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Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen(1680–1918) Herzogtum Sachsen-Meiningen Free State of Saxe-Meiningen(1918–1920) Freistaat Sachsen-Meiningen | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1680–1920 | |||||||||
.svg) Flag  Coat of arms | |||||||||
| Anthem: Meiningen Hymn (“Brothers sing with a loud sound of joy...”) | |||||||||
.svg) Saxe-Meiningen within the German Empire | |||||||||
 Territories of Saxe-Meiningen within theErnestine duchies after 1826 | |||||||||
| Status | State of theHoly Roman Empire, State of theConfederation of the Rhine, State of theGerman Confederation, State of theNorth German Confederation, Constituent state of theGerman Empire | ||||||||
| Capital | Meiningen | ||||||||
| Government | Duchy (1680–1918) Republic (1918–1920) | ||||||||
| Duke | |||||||||
• 1675–1706 | Bernhard I(first) | ||||||||
• 1914–1918 | Bernhard III(last) | ||||||||
| Historical era | Early modern period | ||||||||
• Partitioned fromSaxe-Gotha | 1680 | ||||||||
• AcquiredSaxe-Hildburghausen | 1826 | ||||||||
| 1918 | |||||||||
• Merged into Thuringia | 1920 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Saxe-Meiningen (/ˌsæksˈmaɪnɪŋən/SAKSMY-ning-ən;German:Sachsen-Meiningen[ˌzaksn̩ˈmaɪnɪŋən]) was one of the Saxon duchies held by theErnestine line of theHouse of Wettin, located in the southwest of the present-dayGerman state ofThuringia.
Established in 1681,[1] by partition of the Ernestine Duchy ofSaxe-Gotha among the seven sons of deceased DukeErnest the Pious, the Saxe-Meiningen line of the House of Wettin lasted until the end of the German monarchies in 1918.[2]
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TheWettiner had been the rulers of sizeable holdings in today's states ofSaxony,Saxony-Anhalt andThuringia since the Middle Ages. In theLeipziger Teilung of 1485, the Wettiner were split into two branches named after their founding princesAlbrecht andErnst (albertinisch andernestinisch). Thuringia was part of the Ernestine holdings ofKursachsen (theElectorate of Saxony). In 1572, the branchesSaxe-Coburg-Eisenach andSaxe-Weimar were established there. The senior line again split in 1641/41 into three duchies, including theDuchy of Saxe-Gotha.[2]
Duke Ernst I who founded this duchy with its seat atGotha opposed the system ofprimogeniture. As a result, on his death in 1675 all of his sons inherited part of his holdings and were supposed to rule under the leadership of his oldest son. In practice, this proved very complicated and brought on three settlements in 1679, 1680 and 1681 that established the following princedoms: Saxe-Gotha (Friedrich),Saxe-Coburg (Albrecht), Saxe-Meiningen (Bernhard),Saxe-Eisenberg (Christian),Saxe-Hildburghausen (Ernst) andSaxe-Saalfeld (Johann Ernst).[2]
Bernhard, Ernst I's third son, received the town ofMeiningen as well as several other holdings (Wasungen und Salzungen, Maßfeld und Sand, Herrenbreitungen, Herpf, Stepfershausen, Utendorf, Mehlis and the formerFranconian lands of the extinctHouse of Henneberg, Henneberg).[2]
Bernhard chose the town of Meiningen as his residence and became the first duke of Saxe-Meiningen. From 1682 Duke Bernhard I had theSchloss Elisabethenburg built and in 1690 established theCourt Orchestra (Hofkapelle), in whichJohann Ludwig Bach later became theKapellmeister (1711).
In the reshuffle of Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinction of theSaxe-Gotha-Altenburg line upon the death of DukeFrederick IV in 1825, DukeBernhard II of Saxe-Meiningen received the lands of the former Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen as well as theSaalfeld territory of the formerSaxe-Coburg-Saalfeld duchy.
As Bernhard II had supportedAustria in the 1866Austro-Prussian War, the prime minister of victoriousPrussia,Otto von Bismarck, enforced his abdication in favour of his sonGeorge II, after which Saxe-Meiningen was admitted to join theNorth German Confederation.
By 1910, the duchy had grown to 2,468 km2 (953 sq mi) and 278,762 inhabitants.[2] The ducal summer residence was atAltenstein Castle. Since 1868, the duchy comprised theKreise (districts) ofHildburghausen,Sonneberg andSaalfeld as well as the northernexclaves ofCamburg andKranichfeld.
In theGerman Revolution afterWorld War I, DukeBernhard III, brother-in-law of EmperorWilhelm II, was forced to abdicate and his brother Ernst on 11/12 November 1918 refused the succession. The succeedingFree State of Saxe-Meiningen became part of the new state ofThuringia on 1 May 1920.[2]
Notes:
 Upper Saxon Circle (1512–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire | ||
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Circles est. 1500:Bavarian,Swabian,Upper Rhenish,Lower Rhenish–Westphalian,Franconian,(Lower) Saxon Circles est. 1512:Austrian,Burgundian,Upper Saxon,Electoral Rhenish · Unencircled territories See also:Ernestine duchies | ||
Ernestine duchies after the Division of Erfurt (1572) | ||
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