Saxe-Gotha (german: Sachsen-Gotha) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the

Wettin dynasty The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its or ...

in the former Landgraviate of

Thuringia Thuringia (; german: Thüringen ), officially the Free State of Thuringia ( ), is a state of central Germany, covering , the sixth smallest of the sixteen German states. It has a population of about 2.1 million. Erfurt is the capital and la ...

. The ducal residence was erected at

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 ...

History

The duchy was established in 1640, when Duke Wilhelm von Saxe-Weimar created a subdivision for his younger brother Ernest I the Pious. Duke Ernest took his residence at

, where he had '' Schloss Friedenstein'' built between 1643 and 1654. At the same time, the Duchy of

Saxe-Eisenach Saxe-Eisenach (german: Sachsen-Eisenach) was an Ernestine duchy ruled by the Saxon House of Wettin. The state intermittently existed at three different times in the Thuringian region of the Holy Roman Empire. The chief town and capital of all ...

was created for the third brother Albert IV. Nevertheless, Albert died in 1644, and Ernest inherited large parts of his duchy, though not the core territory around the residence at

Eisenach Eisenach () is a town in Thuringia, Germany with 42,000 inhabitants, located west of Erfurt, southeast of Kassel and northeast of Frankfurt. It is the main urban centre of western Thuringia and bordering northeastern Hessian regions, situat ...

and the Wartburg, which fell to his elder brother Wilhelm of Saxe-Weimar. Ernest could also incorporate several remaining estates of the extinct

House of Henneberg The House of Henneberg was a medieval German comital family (''Grafen'') which from the 11th century onwards held large territories in the Duchy of Franconia. Their county was raised to a princely county (''Gefürstete Grafschaft'') in 1310. Upo ...

in 1660, which had been vacant since 1583. Finally in 1672 he received the major part of

Saxe-Altenburg Saxe-Altenburg (german: Sachsen-Altenburg, links=no) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin in present-day Thuringia. It was one of the smallest of the German states with an area of 1323 square kilomete ...

through his wife Elisabeth Sophie, after Altenburg's last duke

Frederick William III Frederick William III (german: Friedrich Wilhelm III.; 3 August 1770 – 7 June 1840) was King of Prussia from 16 November 1797 until his death in 1840. He was concurrently Elector of Brandenburg in the Holy Roman Empire until 6 August 1806, w ...

had died without heirs. Ernest would then be called Duke of

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 ...

. When Ernest died in 1675, he left his seven sons a significantly enlarged territory. The eldest, Frederick I at first ruled jointly with his brothers until in 1680 the duchy was divided. The area around Gotha and also

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region bet ...

passed to Frederick I, who retained the title of a Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. For later history of the duchy, see

Dukes of Saxe-Gotha

* Ernest I the Pious (1640–75), Duke of

from 1672 * Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1675–1691), jointly with his brothers until 1680: **

Albert V Albert V may refer to: * Albert V, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (ca. mid-1330s–1370) * Albert V, Duke of Mecklenburg (1397–1423) *Albert II of Germany (1397–1439), Albert V as Duke of Austria * Albert V, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (died c. 1469) *Albe ...

, became Duke of

Saxe-Coburg Saxe-Coburg (german: Sachsen-Coburg) was a duchy held by the Ernestine branch of the Wettin dynasty in today's Bavaria, Germany. History Ernestine Line When Henry IV, Count of Henneberg – Schleusingen, died in 1347, the possessions of th ...

** Bernhard I, became Duke of

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen (; german: Sachsen-Meiningen ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin dynasty, located in the southwest of the present-day German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ernesti ...

** Heinrich, became Duke of

Saxe-Römhild Saxe-Römhild (German: ''Sachsen-Römhild'') was an Ernestine duchy in the southern foothills of the Thuringian Forest. It existed for only 30 years, from 1680 to 1710. History After the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, Ernest the Pious, died on 26 Mar ...

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι� ...

, became Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg **

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious". Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People * Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), son of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor * Ernest ...

, became Duke of

Saxe-Hildburghausen Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy 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 District of Hildburghausen. History After the Duk ...

** John Ernest IV, became Duke of

Saxe-Saalfeld The Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1680 for Johann Ernst, seventh son of Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha. It remained under this name until 1699, when Albert, ...

When the house of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg became extinct in 1825, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was split. Saxe-Gotha passed to the Duke of

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

who in turn gave

Saalfeld Saalfeld (german: Saalfeld/Saale) is a town in Germany, capital of the Saalfeld-Rudolstadt district of Thuringia. It is best known internationally as the ancestral seat of the Saxe-Coburg and Gotha branch of the Saxon House of Wettin. Geograp ...

to Saxe-Meiningen. The Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen received

, and gave the district of Hildburghausen to Saxe-Meiningen. After the abolition of German monarchies at the end of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

it became a part of the newly created state of

in 1920.

References

Saxe-Gotha
''

Columbia Encyclopedia The ''Columbia Encyclopedia'' is a one-volume encyclopedia produced by Columbia University Press and, in the last edition, sold by the Gale Group. First published in 1935, and continuing its relationship with Columbia University, the encycloped ...

'', Sixth Edition, Columbia University Press (2001–05), accessed January 27, 2007 {{Coord missing, Thuringia 1640 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1680 disestablishments in the Holy Roman Empire States and territories established in 1640

House of Wettin Gotha