Saxe-Römhild () was an Ernestine duchy in the southern foothills of the

Thuringian Forest The Thuringian Forest (''Thüringer Wald'' in German language, German ) is a mountain range in the southern parts of the Germany, German state of Thuringia, running northwest to southeast. Skirting from its southerly source in foothills to a gorg ...

. It existed for only 30 years, from 1680 to 1710.

History

After 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 ...

, Ernest the Pious, died on 26 March 1675 in

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 ...

, the duchy was divided on 24 February 1680 among his seven surviving sons. The lands of Saxe-Römhild went to the fourth son, who became Henry, Duke of Saxe-Römhild (1650–1710). The new duchy included the Districts of

Römhild Römhild () is a town in the Hildburghausen (district), district of Hildburghausen, in Thuringia, Germany. It is situated 14 km west of Hildburghausen, and 21 km southeast of Meiningen. On 31 December 2012, it merged with the former muni ...

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

(which was later lost in 1683 to

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy and Imperial Estate of the Holy Roman Empire in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the Distri ...

) and Themar, the winery of Behrungen, the monastery estate of Milz, and certain lands of the Echter family of Mespelbrunn that had been lost in 1665 to

Saxony Saxony, officially the Free State of Saxony, is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and ...

. But Duke Henry never had the full sovereignty of his new domains. The actual administration was left to the higher authorities in Gotha – the so-called ''Nexus Gothanus'' – because that was the residence of Henry's oldest brother, who ruled as Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. After the death of the childless Henry in 1710, his domains were divided among the four duchies –

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg () was a duchy ruled by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in today's Thuringia, Germany. The extinction of the line in 1825 led to a major re-organisation of the Thuringian states. History In 1640 the sons of the ...

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

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 ...

and Saxe-Hildburghausen. Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg took seven-twelfths of the District of Themar. Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld had five-twelfths of the District of Themar and one-third of the District of Römhild. Two-thirds of the District of Römhild went to Saxe-Meiningen. Saxe-Hildburghausen got the rest – the winery of Behrungen, the estate of Milz and the Echter properties. With the rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies in 1826, all the territories of the former Duchy of Saxe-Römhild were solely concentrated in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen.

Duke of Saxe-Römhild

* 1680–1710 :

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

(1650–1710) *

Bibliography

* Georg arl Friedrich Viktorvon Alten, ''Handbuch für Heer und Flotte, Band XIII'' andbook for the Army and Navy, Volume XIII(Berlin, Leipzig, Wien, Stuttgart: Bong & Co., 1913) * Hans Patze, Walter Schlesinger (ed.), ''Geschichte Thüringens, 5. Band, 1. Teil, 1. Teilbd.: Politische Geschichte in der Neuzeit'' istory of Thuringia, Volume 5, Part 1, Chapter 1: Political History in the Modern Times(Cologne: Böhlau, 1982) * ''Verein für Sachsen-Meiningische Geschichte und Landeskunde'' ssociation of the History and Culture of Saxe-Meningen(ed.): ''Neue Landeskunde des Herzogtums Sachsen-Meiningen, 9, B, Geschichtliches; Teil 1: Thüringische Geschichte'' ew State History of the Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen, 9, B, Histories; Part 1: Thuringian History(Hildburghausen: Kesselbring, 1903) {{DEFAULTSORT:Saxe-Romhild 1680 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1710 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1680 Romhild South Thuringia