Ernest Augustus I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
: ''Ernst August I''; 19 April 1688 – 19 January 1748), was a
duke
Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are rank ...
of
Saxe-Weimar and, from 1741, 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 ra ...
.
Biography
He was the second but eldest surviving son of
Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
Johann Ernst III, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (Weimar, 22 June 1664 – Weimar, 10 May 1707), was a duke of Saxe-Weimar.
Life
He was the second son of Johann Ernst II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Christine Elisabeth of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg.
...
and his first wife
Sophie Auguste of Anhalt-Zerbst.
When his father died in 1707, Ernst August became co-ruler (''Mitherr'') of Saxe-Weimar, along with his uncle
Wilhelm Ernst, but his title was only nominal, since Wilhelm Ernst was the actual ruler of the duchy. Only when Wilhelm Ernst died in 1728 did Ernst August begin to exercise true authority over Saxe-Weimar.
Excesses
Ernst August was a splendor-loving ruler, and his extravagances contributed to the eventual financial ruin of his duchy. Desperately in need of funds, he resorted to the practice of arresting wealthy subjects without cause, and setting them free only after they had renounced their fortunes to the duke, or had paid exorbitant ransoms. Some of the victims, who considered this behaviour illegal, made claims against the duke at the
Imperial Court in
Vienna
en, Viennese
, iso_code = AT-9
, registration_plate = W
, postal_code_type = Postal code
, postal_code =
, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
or in the
Imperial Chamber Court of Appeal in
Wetzlar
Wetzlar () is a city in the state of Hesse, Germany. It is the twelfth largest city in Hesse with currently 55,371 inhabitants at the beginning of 2019 (including second homes). As an important cultural, industrial and commercial center, the un ...
. Ernst August lost all the legal proceedings mounted against him. The process lasted for many years and eventually led to the duchy's bankruptcy.
The duke maintained a standing army that was disproportionately large for the duchy's population or financial resources. Some of the soldiers were rented to the
Electorate of Saxony or to the
Holy Roman Emperor. Ernst August's mania for building led to the construction of the
Kleinode, the small
Schloss Belvedere
The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district o ...
and the
Rococo
Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...
Schloss
''Schloss'' (; pl. ''Schlösser''), formerly written ''Schloß'', is the German term for a building similar to a château, palace, or manor house.
Related terms appear in several Germanic languages. In the Scandinavian languages, the cognate ...
of
Dornburg
Dornburg is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It sits atop a small hill of 400 ft above the Saale. Since 1 December 2008, it is part of the town Dornburg-Camburg.
History
Within the German Empire (1871–1918), ...
, a lavish residence for the duke. His passion for the hunt was likewise extravagant; when he died, Ernst August left 1,100 dogs and 373 horses. The duke maintained a standing "harem," in which two noble "Ladies of Honour" (''Ehrenfräulein'') and three "Chamber Women" (''Kammerfrauen'') of low birth attended to his desires.
Marriages and children
In
Nienburg on 24 January 1716, Ernst August married
Eleonore Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Köthen
Eleonore Wilhelmine of Anhalt-Köthen (7 May 1696 in Köthen – 30 August 1726 in Weimar) was a princess of Anhalt-Köthen by births and by marriage successively Princess of Saxe-Merseburg and Duchess of Saxe-Weimar.
Life
Eleonore Wilhel ...
, daughter of
Emmanuel Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen
Emmanuel Lebrecht of Anhalt-Köthen ( Köthen, 20 May 1671 – Köthen, 30 May 1704), was a German prince of the House of Ascania and ruler of the principality of Anhalt-Köthen.
He was the only child of Emmanuel, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen, by his ...
. They had eight children:
# William Ernest (b. Weimar, 4 July 1717 – d. Halle, 8 June 1719), Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weimar.
# Wilhelmine Auguste (b. Weimar, 4 July 1717 – d. Weimar, 9 December 1752), twin of Wilhelm Ernst.
# John William (b. Weimar, 10 January 1719 – d. Weimar, 6 December 1732), Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weimar.
# Charlotte Agnes Leopoldina (b. Weimar, 4 December 1720 – d. Weimar, 15 October 1724).
# Johanna Eleonore Henriette (b. Weimar, 2 December 1721 – d. Weimar, 17 June 1722).
#
Ernestine Albertine (b. Weimar, 28 December 1722 – d. Alverdissen, 25 November 1769), married on 6 May 1756 to
Philipp II, Count of Schaumburg-Lippe.
#
Bernhardina Christina Sophia (b. Weimar, 5 May 1724 – d. Rudolstadt, 5 June 1757), married on 19 November 1744 to
John Frederick, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt
John Frederick, Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt (8 January 1721 in Rudolstadt – 10 July 1767 in ibid) was the ruling Prince of Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt from 1744 to 1767.
Life
John Frederick von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt was the only son of ...
.
# Emmanuel Frederick William Bernard (b. Weimar, 19 December 1725 – d. Weimar, 11 June 1729).
After the death of his first wife in 1726, the duke decided to not marry again, choosing to live quietly with his Ladies of Honor and Chamber Women. But in 1732 the situation changed unexpectedly: his only surviving son, the hereditary prince (''Erbprinz'') Johann Wilhelm, died. This made it necessary for him to find a new wife and sire sons in order to perpetuate the dynasty.
In
Bayreuth on 7 April 1734, Ernst August married his second wife,
Sophie Charlotte of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, daughter of
George Frederick Charles, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
George Frederick Charles, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (19 June 1688 at Obersulzbürg Castle, near Mühlhausen – 17 May 1735 in Bayreuth), was a German prince, member of the House of Hohenzollern, nominal Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth ...
. They had four children:
# Charles Augustus Eugen (b. Weimar, 1 January 1735 – d. Weimar, 13 September 1736), Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Weimar.
#
Ernst August II Konstantin, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (b. Weimar, 2 June 1737 – d. Weimar, 28 May 1758).
#
Ernestine Auguste Sophie (b. Weimar, 4 January 1740 – d. Hildburghausen, 10 June 1786), married on 1 July 1758 to
Ernst Frederick III Karl, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen.
# Ernest Adolph Felix (b. and d. Weimar, 23 January 1741 / b. Weimar, 1742 – d. Weimar, 1743)
The duke also had an illegitimate son with
Friederike von Marschall
Friederike is a feminine given name which may refer to:
People
*Friederike Sophie Wilhelmine of Prussia, Margravine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1709–1758), Prussian princess and older sister of Frederick the Great
*Princess Friederike Luise of Pr ...
:
# Ernest Frederick (b. 1731 - d. 1810), created Freiherr von Brenn; married to Beate Helene Bormann, his line died out in the male line in 1849.
Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach and absolutism
In 1741 the branch of Saxe-Eisenach-Jena became extinct with the death of
Wilhelm Heinrich, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach
Wilhelm Heinrich, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach (10 November 1691 – 26 July 1741), was a duke of Saxe-Eisenach.
He was born in Oranjewoud, the eldest and only surviving son of Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Eisenach and his first wife Amalie of Nass ...
. As the only surviving kinsman of the late duke, Ernst August inherited his estates; the union between Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach-Jena now became permanent. One of the duke's few wise decisions was the institution of
primogeniture in Saxe-Weimar (confirmed in 1724 by the Emperor
Karl VI); this stopped further land divisions in the future. From 1741 his new duchy took the name 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 ra ...
(Jena was merged by Eisenach), but the union was by this time only personal. The new state consisted of two larger areas around the two official residences in Weimar and Eisenach, which were not connected, and a patch of smaller areas and towns between them.
The annexation of Saxe-Eisenach was favorable to the hunt-loving duke; he possessed a large swath of woods in the Eisenach region, which seemed suitable to him for hunting. He left the Hereditary Prince in
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 ...
in the
Schloss Belvedere
The Belvedere is a historic building complex in Vienna, Austria, consisting of two Baroque palaces (the Upper and Lower Belvedere), the Orangery, and the Palace Stables. The buildings are set in a Baroque park landscape in the third district o ...
, under the guardianship of his
Hofmarschall
The ''Hofmarschall'' (plural: Hofmarschälle) was the administrative official in charge of a princely German court, supervising all its economic affairs.
Historically, every civil service was regarded as court service (e.g. the Russian nobility is ...
, and moved permanently to
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 ...
. After this, the duke rarely asked for his son, and sent the most unreasonable written instructions from Eisenach to Weimar in order to supervise his son's education. The Hereditary Prince saw his father for the last time in 1743.
Ernst August tried to implement
Absolutism in Saxe-Weimar on the French model. The secret ''Ratskollegium'' —a consultative organ national formed by nobles— was dissolved. In 1746 the citizens of Eisenach presented the duke a memorandum detailing national prerogatives, in which he was denounced for constant offences against traditional rights. The gesture demonstrated that the citizens of the duchy were resisting the introduction of absolutism, thus certain policies that Ernst August had planned could not be completely carried out. The duke's death prevented a terrible controversy between the national nobles and the citizens of Eisenach.
Death
Upon his death, Ernst August left a financially ruined duchy, and a successor to the throne (Ernst August II) who was still under age.
Ancestors
References
* Karl von Beaulieu-Marconnay: ''
Ernst August, Herzog von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach. In:
Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Band 6, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1877, S. 317 f.
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernest Augustus 01 of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, Duke
1688 births
1748 deaths
Nobility from Weimar
Dukes of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Dukes of Saxe-Weimar
Dukes of Saxe-Eisenach
Generals of the Holy Roman Empire
Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland)