Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Herzogtum Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg State of the Holy Roman Empire, State of the Confederation of the Rhine, State of the German Confederation ←   ← 1672 – 1825 →   → Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, shown within the other Ernestine duchies, 1826 Capital Not specified Government Principality Historical era Middle Ages  - Union of Saxe-Gotha     and Saxe-Altenburg   1672  - Partitioned between     Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and     Saxe-Hildburghausen     1825

Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (German Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg) was a historical state in today's Thuringia, Germany. It was nominally created in 1672 when Frederick Wilhelm III, the last duke of Saxe-Altenburg died and Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (who had married Frederick Wilhelm's cousin, Elisabeth Sophie) inherited his possessions.

It was common for the Ernestine duchies to merge and split; Ernest's combined duchy was divided again after his death in 1675, and the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg officially came into existence with the completion of this division and the accession in 1680 of his eldest son, Frederick, to the subdivision centered around Gotha and Altenburg.

When the house of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg became extinct in 1825, Saxe-Gotha was given to Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Saxe-Altenburg passed to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who in turn passed his own domain to Saxe-Meiningen. After the abolition of German monarchies at the end of the First World War, both Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Altenburg became part of the newly created state of Thuringia in 1920.

[edit] Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

• Ernest I the Pious (1640-1675), inherited Saxe-Altenburg in 1675
• Frederick I (1675-1691), son of previous; first to bear the title Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
• Frederick II (1691-1732), son
• Frederick III (1732-1772), son
• Ernest II (1772-1804), son
• Emil (1804-1822), son
• Frederick IV (1822-1825), brother

Divided between Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Saxe-Hildburghausen

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††† · Schaumburg-Lippe · Schwarzburg: Rudolstadt, Sondershausen · Waldeck * until 1809     ** from 1809       † until 1810     ‡ from 1810    ††† until 1811

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, 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 · Hohenzollern-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