farms were grown in small quantities and were meant for the personal consumption of the farmers, thus Hesse-Darmstadt did not export grain as many other German nations did. Source
• The only industry that existed in Hesse-Darmstadt in 1836 was a textile mill that produced fabric for export. However, the Grand Duchy lacked the resources to run the mill on it's own and was forced to import the necessary goods. Complicating this problem was the fact that, because the Grand Duchy's income from exports was so meager, policy was to keep a very heavy tariff on imports in place. This, of course, meant that getting the supplies necessary to run the textile mill cost the owners more money and was a source of some contention between them and the ducal government. Source

(1) Biesinger, Joseph A. Germany: a Reference Guide from the Renaissance to the Present. New York, NY: Facts On File, 2006. Print.