Although it was very small, Saxe-Hildburghausen was an independent duchy from 1680 to 1826. In 1684 the duchy changed its capital from Heldburg to Hildburghausen, and changed its name to Saxe-Hildburghausen.

In 1810, a Princess Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen married Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria, who became king of Bavaria 15 years later. The marriage is the reason for the Oktoberfest, held annually in Munich.

In 1826, the Ernestine duchies were reorganised after the last ruler of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg died without an heir. The duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen gave up his duchy in return for becoming Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. Hildburghausen was given to Saxe-Meiningen. Hildburghausen was not one of the duchies in the Imperial circle, Altenburg was, so by swapping his land the duke gained in social rank, even though the Holy Roman Empire no longer existed

In 1868, four districts were established in the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. Hildburghausen was one of these districts, with boundaries very similar to those of the former duchy. It remained almost unchanged until 1993, when the former district of Suhl was dissolved and most of its municipalities joined the district.

[change] Dukes of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Ernst II (1675 – 1715)
Ernst Frederick I (1715 – 24)
Ernst Frederick II (1724 – 45)
Ernst Frederick III (1745 – 80)
Frederick (1780 – 1825)

Incorporated into Saxe-Meiningen

v • d • e

Ernestine duchies after the Division of Erfurt 1572

Saxe-Weimar (1572–1806) • Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach (1572–1596) • Saxe-Coburg (1596–1633; 1681–1699) • Saxe-Eisenach (1596–1638; 1640–1644; 1672–1806) • Saxe-Altenburg (1603–1672; 1826–1918) • Saxe-Gotha (1640–1680) • Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1681–1826) • Saxe-Marksuhl (1662–1672) • Saxe-Jena (1672–1690) • Saxe-Eisenberg (1680–1707) • Saxe-Hildburghausen (1680–1826) • Saxe-Römhild (1680–1710) • Saxe-Saalfeld (1680–1735) • Saxe-Meiningen (1681–1918) • Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1735–1826) • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1806–1918) • Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (1826–1918)

v • d • e States of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–13)
Rank elevated by Napoleon	Kingdoms: Bavaria \| Saxony \| Württemberg Grand Duchies: Baden \| Hesse
States created	Kingdoms: Westphalia Grand Duchies: Berg \| Frankfurt‡ \| Würzburg Principalities: Aschaffenburg† \| Leyen \| Regensburg†
Pre-existing states	Duchies: Anhalt: Bernburg, Dessau, Köthen \| Arenberg \| Mecklenburg: Schwerin, Strelitz \| Nassau \| Oldenburg \| Saxony: Coburg-Saalfeld, Gotha-Altenburg, Hildburghausen, Meiningen, Weimar, Eisenach, Weimar-Eisenach Principalities:** Hohenzollern: Hechingen, Sigmaringen \| Isenburg-Birstein \| Liechtenstein \| Lippe-Detmold \| Reuß: Ebersdorf, Greiz, Lobenstein, Schleiz \| Salm: Kyrburg, Salm \| Schaumburg-Lippe \| Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen \| Waldeck
* until 1809 ** from 1809 † until 1810 ‡ from 1810

v • d • e States of the German Confederation (1815–66)
Empires	Austria
Kingdoms	Prussia \| Bavaria \| Saxony \| Hanover \| Württemberg
Electorates	Hesse
Grand Duchies	Baden \| Hesse \| Luxembourg \| Mecklenburg-Schwerin \| Mecklenburg-Strelitz \| Oldenburg \| Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Duchies	Anhalt: Bernburg¹, Dessau¹, Köthen² \| Brunswick \| Holstein \| Limburg \| Nassau \| Saxony: Altenburg³, Coburg-Saalfeld⁴, Coburg-Gotha³, Gotha-Altenburg⁴, Hildburghausen⁴, Lauenburg, Meiningen
Principalities	Hesse-Homburg \| Hohenzollern: Hechingen⁵, Sigmaringen⁵ \| Liechtenstein \| Lippe \| Reuß: Elder, Junior \| Schaumburg-Lippe \| Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen \| Waldeck and Pyrmont
City-states	Bremen \| Frankfurt \| Hamburg \| Lübeck
1: Merged to Anhalt from 1863; 2: until 1847; 3: from 1826; 4: until 1826; 5: until 1850