Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen

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Prince Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen

Ernst Bernhard Victor Georg von Sachsen-Meiningen (born September 27, 1859 in Meiningen , † December 29, 1941 in Altenstein Castle ) was a prince of Sachsen-Meiningen , artist and colonel in the Prussian army.

Life

Ernst was a son of Duke Georg II of Saxony-Meiningen (1826–1914) from his second marriage to Feodora (1839–1872), daughter of Prince Ernst I of Hohenlohe-Langenburg . Ernst was the second in line to the throne after his older half-brother Bernhard III. , 1914–1918 last Duke of Saxony-Meiningen.

Childhood, adolescence and studies

Born in 1859, Ernst was first raised and educated together with his younger brother Friedrich (1861–1914) in Meiningen, among others by Heinrich von Eggeling , before they both attended the "Vitzthumsche Institut" in Dresden from 1873 and then the grammar school in Hildburghausen , where they also took their school leaving examination. In 1875 the future Empress Auguste Viktoria became interested in the prince, but her parents stopped this relationship. Ernst began his law studies in Bonn in 1879 , went to Strasbourg University in 1880 and moved to Leipzig University in 1881 . After a long stay in France, he began his military service in the cavalry in Potsdam in 1882 .

Painter and prince

From 1884 Ernst studied painting in Munich during his military service, which he finished in 1885 as an officer à la Suite . From this time he began his career as an artist, where he met numerous well-known artists of that time in Meiningen, Munich, Bremen and the Netherlands, including teachers Franz von Lenbach , Adolf von Hildebrand and Arthur Fitger . As early as 1885 Ernst had his own studio in Munich and in 1888 he created his first portraits. He frequented artistic circles in Munich and, with his brother Bernhard, as brother-in-law of Wilhelm II, in imperial circles. In 1890 Ernst traveled to Greece and Constantinople with his father and his wife Helene .

On September 20, 1892, he married Katharina Jensen, daughter of the writer Wilhelm Jensen and raised to the status of "Baroness von Saalfeld" by Georg II, and then moved with her to Florence near his mentor Adolf von Hildebrandt. Ernst's most productive creative phase as an artist followed until 1914. He traveled a lot and created portraits and murals in many places. During this time the family moved to Frankfurt am Main in 1898 and to Munich in 1900. At the same time, Ernst often had to fulfill representative duties for the home duchy of Saxony-Meiningen .

First World War

During the First World War , Prince Ernst reported for action at the front and on August 8, 1914, he moved to the western front as a lieutenant colonel with the Meiningen 2nd Thuringian Infantry Regiment No. 32 à la suite . In 1915 he was assigned to the Alpine Corps in Tyrol as commander of the 2nd Jäger Regiment . In the meantime promoted to colonel , his regiment was transferred to Verdun in early 1916 . In August of the same year he took over the 43rd Infantry Brigade and on November 1, 1918 the 22nd Infantry Brigade. During the entire war his artistic activity ceased almost entirely. Prince Ernst lost his sons Ernst (1915) and Georg (1916) in this war. After his brother Bernhard III. On November 10, 1918, Ernst had abdicated as the ruling duke, as heir to the throne, on November 12, 1918, Ernst also signed the declaration of renunciation of the throne made by the Meiningen state parliament .

Late years

In 1918, Prince Ernst and his family moved from the troubled Munich of the Soviet Republic to Haubinda in the local school home of his friend Hermann Lietz . Together with Adolf von Hildebrand and the architect Karl Behlert , he designed the grave complex for the duke couple Georg II and Helene Freifrau von Heldburg in the Meiningen park cemetery in 1920 . In 1921 he moved into his own newly built house in Haubinda. Initially working as a drawing teacher at the Landschulheim, he began painting again in 1922. In addition, he was only responsible for the replacement of his sick brother, after whose death he was entirely responsible for the administration and sale of the ducal property, for inheritance matters and as a representative of the House of Saxony-Meiningen. Ernst died in 1941 at Altenstein Castle , which his widow sold to the State of Thuringia the following year .

Works

The two reliefs created by Ernst Thalia (right) and Melpomene at the Meininger Theater
Portrait of George II sitting in an armchair with an open fur coat (1903)

Prince Ernst was a talented painter and the favorite son of his father Georg II, whom he often portrayed. He dubbed himself “Prince and Painter” and was generally called “Painter Prince”.

Among other things, Ernst created two wall paintings (including “Battle of the Amazons”) in the Villa Carlotta on Lake Como and was responsible for the building-related artistic design for the construction of the new Meininger Theater . His main activity, however, was portraying family members, artists and industrialists. Among other things, the pictures “Käthe with the little ones”, “Portrait of Georg II. Sitting in an armchair with an open fur” (1903), “Portrait of Frau Professor Hildebrand” (1905), “Portrait of the sculptor G. Römer” (1907) were created ) and "Equestrian Portrait of Elector Johann Friedrich" (around 1909). Ernst also created numerous paintings to furnish the new buildings of the University of Jena , which earned him an honorary doctorate, and influenced the design of industrial products from the Meiningen Oberland as well as the design of the ducal tomb in Meiningen.

Honors and titles

Ernst was an honorary doctorate from the University of Jena and a colonel in the Prussian army. According to him, which is Ernststraße named district East Meininger. The sculptor Erwin Kurz created a marble bust of Prince Ernst.

family

He morganatically married on September 20, 1892 in Munich Katharina ("Käthe") Jensen (1874–1945), a daughter of the writer Wilhelm Jensen , who on the day of their marriage was raised by Ernst's father to the "Baroness of Saalfeld". After the death of his brother Bernhard in 1928, he was head of the former ducal house of Meiningen. His nephew Georg followed him as head of the house . His six children, Barons von Saalfeld, were excluded from the line of succession:

  • Georg Wilhelm (born June 11, 1893 - † April 29, 1916), killed in La Bassée during the First World War
  • Elisabeth Helene Adelheid Marie (February 2, 1895 - June 4, 1934)
  • Ernst Friedrich Heinrich Paul (* July 4, 1896 - † May 28, 1915), killed in Josefovo, Lithuania , in the First World War
  • Ralf Erich (born March 28, 1900 - † July 22, 1947)
  • Sven Hans Heinrich Bernhard (born September 18, 1903 - † December 13, 1998)
  • Heinrich "Enzio" (* July 17, 1908; † March 31, 1941) died in an air raid in England during World War II

Web links

Commons : Ernst Bernhard Victor Georg von Sachsen-Meiningen  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Viktoria Luise, Germany's Last Empress, Göttinger Verlagsanstalt, 1972, p. 38.
  2. ↑ a b Historical regional studies. Meininger Heimatklänge 104/1, Meininger Mediengesellschaft 2012.
  3. ↑ a b c d Historical regional studies. Meininger Heimatklänge 104/2, Meininger Mediengesellschaft 2012.
  4. ↑ Steel storm [1]
  5. ↑ a b Historical regional studies. Meininger Heimatklänge 104/3, Meininger Mediengesellschaft 2012.
  6. ↑ Bellinger, Gerhard J. , Regulator-Bellinger, Brigitte : Schwabings Ainmillerstraße and its most important residents , Norderstedt, 2003, p. 208. ( digitized version )
  7. ^ Gustav Adolf Erdmann: Wilhelm Jensen: his life and poetry , B. Elischer, 1907, p. 98.
personal data
SURNAME Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Saxony-Meiningen, Ernst Bernhard Victor Georg von
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Prince of Saxe-Meiningen
DATE OF BIRTH September 27, 1859
PLACE OF BIRTH Meiningen
DATE OF DEATH December 29, 1941
Place of death Altenstein Castle