Heinrich (Saxe-Römhild)

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Duke Heinrich von Sachsen-Römhild - half-right half-length portrait in armor with an allonge wig , lace scarf and shoulder sash in oval with his motto “Si deus pro nobis, quis contra nos?” (Lat. “If God is for us, who can be against us then ? ") And a large coat of arms with a princely hat, on a console with ornaments

Duke Heinrich von Sachsen-Römhild (born November 19, 1650 in Gotha , † May 13, 1710 in Römhild ) was the only regent of Sachsen-Römhild and imperial general.

Life

Heinrich was the fourth son of Duke Ernst I the Pious of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675) and his wife Elisabeth Sophia (1619–1680), daughter of Duke Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg .

On March 1, 1676, he married Marie Elisabeth von Hessen-Darmstadt (1656–1715), daughter of Landgrave Ludwig VI, in Darmstadt . from Hessen-Darmstadt . In that year he also moved his residence to Römhild. On February 24, 1680, the seven sons of Ernst the Pious divided up the land among themselves and Heinrich received the offices and cities of Römhild, Königsberg , Themar , Behrungen and Milz as well as the Genuine fiefs.

Heinrich moved into Römhild with his young wife Marielies on November 18, 1680 and resided in the castle, which he called " Glücksburg " and had it rebuilt and furnished according to his ideas. Duke Heinrich also developed a brisk building activity. Under his rule, the castle church, an office and customs house, four cavalier houses for the court nobility, a riding school, a racing track and the orangery were built . The most splendid buildings were the grotto house (also called Marien-Elisabethenlust after his wife, whom he loved very much ) and the pleasure palace in Mertzelbach , built to designs by the court sculptor Lux, who also created the high altar in the collegiate church . Many of these buildings no longer exist today, but are described in detail in the work he published himself, "The princely building lust of Duke Heinrich von Sachsen-Römhild". The book is considered to be one of the few remaining written testimonies to ephemeral architecture . Heinrich also had the Bürgersee drained and converted into a pleasure garden and equipped the town church with a baroque high altar, a magnificent princely box and a new organ.

Heinrich, who was well versed in mechanics, architecture and mathematics, maintained a princely library at Glücksburg Castle, which he constantly expanded and which came to the Duke of Saxe-Gotha after his death. From 1691 to 1693 he, together with his brother Bernhard , led the regency in Saxony-Gotha for his Duke Friedrich II . Heinrich entered the imperial military service at a young age and in 1697 became the imperial general field master , the following year he was awarded the Elephant Order .

The luxurious court life and the prestigious court keeping of the Duke helped the small country town of Römhild to flourish economically and in culture. The effort far exceeded the Duke's financial strength. When the popular ruler died unexpectedly in 1710, he left considerable debts. In the last four years of his life he was the senior of the Ernestine house. His estate was auctioned.

Duke Heinrich was buried in the altar hall of the Römhild collegiate church. Today there are no more inscriptions and no tombs.

His marriage remained childless and the Ernestine sideline Römhild died out. The principality was divided in the Coburg-Eisenberg-Römhilder inheritance dispute of the Gotha Ernestines (ended 1735).

literature

predecessor Office successor
Ernst I. Duke of Saxony-Römhild
1680–1710 		Friedrich II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Johann Ernst of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Ernst of Saxe-Hildburghausen

Ernst Ludwig I of Saxe-Meiningen
predecessor Office successor
Friedrich I. Co-administrator of the Duchy of
Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg
1691–1693 		Friedrich II of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg

Web links

Commons : Heinrich von Sachsen-Römhild  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Heinrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Heinrich von Sachsen-Römhild
BRIEF DESCRIPTION sole regent of Saxe-Gotha-Römhild
DATE OF BIRTH November 19, 1650
PLACE OF BIRTH Gotha
DATE OF DEATH May 13, 1710
Place of death Römhild