Meininger Oberland

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Meininger Oberland is the historical name of the Sonneberg district in the former Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen . This name comes from the second half of the 18th century. After the end of the independent state of Saxony-Meiningen in 1920, it disappeared from everyday language.

Origin of the term "Meininger Oberland"

Politically, this area belonged to the Duchy of Saxony-Coburg from 1572 to 1735 . After the older Saxon-Coburg line died out, the Neuhaus office, which had existed since 1611, and the Sonneberg judicial district in the Neustadt office fell to the Meiningen dukes. Further claims of Sachsen-Meiningen against Sachsen-Coburg could not be enforced after a failed military occupation of Neustadt, so that in 1742 the office of Sonneberg was formed from the court and Neustadt remained directly with the Coburgers. The Meininger extended the area to 1780 by the office of Schalkau and the Schaumberg possessions in today's Sonneberg hinterland . After that, the name “Meininger Oberland” became popular for the Sonneberg district. The offices of Sonneberg, Neuhaus and Schalkau were administratively subordinated to the ducal central authorities in Meiningen in 1742 , but were considered a part of the duchy of Saxony-Coburg that was legally separate from Meiningen (now called " Meininger Unterland "). Until the end of the inheritance disputes between the dukes of Saxe-Coburg and Saxe-Meiningen, the inhabitants of the Meininger Oberland saw themselves respectfully subordinate and connected to the three ruling houses of Saxe-Coburg , Saxe-Hildburghausen and Saxe-Meiningen . It was not until 1826 that the Sonneberg area was finally incorporated into the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen with the partition contract to Hildburghausen . With the formation of circles in the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen in 1869, the Meininger Oberland, which is under the jurisdiction of the Sonneberg administrative office, became the Sonneberg district.

End of the "Meininger Oberland"

With the fall of the monarchy in 1918, the rulers of the Thuringian duchies of Saxony-Coburg and Gotha and Saxony-Meiningen also abdicated. In the course of 1919, the three Free States of Coburg , Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Meiningen established themselves in the respective territories .

The decisive political forces, from the Liberals to the Social Democrats, and the bourgeois Sonneberger Zeitung were in favor of joining Thuringia . Their main arguments were the Catholicism and separatism of Bavaria as well as the strong international orientation of the industrial region of Sonneberg towards the seaports. The common denomination and history spoke for Thuringia and the local connections for Upper Franconia. Meiningen campaigned addition in Sonneberg merchants with tax benefits , the expansion of trade and industry chamber , the guarantee of existence of the county seat, and promised for the US - Consulate use, which was built in Sonneberg in 1851 and since its relocation in 1897 to Coburg only as a consular Representation until it closed in 1916. Finally, at the end of 1919, the state parliament of Saxony-Meiningen passed a resolution that included conditions for joining the state of Thuringia a . a. demanded that the Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sonneberg be maintained and expanded and that the country should campaign for a US consulate.

A referendum in the Free State of Coburg in 1920 led to its incorporation into what was then the Bavarian district of Upper Franconia . Since then, the Sonneberg district from southern Thuringia has protruded into Bavaria in a wedge shape.

literature

  • August Schleicher : Folk things from Sonneberg in the Meininger Oberlande - phonology of the Sonneberg dialect . Böhlau, Weimar 1858.
  • Johann Martin Steiner : Chronicle of the City of Sonneberg 1757-1802. (Editing: Heike Büttner, Nicki End, Hans Gauß, Waltraud Roß, Thomas Schwämmlein), Stadtarchiv Sonneberg 2017, ISBN 978-3-00-058293-6
  • Oskar Stillich : The home toy industry in the Meininger Oberland. Verlag Fischer, Jena 1899. (New edition. Nabu Press, 2010, ISBN 978-1-148-29059-1 )
  • Hermann Pistor : Old and new from Sonneberg and the Meininger Oberlande. Emil Oehrlein publishing house, Sonneberg 1902.
  • Thomas Schwämmlein: Sonneberg's reaction to the connection of Coburg to Bavaria . In: Coburg history sheets. 9th year (2001) H. 1–2, pp. 29–33.

Individual evidence

  1. See Chronicle of the City of Sonneberg 1757–1802 by Johann Martin Steiner. Stadtarchiv Sonneberg 2017, ISBN 978-3-00-058293-6 .
  2. Thomas Schwämmlein: When Sonneberg was ticking in Thuringia . In: Free Word. February 7, 2013.