, image = Held Carl Alexander Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach@Weimar Schlossmuseum.jpg , image_size = , caption = , succession =

Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was rais ...

, reign = 8 July 1853 – 5 January 1901 , predecessor = Charles Frederick , successor = William Ernest , spouse = Sophie of the Netherlands , issue = Charles Augustus, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Marie, Princess Heinrich VII Reuss
Princess Anna Sophia
Elisabeth, Duchess Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg , house =

Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach) was a historical German state, created as a duchy in 1809 by the merger of the Ernestine duchies of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach, which had been in personal union since 1741. It was ra ...

, father = Charles Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , mother = Maria Pavlovna of Russia , birth_date = , birth_place =

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, death_date = , death_place =

, burial_place =

Weimarer Fürstengruft The Klassik Stiftung Weimar (''Classical Foundation Weimar'') is one of the largest and most significant cultural institutions in Germany. It owns more than 20 museums, palaces, historic houses and parks, as well as literary and art collections, ...

, religion =

Lutheranism Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

, Charles Alexander (Karl Alexander August Johann; 24 June 1818 – 5 January 1901) was the ruler of

as its grand duke from 1853 until his death. Charles Alexander (1818-1901)

Biography

Born in

, he was the second but eldest surviving son of Karl Frederick, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia. His mother engaged as tutor for Karl the Swiss scholar Frédéric Soret who became a close acquaintance to

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

. When he was the Hereditary Grand Duke, Karl Alexander established a strong friendship with

Fanny Lewald Fanny Lewald (21 March 1811 – 5 August 1889) was a German novelist and essayist and a women's rights activist. Life and career Fanny Lewald was born at Königsberg in East Prussia in 1811 to a bourgeois, Jewish family. She was taken out of sc ...

and Hans Christian Andersen, but this close relationship stopped in 1849 for the war against Denmark over the duchies of

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; da, Slesvig-Holsten; nds, Sleswig-Holsteen; frr, Slaswik-Holstiinj) is the northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Sc ...

(the First German-Danish War). On 8 July 1853 his father died, and Karl Alexander became Grand Duke; but he stopped his constitutional accession until

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as tr ...

's birthday, on 28 August 1853. The Danish author and poet Hans Christian Andersen was reportedly infatuated with Karl Alexander, writing

"''I quite love the young duke, he is the first of all princes that I really find attractive''".

Karl Alexander renovated

Wartburg Castle The Wartburg () is a castle originally built in the Middle Ages. It is situated on a precipice of to the southwest of and overlooking the town of Eisenach, in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It was the home of St. Elisabeth of Hungary, the ...

, and left his traces in many places in Eisenach. He was the protector of Richard Wagner and Franz Liszt, retained the tradition of Weimar's classical period, and gave the old part of Weimar a new and better appearance with the establishment of the Herder monument, and the double monument for Goethe and Schiller. In 1860, he founded the

Weimar Saxon-Grand Ducal Art School The Grand-Ducal Saxon Art School, Weimar (German:Großherzoglich-Sächsische Kunstschule Weimar) was founded on 1 October 1860, in Weimar, Germany, by a decree of Charles Alexander, Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. It existed until 1910, when i ...

(with Arnold Böcklin,

Franz von Lenbach Franz Seraph Lenbach, after 1882, Ritter von Lenbach (13 December 1836 – 6 May 1904), was a German painter known primarily for his portraits of prominent personalities from the nobility, the arts, and industry. Because of his standing in society ...

and the plastic artist Reinhold Begas). As Grand Duke he was automatically

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

, president of

Jena University The University of Jena, officially the Friedrich Schiller University Jena (german: Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, abbreviated FSU, shortened form ''Uni Jena''), is a public research university located in Jena, Thuringia, Germany. The un ...

where he supported especially the collections among them prominently the Oriental Coin Cabinet. In the Franco-Prussian War (1870–1871), Karl Alexander participated only in "''Samaritan''"; stressed, however, for his war entrance in favor of Schleswig in 1849. The Weimar Congress of the Goethe Federation (opposing the Lex Heinze) occurred towards the end of his reign, in November 1900 - that congress described his government as the ''Silver Age of Weimar''. He died at

in 1901. Following his death, he was succeeded as Grand Duke by his grandson Wilhelm Ernst, his only son Carl August having predeceased him.

Family and children

Kneuterdijk Palace Kneuterdijk Palace ( nl, Paleis Kneuterdijk ) is a former royal palace of the Netherlands located in The Hague, nowadays the seat of the Council of State. Built in 1716 in the Louis XIV style by architect Daniel Marot, it was commissioned by Coun ...

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, on 8 October 1842, Karl Alexander married with his first cousin,

Princess Sophie of the Netherlands Princess is a regal rank and the feminine equivalent of prince (from Latin ''princeps'', meaning principal citizen). Most often, the term has been used for the consort of a prince, or for the daughter of a king or prince. Princess as a subst ...

, daughter of William II and

Grand Duchess Anna Pavlovna of Russia Anna Pavlovna of Russia (russian: Анна Павловна ; nl, Anna Paulowna ; – 1 March 1865) was a queen of the Netherlands by marriage to king William II of the Netherlands. She was a Russian patriot who upheld a strict royal etiquette ...

, sister of his mother. They had four children: # Karl August Wilhelm Nicolaus Alexander Michael Bernhard Heinrich Frederick Stefan, Hereditary Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b. Weimar, 31 July 1844 – d. Cap Martin, France, 20 November 1894). # Marie Anna Alexandrine Sophie Auguste Helene (b. Weimar, 20 January 1849 – d. Trebschen, 6 May 1922), known as ''Marie''; married on 6 February 1876 to Prince Heinrich VII Reuss of Köstritz. #Maria Anna Sophia Elisabeth Bernhardine Ida Auguste Helene (b. Weimar, 29 March 1851 – d. Weimar, 26 April 1859), known as ''Anna''. # Elisabeth Sibylle Maria Dorothea Anna Amalie Luise (b. Weimar, 28 February 1854 – d. Wiligrad, 10 July 1908), known as ''Elisabeth''; married on 6 November 1886 to Duke Johann Albrecht of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.

Honours and awards

He received the following awards:
Staatshandbuch für das Großherzogtum Sachsen / Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach
' (1900), "Genealogie" pp. 1-2Justus Perthes, ''Almanach de Gotha'' (1901
page 84
/ref> ;German honours ;Foreign honours

Ancestry

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Charles Alexander of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Grand Duke 1818 births 1901 deaths People from Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Princes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Protestant monarchs Hereditary Grand Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Nobility from Weimar Grand Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach Hans Christian Andersen Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Knights of the Golden Fleece of Spain