Ernst August II (Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach)

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Duke Ernst August II of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach

Ernst August II. Konstantin (also Constantine) (born June 2, 1737 in Weimar ; † May 28, 1758 ibid) was Duke of Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Eisenach . He came from the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin .

Life

Ernst August Konstantin was the only surviving son of Duke Ernst August I of Saxe-Weimar and Eisenach from his second marriage to Sophie Charlotte (1713–1747), daughter of Margrave Georg Friedrich of Brandenburg-Bayreuth . His father, a splendid Baroque ruler who mainly stayed in Eisenach because of his passion for hunting , paid little attention to his son, so that he spent his first years under the supervision of a court marshal at Belvedere Palace in Weimar. He was comprehensively trained by the court preacher Bartholomei and the forest secretary Hindorf.

Ernst August II. Constantine lost his father in 1748 when he was not yet eleven years old. Since he was still too young to take over the business of government, Duke Friedrich III took over . von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg initially took over the reign. Ernst August II. Constantine came to the court of the Duke of Gotha , who provided for an appropriate education. After Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Meiningen appealed against this guardianship to the emperor and the imperial assembly, Duke Franz Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld also took part in the regency in 1750 . The Duchy of Weimar was founded by Franz Josias, the Eisenach part of the country by Friedrich III. managed. In 1750 the court marshal's office was established in Weimar .

In 1755 Ernst August II. Constantine was declared of legal age by the emperor and began to govern independently on December 29, 1755. However, during his short reign he hardly made himself known for any particular deed. He appointed his tutor, Count Heinrich von Bünau , as Chancellor , who carried out the actual affairs of government on behalf of the Duke. Only a few weeks after Ernst August took office, he and his chancellor set out on the bridal trip to Braunschweig .

Since Ernst August II. Constantine had had health problems since his youth, the court pressed for a quick marriage, since in the event of his death the Weimar ruling house would have died out without an heir. On March 16, 1756, he married Anna Amalia (1739–1807), daughter of Duke Karl I of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel , from the Guelph family in Braunschweig . The heir to the throne, later Duke and Grand Duke Karl August, was born a year later . The duke made a contribution to the cultivation of potatoes , which he promoted with the payment of bonuses and a supplement to the agricultural regulations.

In the year after the birth of the heir Ernst August II. Constantine died before his 21st birthday after four weeks of illness wasting . Anna Amalia was pregnant again at this time, so that the second son Ernst August II was born after the death of his father.

Since the Hereditary Prince was still a minor at the time of his death, the Duchess Anna Amalia began a long and beneficial tutelary government, which laid the foundation for the Weimar Classic . The reign of Anna Amalia and her father was determined by Ernst August Konstantin in his will.

Coffin (under the arch) to the left of the coffins of Duke Ernst August I (1688–1748) and Duchess Eleonora Wilhelmina

His coffin is in the Princely Crypt of the Weimar Historical Cemetery .

progeny

Ernst August II had two sons from his marriage:

  • Carl August (1757–1828), Grand Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
⚭ 1775 Princess Luise of Hessen-Darmstadt (1757–1830)

literature

  • Gottfried Albin de Wette: Brief life history of the dukes of Saxony , Weimar 1770, p. 553 ff.
  • Ferdinand von Biedenfeld: One day in Weimar , Jansen Verlag Weimar, 1852, p. 12 ( digitized version )
  • Joachim Berger: Anna Amalia von Weimar: A Biography , CH Beck, Munich 2006.
  • Sören Schmidtke: The will of Ernst August II. Constantine . In: Wieland Studies 9 (2015), pp. 305–316.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The potato in the Duchy of Saxony-Weimar. Retrieved October 28, 2014 .
  2. ↑ Carl Eduard Vehse: History of the German courts since the Reformation , part 5, Hamburg 1854, p. 55

Web links

Commons : Ernst August II. Konstantin  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
Ernst August I. Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
1748 - 1758 		Carl August
personal data
SURNAME Ernst August II.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ernst August II. Constantine of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach; Ernst August Constantin
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
DATE OF BIRTH June 2, 1737
PLACE OF BIRTH Weimar
DATE OF DEATH May 28, 1758
Place of death Weimar