Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

in present-day

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

. 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-Gera The Principality of Reuss-Gera (), officially called the Principality of the Reuss Junior Line () after 1848, was a sovereign state in modern Germany, ruled by members of the House of Reuss. It was one of the successor states of the Imperial C ...

. 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.

Territory

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

. The duchy consisted of two separate areas: the Ostkreis, containing the cities of

, Schmölln, Gößnitz, Lucka und Meuselwitz (including the exclave of Mumsdorf), Roschütz, Hilbersdorf, Neukirchen by Waldenburg and Rußdorf by

Chemnitz Chemnitz (; from 1953 to 1990: Karl-Marx-Stadt (); ; ) is the third-largest city in the Germany, German States of Germany, state of Saxony after Leipzig and Dresden, and the fourth-largest city in the area of former East Germany after (East Be ...

; and the Westkreis, which contained the cities of Eisenberg, Kahla, Orlamünde und Roda (including the exclave of Ammelstädt). The Ostkreis roughly corresponds to the modern Altenburger Land district of Thuringia, plus the area around Ronneburg in

Greiz Greiz ( ; ) is a town in the state of Thuringia, Germany, and is the capital of the Greiz (district), district of Greiz. Greiz is situated in eastern Thuringia, east of the state capital Erfurt, on the White Elster river. Greiz has a large park ...

. The Westkreis is now mostly in Saale-Holzland district, with small portions in neighbouring districts. The duchy contained the Pleiße and

Saale The Saale (), also known as the Saxon Saale ( ) and Thuringian Saale (), is a river in Germany and a left-bank tributary of the Elbe. It is not to be confused with the smaller Fränkische Saale, Franconian Saale, a right-bank tributary of the M ...

rivers.

History

The duchy had its origins in the medieval Burgraviate of

in the Imperial Pleissnerland ''(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 ...

since 1243. Following the partition of Leipzig in 1485, Altenburg fell to Ernst, Elector of Saxony, the progenitor of the Ernestine Wettins. After the Capitulation of Wittenberg in 1547, the area around Altenburg went to the Albertine

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 ...

, but it was transferred to the Ernestine in the in 1554, and then to the Duchy of

Saxe-Weimar Saxe-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 branch of the House of W ...

following the in 1572. 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 Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...

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 () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin, Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha (town), Gotha. History The duch ...

, 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 and Altenburg to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who in exchange gave up Hildburghausen to the Duke of

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day Germany, German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ern ...

. 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, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

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

in 1920.

Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg

Elder line

* Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (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 (1848–1853) * Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1853–1908) * Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (1908–1918)

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 Saxe-Altenburg () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilometers and a populati ...

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