Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

state of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and lar ...

. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernestine duchy of

Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Gotha) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha. History The duchy was established in 1640, whe ...

among the seven sons of deceased Duke Ernst der Fromme (Ernest the Pious), the Saxe-Meiningen line of the House of Wettin lasted until the end of the German monarchies in 1918.

History

House of Wettin

The

Wettiner The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and ...

had been the rulers of sizeable holdings in today's states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia since the Middle Ages. In the '' Leipziger Teilung'' of 1485, the Wettiner were split into two branches named after their founding princes

Albrecht Albrecht ("noble", "bright") is a given name or surname of German origin and may refer to: First name *Albrecht Agthe, (1790–1873), German music teacher *Albrecht Altdorfer, (c. 1480–1538) German Renaissance painter *Albrecht Becker, (1906� ...

and Ernst (''albertinisch'' and ''ernestinisch''). Thuringia was part of the Ernestine holdings of ''Kursachsen'' (the Electoral holdings of Saxony). In 1572, the branches Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach and Saxe-Weimar were established there. The senior line again split in 1641/41 into three duchies, including the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha. Duke Ernst I who founded this duchy with its seat at

Gotha Gotha () is the fifth-largest city in Thuringia, Germany, west of Erfurt and east of Eisenach with a population of 44,000. The city is the capital of the district of Gotha and was also a residence of the Ernestine Wettins from 1640 until the ...

opposed the system of primogeniture. As a result, on his death in 1675 all of his sons inherited part of his holdings and were supposed to rule under the leadership of his oldest son. In practice, this proved very complicated and brought on three settlements in 1679, 1680 and 1681 that established the following princedoms: Saxe-Gotha ( Friedrich),

Saxe-Coburg Saxe-Coburg (german: Sachsen-Coburg) was a duchy held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in today's Bavaria, Germany. History Ernestine Line When Henry IV, Count of Henneberg – Schleusingen, died in 1347, the possessions of t ...

(

), Saxe-Meiningen (Bernhard),

Saxe-Eisenberg The Duchy of Saxe-Eisenberg was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. History Established in 1680 for Christian, fifth son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha, the Duchy consisted of Eisenberg and the towns ...

(

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

), Saxe-Hildburghausen ( Ernst) and Saxe-Saalfeld (

Johann Ernst Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name ''Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen

Bernhard, Ernst I third son, received the town of

Meiningen Meiningen () is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in the region of Franconia and has a population of around 25,000 (2021).

as well as several other holdings (Wasungen und Salzungen, Maßfeld und Sand, Herrenbreitungen, Herpf, Stepfershausen, Utendorf, Mehlis and the former

Franconia Franconia (german: Franken, ; Franconian dialect: ''Franggn'' ; bar, Frankn) is a region of Germany, characterised by its culture and Franconian dialect (German: ''Fränkisch''). The three administrative regions of Lower, Middle and Upper F ...

n lands of the extinct

House of Henneberg The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310. Up ...

, Henneberg). Bernhard chose the town of Meiningen as his residence and became the first Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. From 1682 Duke Bernhard I had the Schloss Elisabethenburg built and in 1690 established a court orchestra (''Hofkapelle''), in which Johann Ludwig Bach later became the ''

Kapellmeister (, also , ) from German ''Kapelle'' (chapel) and ''Meister'' (master)'','' literally "master of the chapel choir" designates the leader of an ensemble of musicians. Originally used to refer to somebody in charge of music in a chapel, the term ha ...

'' (1711). In the reshuffle of Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinction of the Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg line upon the death of Duke Friedrich IV in 1825, Duke Bernhard II of Saxe-Meiningen received the lands of the former Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen as well as the

Saalfeld Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geography ...

territory of the former

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld () was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1699, the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield line lasted until the reshuffle of the Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinc ...

duchy. As Bernhard II had supported

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

in the 1866

Austro-Prussian War The Austro-Prussian War, also by many variant names such as Seven Weeks' War, German Civil War, Brothers War or Fraternal War, known in Germany as ("German War"), (; "German war of brothers") and by a variety of other names, was fought in 186 ...

, the prime minister of victorious

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

Otto von Bismarck Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...

, enforced his resignation in favour of his son Georg II, after which Saxe-Meiningen was admitted to join the

North German Confederation The North German Confederation (german: Norddeutscher Bund) was initially a German military alliance established in August 1866 under the leadership of the Kingdom of Prussia, which was transformed in the subsequent year into a confederated st ...

. By 1910, the Duchy had grown to and 278,762 inhabitants. The ducal summer residence was at Altenstein Castle. Since 1868, the duchy comprised the ''Kreise'' (districts) of

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen (IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra rive ...

, Sonneberg and

as well as the northern exclaves of

Camburg Camburg is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated on the river Saale, 18 km northeast of Jena, and 13 km southwest of Naumburg. Since 1 December 2008, it is part of the town Dornburg-Camburg. The f ...

and Kranichfeld.

End of the Duchy

In the

German Revolution German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

, Duke Bernhard III, brother-in-law of Emperor

Wilhelm II Wilhelm II (Friedrich Wilhelm Viktor Albert; 27 January 18594 June 1941) was the last German Emperor (german: Kaiser) and List of monarchs of Prussia, King of Prussia, reigning from 15 June 1888 until Abdication of Wilhelm II, his abdication on 9 ...

, was forced to abdicate and his brother Ernst on 11/12 November 1918 refused the succession. The succeeding "Free State of Saxe-Meiningen" was merged into the new state of

on 1 May 1920.

Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen

Beechey, William - Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen - NPG 1533

* Bernhard I (1680–1706) * Ernst Ludwig I (1706–24), son of Bernhard I * Ernst Ludwig II (1724–29), son of Ernst Ludwig I * Karl Friedrich (1729–43), son of Ernst Ludwig I * Friedrich Wilhelm (1743–46), son of Bernhard I * Anton Ulrich (1746–63), son of Bernhard I * Karl Wilhelm (1763–82), son of Anton Ulrich * Georg I (1782–1803), son of Anton Ulrich, father of Queen Adelaide * Bernhard II (1803–66), son of Georg I * Georg II (1866–1914), son of Bernhard II * Bernhard III (1914–18), son of Georg II Notes: * Friedrich Wilhelm and Friedrich II of Saxe-Gotha reigned as guardians for the minor Karl Friedrich in 1729-1733 * Friedrich Wilhelm and Anton Ulrich reigned jointly in 1743-46 * Charlotte Amalie reigned as regent/guardian for the minors Karl Wilhelm und Georg I in 1763-82 * Luise Eleonore reigned as regent/guardian for the minor Bernhard II in 1803-1821 * Dukedom abolished in 1918.

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

* Bernhard III (1918–1928) *

Prince Ernst A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

(1928–1941) * Prince Georg III (1941–1946) * Prince Bernhard IV (1946–1984) *

Prince Konrad A prince is a Monarch, male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary title, hereditary, in s ...

(1984–present)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saxe-Meiningen, Duchy of States and territories disestablished in 1918 States of the Confederation of the Rhine States of the German Confederation States of the North German Confederation States of the German Empire States of the Weimar Republic