Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg (German: Ernst I. Friedrich Paul Georg Nikolaus von Sachsen-Altenburg) (16 September 1826 in

Hildburghausen Hildburghausen (IPA adapted from: ) is a town in Thuringia in central Germany, capital of the district Hildburghausen. Geography It is situated in the Franconian part of Thuringia south of the Thuringian Forest, in the valley of the Werra river ...

– 7 February 1908 in

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 betw ...

), was a duke 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 kilometer ...

. He was the first son of

Georg, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg Georg Karl Frederick (24 July 1796 in Hildburghausen – 3 August 1853 in Hummelshain) was a duke of Saxe-Altenburg. Family He was the fourth but second surviving son of Frederick, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen (of Saxe-Altenburg from 1826) and Duch ...

and

Marie Luise of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , house = Mecklenburg-Schwerin , father = Frederick Louis, Hereditary Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , mother = Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia , birth_date = , birth_place = Ludwigslust Palace, Ludwigslust, Duc ...

. In 1853 he succeeded his father as Duke of

. He was of a retiring disposition and he took little active part in running the country. After a reign that lasted fifty five years, he died without a living direct male heir; because of this, he was succeeded by his nephew,

Ernst Ernst is both a surname and a given name, the German, Dutch, and Scandinavian form of Ernest. Notable people with the name include: Surname * Adolf Ernst (1832–1899) German botanist known by the author abbreviation "Ernst" * Anton Ernst (1975-) ...

Marriage

He was married in

Dessau Dessau is a town and former municipality in Germany at the confluence of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the '' Bundesland'' (Federal State) of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it has been part of the newly created municipality of Dessau-Roßlau ...

on 28 April 1853 to

Agnes of Anhalt-Dessau , house = Ascania , father =Leopold IV, Duke of Anhalt , mother = Princess Frederica of Prussia , birth_date = , birth_place = Dessau , death_date = , death_place =Hummelsh ...

(1824–1897). Agnes was a sister of

Friedrich I, Duke of Anhalt , image = Friedrich I Anhalt.jpg , caption = Frederick I, Duke of Anhalt , succession = Duke of Anhalt , reign = 22 May 1871 – 24 January 1904 , coronation = , predecessor = Leopold IV , successor ...

. They had two children: *

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tr ...

(b. Eisenberg, 2 August 1854 – d. Camenz, 8 October 1898), married on 19 April 1873 to

Albrecht of Prussia Albert of Prussia (german: Albrecht von Preussen; 17 May 149020 March 1568) was a German prince who was the 37th Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights, who after converting to Lutheranism, became the first ruler of the Duchy of Prussia, the secu ...

. * Georg (b.

, 1 February 1856 – d. Altenburg, 29 February 1856).

Honours and decorations

;German honours''Staatshandbücher für das Herzogtum Sachsen-Altenburg'' (1902), "Genealogie des Herzoglichen Hauses Sachsen-Altenburg
pp. 1-2
/ref> ;Foreign honours * : Grand Cross of St. Stephen, ''1859'' * : Grand Cordon of the Royal Order of Leopold * :

Knight of the Elephant The Order of the Elephant ( da, Elefantordenen) is a Danish order of chivalry and is Denmark's highest-ranked honour. It has origins in the 15th century, but has officially existed since 1693, and since the establishment of constitutional ...

, ''28 October 1882'' * : Grand Cross of the Netherlands Lion * :

Order of Osmanieh The Order of Osmanieh or Order of Osmaniye ( ota, نشانِ عثمانیہ) was a civil and military decoration of the Ottoman Empire. History The order was created in January 1862 by Sultan Abdülaziz. With the obsolescence of the Nişan-i If ...

, 1st Class in Diamonds * : Grand Cross of the Star of Romania * : ** Knight of St. Andrew ** Knight of St. George, 4th Class * : Grand Cross of the Cross of Takovo *

Sweden-Norway Sweden and Norway or Sweden–Norway ( sv, Svensk-norska unionen; no, Den svensk-norske union(en)), officially the United Kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and known as the United Kingdoms, was a personal union of the separate kingdoms of Sweden ...

: Knight of the Seraphim, ''24 February 1864'' *

Grand Duchy of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany ( it, Granducato di Toscana; la, Magnus Ducatus Etruriae) was an Italian monarchy that existed, with interruptions, from 1569 to 1859, replacing the Republic of Florence. The grand duchy's capital was Florence. In th ...

: Grand Cross of the Military Order of St. Stephen

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernst 01, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg 1826 births 1908 deaths Colonel generals of Saxony Dukes of Saxe-Altenburg People from Hildburghausen Colonel generals of Prussia 19th-century Prussian military personnel Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary Recipients of the Order of St. George of the Fourth Degree Recipients of the Order of the Netherlands Lion Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Recipients of the Order of the Cross of Takovo