Saxe-Hildburghausen () was an Ernestine duchy and

Imperial Estate An Imperial Estate (; , plural: ') was an entity or an individual of the Holy Roman Empire with representation and the right to vote in the Imperial Diet (Holy Roman Empire), Imperial Diet ('). Rulers of these Estates were able to exercise signi ...

of the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

in the southern side of the present State of

Thuringia Thuringia (; officially the Free State of Thuringia, ) is one of Germany, Germany's 16 States of Germany, states. With 2.1 million people, it is 12th-largest by population, and with 16,171 square kilometers, it is 11th-largest in area. Er ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are currently used by the District of Hildburghausen. Schloss Hildburghausen

History

After the duke of

Saxe-Gotha Saxe-Gotha () was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine branch of the House of Wettin, Wettin dynasty in the former Landgraviate of Thuringia. The ducal residence was erected at Gotha (town), Gotha. History The duch ...

, Ernest the Pious, died on 26 March 1675 in

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 ...

, the duchy was divided on 24 February 1680 among his seven surviving sons. The lands of Saxe-Hildburghausen went to the sixth son, who became Ernest II, the first duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. But the new duchy did not have complete independence. It had to depend on the higher authorities in Gotha for the matters of administration of its districts – the so-called "" – because Gotha was the residence of Ernest II's oldest brother, who ruled as Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Saxe-Hildburghausen did not become fully separate until 1702. In the beginning, the duchy had the district and city of Hildburghausen, the district and city of Heldburg, the district and city of Eisfeld, the district of Veilsdorf and the half of the district of Schalkau. Two more districts were added –

Königsberg Königsberg (; ; ; ; ; ; , ) is the historic Germany, German and Prussian name of the city now called Kaliningrad, Russia. The city was founded in 1255 on the site of the small Old Prussians, Old Prussian settlement ''Twangste'' by the Teuton ...

in 1683 and

Sonnefeld Sonnefeld () is a Municipalities of Germany, municipality in the Districts of Germany, district of Coburg (district), Coburg in States of Germany, Bavaria in Germany. Geographical Location Sonnefeld lies on Bundesstraße 303 between Coburg and Kr ...

in 1705. When Albert V, the duke of Saxe-Coburg, died in 1699 without any surviving descendants, disputes arose over the inheritance but, eventually, in 1714, Saxe-Hildburghausen agreed to exchange the district of Schalkau for parts of the other Saxon duchies – a piece of the former Duchy of Saxe-Römhild, the District of Behrungen, including the winery, and the monastery estate of Milz as well as the former properties of the Echter family of Mespelbrunn. In 1684 the city of Hildburghausen became the residence of the duke so it was developed to reflect its new status. However, the elaborate buildings and courtyards of the princes strained the finances of the duchy so much that, in 1769, a forced management of debts by an Imperial Debit commission had to be ordered. It was placed under the direction of the Regent, Charlotte Amalie of Saxe-Meiningen. With the dissolution of the

in 1806, Saxe-Hildburghausen gained its full sovereignty as the Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen. A few months later, on 15 December 1806, it, along with the other Ernestine duchies, entered the

Confederation of the Rhine The Confederated States of the Rhine, simply known as the Confederation of the Rhine or Rhine Confederation, was a confederation of German client states established at the behest of Napoleon some months after he defeated Austrian Empire, Austria ...

. In 1815, it joined the

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. In 1818, it was one of the first German states to receive a

constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed. When these pri ...

The extinction of the oldest line, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg in 1825 again led to inheritance disputes among the other lines of the Ernestine family. On 12 November 1826 the decision, from the arbitration of the supreme head of the family, King

Frederick Augustus I of Saxony Frederick Augustus I (; ; ; 23 December 1750 – 5 May 1827) was a member of the House of Wettin who reigned as the last Elector of Saxony from 1763 to 1806 (as Frederick Augustus III) and as the first King of Saxony from 1806 to 1827. He was al ...

, resulted in the extensive rearrangement of the Ernestine duchies. Saxe-Hildburghausen lost the Districts of

and

to the new Duchy of

Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (), or Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( ), was an Ernestine duchy in Thuringia ruled by a branch of the House of Wettin, consisting of territories in the present-day states of Thuringia and Bavaria in Germany. It lasted from 1826 to ...

and the rest of its territories to the Duchy of

Saxe-Meiningen Saxe-Meiningen ( ; ) was one of the Saxon duchies held by the Ernestine duchies, Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-day Germany, German state of Thuringia. Established in 1681, by partition of the Ern ...

. But the last duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Frederick, became the new duke of Saxe-Altenburg. In 1868, four districts were established in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. One of them was Hildburghausen, with boundaries very similar to those of the former duchy. It remained almost unchanged until 1993, when the District of Suhl was dissolved and most of its municipalities joined the District of Hildburghausen.

Dukes of Saxe-Hildburghausen

* 1680–1715

Ernest Ernest is a given name derived from the Germanic languages, Germanic word ''ernst'', meaning "serious", often shortened to Ernie. Notable people and fictional characters with the name include: People *Archduke Ernest of Austria (1553–1595), ...

* 1715–1724 Ernest Frederick I * 1724–1745 Ernest Frederick II, from 1724 to 1728 under the Regency of his mother, Countess Sophia Albertine of Erbach-Erbach * 1745–1780 Ernest Frederick III Carl, from 1745 to 1748 under the Regency of his mother, Countess Caroline of Erbach-Fürstenau * 1780–1826 Frederick, since 1826 Duke of Saxe-Altenburg; from 1780 to 1787 under the Regency of his great-granduncle Prince Joseph Frederick

Notable residents

* Sophie Henriette of Waldeck (1662–1702), Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen * Eugene of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1730–1795), Prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen * Louis Frederick of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1710–1759), Prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen * Prince Joseph Frederick (1702–1787), Prince of Saxe-Hildburghausen * Christiane Sophie Charlotte of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (1733–1757), Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen * Ernestine Auguste Sophie of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1740–1786), Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen * Charlotte Georgine Luise of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (1769–1818), Duchess of Saxe-Hildburghausen * Charlotte of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1787–1847), by marriage Princess of

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...

, known as “Princess Paul of Württemberg” since then * Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1792–1854), by marriage Queen of

Bavaria Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...

(who gave her name to a park in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

, Theresienwiese and inspired, with her marriage, the

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

) * Louise of Saxe-Hildburghausen (1794–1825), by marriage the Duchess of Nassau

Bibliography

* Johann Werner Krauß, ''Kirchen–, Schul– und Landeshistorie von Hildburghausen'' hurch, School and State History of Hildburghausen(Greiz, 1780)

External links

*
Sachsen-Hildburghausen
' in: ''Meyers Konversations-Lexikon, 4. Auflage, Band 14'' eyers Conversational Dictionary, 4th Edition, Volume 14(Leipzig: ''Bibliographisches Institut'' ibliographical Institute 1885–1892), page 146 {{Authority control States and territories established in 1680 1680 establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1826 disestablishments in Europe Duchies of the Holy Roman Empire States of the Confederation of the Rhine States of the German Confederation Hildburghausen House of Wettin Upper Saxon Circle Former countries in Europe Former principalities South Thuringia