The Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg was a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

, with

Merseburg Merseburg () is a town in central Germany in southern Saxony-Anhalt, situated on the river Saale, and approximately 14 km south of Halle (Saale) and 30 km west of Leipzig. It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese ...

as its capital. It existed from 1656 or 1657 to 1738 and was owned by an Albertine

secundogeniture A secundogeniture (from 'following, second', and 'born') was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch.Luard, Evan. The Balance of Power: The System of International Relations, ...

of the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

House of Wettin.

History

The Wettin Elector

John George I of Saxony John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45-year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector C ...

stipulated in his will dated 20 July 1652 that his three younger sons should receive secundogeniture principalities. After the elector died on 8 October 1656, his sons concluded the "friend-brotherly main treaty" in the Saxon residence of

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

on 22 April 1657 and a further treaty in 1663 delineating their territories and sovereign rights definitively. The treaties created three duchies:

Saxe-Zeitz The Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz () was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire established in 1656–57 as a secundogeniture of the Electorate of Saxony, Electoral Saxon house of House of Wettin. Its capital was Zeitz. The territory fell back to the Wettin ...

Saxe-Weissenfels Saxe-Weissenfels () was a Duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony upon the extinction of the line ...

, and Saxe-Merseburg. Prince Christian, the third eldest son, received, among other properties, the estates of the former

Bishopric of Merseburg The Bishopric of Merseburg was an episcopal see on the eastern border of the medieval Duchy of Saxony with its centre in Merseburg, where Merseburg Cathedral was constructed. The see was founded in 967 by Emperor Otto I at the same time in the sa ...

, secularised in 1565: the castles, cities and districts of

, Plagwitz, Rückmarsdorf,

Delitzsch Delitzsch (; Slavic: ''delč'' or ''delcz'' for hill) is a town in Saxony in Germany, 20 km north of Leipzig and 30 km east of Halle (Saale). With 24,850 inhabitants at the end of 2015, it is the largest town in the district of Nordsach ...

(with Delitzsch Castle),

Bad Lauchstädt Bad Lauchstädt (; until 1925 ''Lauchstädt''), officially the Goethe Town of Bad Lauchstädt (), is a town in the district Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 13 km southwest of Halle. Population 8,781 (2020). Lauchstädt was a popular wat ...

Schkeuditz Schkeuditz (; ) is a ''Große Kreisstadt'' in the district of Nordsachsen, in Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the White Elster river, 12km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz. The letter processing center for ...

Lützen Lützen () is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Geography Lützen is situated in the Leipzig Bay, approximately southwest of the Leipzig city limits and northeast of Weißenfels. The town has access to the Bun ...

Bitterfeld Bitterfeld () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town of Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approximately 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Hall ...

Zörbig Zörbig () is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approximately 15 km west of Bitterfeld, and 20 km northeast of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Halle (Saale). Zörbig is well known for its molas ...

, the

County of Brehna Brehna is a town and a former municipality in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2009, it is part of the town Sandersdorf-Brehna. It is situated southwest of Bitterfeld. Important in this city is the church ...

as well as the Margraviate of

Lower Lusatia Lower Lusatia (; ; ; ; ) is a historical region in Central Europe, stretching from the southeast of the Germany, German state of Brandenburg to the southwest of Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Like adjacent Upper Lusatia in the south, Lower Lusa ...

, including the cities and castles of Lübben, Doberlug,

Finsterwalde Finsterwalde (, , ) is a town in the Elbe-Elster district (German: Landkreis), in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. Overview It is situated on the Schackebach, a tributary of the Kleine Elster, 28 m. W.S.W of Cottbus by rail. Pop. (2005) 18,8 ...

Döbern Döbern (; Lower Sorbian ''Derbno;'' ) is a town in the district of Spree-Neiße, in Lower Lusatia, Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 25 km southeast of Cottbus, and 15 km south of Forst (Lausitz). History From 1815 to 1947, Döbern ...

, Forst and

Guben Guben (Polish language, Polish and Sorbian languages, Sorbian: ''Gubin'') is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in Lower Lusatia, in the States of Germany, state of Brandenburg, in eastern Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße Districts of German ...

. Many of these territories had belonged to the Diocese of Merseburg until it was

secularized In sociology, secularization () is a multilayered concept that generally denotes "a transition from a religious to a more worldly level." There are many types of secularization and most do not lead to atheism or irreligion, nor are they automatica ...

in 1562. The area of Saxe-Merseburg stretched to the western city limits of Leipzig. The customs station was in what is now the inner city district of Lindenau. After the death of the last male heir of the Saxon branch line in 1738, the Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg fell back to the

Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

Rulers

* 1656-1691

Christian I Christian I ''(Christiern I)'' (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a German noble and Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he ...

(born: 27 October 1615 in

; died: 18 October 1691 in

) * 1691-1694

Christian II A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the world. The words ''Christ'' and ''Ch ...

(born: 19 November 1653 in

; died: 20 October 1694 in

) * 1694 Christian III Maurice (born: 7 November 1680 in

; died: 14 November 1694 in

), under the regency of Elector Frederick August I of Saxony and the guardianship of his mother

Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz (13 November 1661Johann Hübner's three hundred and thirty three genealogical tables, table 171 Archived 2012-04-20 at the Wayback Machine/ref> – 29 April 1720) was the wife of Duke Christian II, Duke of Saxe-Me ...

* 1694-1731 Maurice Wilhelm (born: 5 February 1688 in

; died: 21 April 1731 in

), until 1712 under the regency of Elector Frederick August I of Saxony and the guardianship of his mother Erdmuthe Dorothea of

* 1731-1738 Heinrich (born: 2 September 1661 in

; died: 28 July 1738 in Doberlug), previously already Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Spremberg

Cadet lines

To supply his three younger sons with incomes befitting a duke, Duke Christian I created

apanage An appanage, or apanage (; ), is the grant of an estate, title, office or other thing of value to a younger child of a monarch, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture (where only the eldest inherits). It was ...

s for his younger sons during his lifetime. These territories remained dependent on the main line and their sovereignty was severely restricted. They were named after their owner's residences and disappeared with the death of their first duke, because none of them fathered surviving male heirs. Before it died out, the Saxe-Merseburg-Spremberg line inherited all of Saxe-Merseburg. * Until 1715

August August is the eighth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 31 days. In the Southern Hemisphere, August is the seasonal equivalent of February in the Northern Hemisphere. In the Northern Hemisphere, August ...

(born: 15 February 1655 in

; died: 27 March 1715 in

), Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Zörbig * Until 1690

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (18 ...

(born: 26 October 1657 in

; died: 1 July 1690 in

Fleurus Fleurus (; ) is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. It has been the site of four major battles. The municipality consists of the following districts: Brye, Heppignies, Fleurus, Lambusart, Saint-Am ...

), Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Lauchstädt * Until 1731 Heinrich (born: 2 September 1661 in

; died: 28 July 1738 in Doberlug), Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Spremberg until 1731, inherited Saxe-Merseburg in 1731

References

* Martina Schattkowsky/ Manfred Wilde (Hg.): ''Sachsen und seine Sekundogenituren. Die Nebenlinien Weißenfels, Merseburg und Zeitz (1657–1746).'' Schriften zur Sächsischen Geschichte und Volkskunde, Band 33. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2010, . * Manfred Wilde: ''Das Barockschloss Delitzsch als Witwensitz der Herzöge von Sachsen-Merseburg.'' In: ''Barocke Fürstenresidenzen an Saale, Unstrut und Elster'', edited by the Museumsverbund Die fünf Ungleichen,

Michael Imhof Verlag Michael Imhof Verlag is a German publishing company in Petersberg, Hesse. They are known especially for publishing books with a local interest, on art, on history, politics, religion, nature, and culture. Besides titles in German German(s) may r ...

, Petersberg 2007, , .

External links

Johann Huebner ... Three hundred and thirty-three Genealogical Tables, Table 170
{{coord missing, Germany Former states and territories of Saxony-Anhalt Merseburg 1657 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1738 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1657 House of Wettin