Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the

House of Wettin 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 its ori ...

in present-day

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 ...

. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a population of 207,000 (1905) of whom about one fifth resided in the capital,

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

. The territory of the duchy consisted of two non-contiguous territories separated by land belonging to the

Principality of Reuss Reuss (german: Reuß , ) was the name of several historical states located in present-day Thuringia, Germany. Several lordships of the Holy Roman Empire which arose after 1300 and became Imperial Counties from 1673 and Imperial Principalities ...

. Its economy was based on agriculture, forestry, and small industry. The state had a constitutional monarchical form of government with a parliament composed of thirty members chosen by male taxpayers over 25 years of age.

History

The duchy had its origins in the medieval Burgraviate of

in the Imperial

Pleissnerland Pleissnerland, Pleissenland or the Imperial Territory of Pleissenland (german: Reichsterritorium Pleißenland; la, Terra Plisensis) was a '' Reichsgut'' of the Holy Roman Empire, which meant that it was directly possessed by the respective elected ...

''(Terra Plisensis)'', a possession of the Wettin

Margraves of Meissen This article lists the margraves of Meissen, a march and territorial state on the eastern border of the Holy Roman Empire. History King Henry the Fowler, on his 928-29 campaign against the Slavic Glomacze tribes, had a fortress erected on a h ...

since 1243. Upon a partition treaty of 1485, Altenburg fell to Ernst, Elector of Saxony, the progenitor of the Ernestine Wettins. After the Division of Erfurt in 1572 among Duke Johann Wilhelm of Saxony and his nephews, Altenburg fell to his

Duchy of Saxe-Weimar Saxe-Weimar (german: Sachsen-Weimar) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia. The chief town and capital was Weimar. The Weimar branch was the most genealogically senior extant ...

. When Johann Wilhelm's son and successor Friedrich Wilhelm I died in 1602, the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar passed to his younger brother Johann II. In 1603 Frederick William's eldest son Johann Philipp received the newly created Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg as compensation. It was an

Imperial State An Imperial State or Imperial Estate ( la, Status Imperii; german: Reichsstand, plural: ') was a part of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise si ...

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 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, wh ...

, 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 divided up, with Gotha going to the Duke of

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 extinct ...

and Altenburg to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who in exchange gave up Hildburghausen to the Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. This family ruled the duchy until the end of the monarchies in the course of the

German Revolution of 1918–19 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 **G ...

. The succeeding Free State of Saxe-Altenburg was incorporated into the new state of

in 1920. Saxe-Altenburg had an area of 1,323 km² (510 sq. mi.) and a population of 207,000 (1905). Its capital was

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

Michael Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian and ...

, head of the genealogically more senior house of

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was ra ...

Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg

Elder line

Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Johann Philipp (25 January 1597 – 1 April 1639), was a duke of Saxe-Altenburg. He was born in Torgau, the eldest (but fourth in order of birth) surviving son of Friedrich Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Anna Maria of the Palatinate-Ne ...

(1603–1639) * Friedrich Wilhelm II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1639–1669) * Friedrich Wilhelm III, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1669–1672) Line extinct, inherited by

, 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 Georg Karl Frederick (24 July 1796 in Hildburghausen – 3 August 1853 in Hummelshain) was a duke of Saxe-Altenburg. Family He was the fourth but second surviving son of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (of Saxe-Altenburg from 1826) and ...

(1848–1853) *

Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (German: Ernst I. Friedrich Paul Georg Nikolaus von Sachsen-Altenburg) (16 September 1826 in Hildburghausen – 7 February 1908 in Altenburg), was a duke of Saxe-Altenburg. He was the first son of Georg, Duke of Sa ...

(1853–1908) *

Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg , image = Ernstii.jpg , image_size = , caption = The Duke in 1915 , succession = Duke of Saxe-Altenburg , reign = 7 February 1908 – , coronation = , predecessor = Ernst I , successor = , spouse = ...

(1908–1918)

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

(1918–1955) *

Georg Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg George Moritz, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Altenburg (''William George Moritz Ernest Albert Frederick Charles Constantine Edward Maximilian''; 13 May 1900 – 13 February 1991), was the last head of the ducal house of Saxe-Altenburg and nominal ...

(1955–1991) In 1991 the Saxe-Altenburg line became extinct in the male line. Its representation was merged with the one of

. Two branches descend from duke Ernest the Pious, the father of the progenitor of the Saxe-Altenburg branch: Saxe-Meiningen and

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg und Gotha), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha, links=no ), was an Ernestine, Thuringian duchy ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present ...

; according to old Wettin family law, they would have divided the actual territories between them (as happened to Gotha and Altenburg in 1826), the Western part for Saxe-Meiningen, of which it was a territorial continuum, and the Eastern part, with the capital city of Altenburg, for Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.

Secondary residences of the Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg

Eisenberg, Schloss Christiansburg.JPG, Christiansburg Castle at Eisenberg Schloss zur froelichen wiederkunft IMG 3141.jpg, Wolfersdorf Castle File:September 2016 ohne WZ (17 von 30).jpg, The Old Hunting Lodge at Hummelshain File:Neues Schloss Hummelshain Südseite.jpg, The New Hunting Lodge at Hummelshain

Notes

References

External links

Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saxe-Altenburg, Duchy of 1602 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg

House of Wettin States and territories disestablished in 1918 States and territories established in 1602 States of the German Confederation States of the German Empire States of the North German Confederation States of the Weimar Republic