Saxe-Altenburg

Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg
State of the Holy Roman Empire, State of the German Confederation, State of the North German Confederation, State of the German Empire, State of the Weimar Republic
← 1602–1672 1826–1918 1918–1920† →
Flag Coat of arms
Anthem Heil unserm Herzog, heil (Hail to our Duke, hail!)
Saxe-Altenburg within the German Empire   Ernestine duchies after 1825, showing Saxe-Altenburg in orange
Capital	Altenburg
Government	Principality
Duke
- 1603–13	Christian II, Elector of Saxony (regent for John Philip)
- 1669–72	John George II, Elector of Saxony (regent for Frederick William III)
- 1826–34	Frederick
- 1908–18	Ernst II
History
- Saxe-Weimar partitioned	7 July 1602
- Personal union with     Saxe-Gotha*	1672–1825
- Ernestine duchies     rearranged, duchy     restored	12 November 1826
- German Revolution	November 1918
- Merger of Thuringia‡	1920
Area
- 1905	1,323 km2 (511 sq mi)
Population
- 1905 est.	207,000
Density	156.5 /km2  (405.2 /sq mi)
* See Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg † As Free State of Saxe-Altenburg ‡ In 1920, the ex-Imperial states of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the two principalities of Reuß all merged to form the Free State of Thuringia.

Saxe-Altenburg (German: Sachsen-Altenburg) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia.^[1]

History

Saxe-Altenburg in the 19th century

Castle of Altenburg

The duchy originated from the medieval Burgraviate of Altenburg in the Imperial Pleissnerland (Terra Plisensis), a possession of the Wettin Margraves of Meissen since 1243. Upon a partition treaty of 1485, Altenburg fell to Elector Ernest of Saxony, the progenitor of the Ernestine Wettins.^[2] After the Division of Erfurt in 1572 among Duke John William of Saxony and his nephews, Altenburg fell to his Duchy of Saxe-Weimar.

When in 1602 John William's son and successor Frederick William I died, the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar passed to his younger brother John II, while in 1603 Frederick William's eldest son John Philip in compensation received the newly created Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. It was an Imperial State in its own right, with a vote in the Reichstag, for much of the 17th century until the extinction of its ruling line in 1672, when it was inherited by Ernest I the Pious, the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, who had married the heiress.

Saxe-Altenburg thereafter remained part of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg until the extinction of that house in 1825, when Gotha and Altenburg were split up, with Gotha going to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Altenburg to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who in exchange gave up Hildburghausen to the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. This family ruled in the duchy until the end of the monarchies in the course of the German Revolution of 1918–1919. The succeeding Free State of Saxe-Altenburg was incorporated into the new state of Thuringia in 1920.

Saxe-Altenburg had an area of 1,323 km² and a population of 207,000 (1905). Its capital was Altenburg.

The Saxe-Altenburg line became extinct following the death of Prince George Moritz in 1991.

Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg

Elder line

• John Philip, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1603–1639)
• Frederick William II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1639–1669)
• Frederick William III, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1669–1672)

Line extinct, inherited by Saxe-Gotha, thereupon Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Junior line

• Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1826–1834) (Previously Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen)
• Joseph, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1834–1848)
• Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1848–1853)
• Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1853–1908)
• Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1908–1918)

Heads of the Ducal House of Saxe-Altenburg, post monarchy

• Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1918–1955)
• Georg Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg (1955–1991)

In 1991 the Saxe-Altenburg line became extinct. Its representation was merged with the one of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.

Two branches descend from duke Ernest the Pious, the father of the progenitor of this Saxe-Altenburg branch: Saxe-Meiningen and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; according to old Wettin family law, they would have divided the actual territories between them (as happened to Gotha and Altenburg in 1826).

See also

• Ernestine duchies

References

1. ^ "The Ernestine Line's Saxon Duchies" (Web). Historical Atlas. Tacitus Historical Atlas. http://www.tacitus.nu/historical-atlas/regents/germany/saxony2.htm. Retrieved 2007-05-19. 
2. ^  "Saxe-Altenburg". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. 1913. 

External links

• Saxe-Altenburg family genealogy
• Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg
•  Chisholm, Hugh, ed (1911). "Saxe-Altenburg". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.