Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg |
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State of the Holy Roman Empire, State of the German Confederation, State of the North German Confederation, State of the German Empire, State of the Weimar Republic |
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Anthem Heil unserm Herzog, heil (Hail to our Duke, hail!) |
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Saxe-Altenburg within the German Empire Ernestine duchies after 1825, showing Saxe-Altenburg in orange |
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Capital | Altenburg | ||||
Government | Principality | ||||
Duke | |||||
- 1603–13 | Christian II, Elector of Saxony (regent for John Philip) | ||||
- 1669–72 | John George II, Elector of Saxony (regent for Frederick William III) | ||||
- 1826–34 | Frederick | ||||
- 1908–18 | Ernst II | ||||
History | |||||
- Saxe-Weimar partitioned | 7 July 1602 | ||||
- Personal union with Saxe-Gotha* |
1672–1825 |
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- Ernestine duchies rearranged, duchy restored |
12 November 1826 |
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- German Revolution | November 1918 | ||||
- Merger of Thuringia‡ | 1920 | ||||
Area | |||||
- 1905 | 1,323 km2 (511 sq mi) | ||||
Population | |||||
- 1905 est. | 207,000 | ||||
Density | 156.5 /km2 (405.2 /sq mi) | ||||
* See Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg † As Free State of Saxe-Altenburg ‡ In 1920, the ex-Imperial states of Saxe-Altenburg, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Schwarzburg-Sondershausen, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt and the two principalities of Reuß all merged to form the Free State of Thuringia. |
Saxe-Altenburg (German: Sachsen-Altenburg) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in present-day Thuringia.[1]
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The duchy originated from the medieval Burgraviate of Altenburg in the Imperial Pleissnerland (Terra Plisensis), a possession of the Wettin Margraves of Meissen since 1243. Upon a partition treaty of 1485, Altenburg fell to Elector Ernest of Saxony, the progenitor of the Ernestine Wettins.[2] After the Division of Erfurt in 1572 among Duke John William of Saxony and his nephews, Altenburg fell to his Duchy of Saxe-Weimar.
When in 1602 John William's son and successor Frederick William I died, the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar passed to his younger brother John II, while in 1603 Frederick William's eldest son John Philip in compensation received the newly created Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg. It was an Imperial State 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, 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 split 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. This family ruled in the duchy until the end of the monarchies in the course of the German Revolution of 1918–1919. The succeeding Free State of Saxe-Altenburg was incorporated into the new state of Thuringia in 1920.
Saxe-Altenburg had an area of 1,323 km² and a population of 207,000 (1905). Its capital was Altenburg.
The Saxe-Altenburg line became extinct following the death of Prince George Moritz in 1991.
Line extinct, inherited by Saxe-Gotha, thereupon Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
In 1991 the Saxe-Altenburg line became extinct. Its representation was merged with the one of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
Two branches descend from duke Ernest the Pious, the father of the progenitor of this Saxe-Altenburg branch: Saxe-Meiningen and Saxe-Coburg and Gotha; according to old Wettin family law, they would have divided the actual territories between them (as happened to Gotha and Altenburg in 1826).
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