House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
The House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was a German noble family , a younger branch of the Ernestine Wettins . It ruled over the duchy of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg , one of the so-called Ernestine duchies in what is now the state of Thuringia . The extinction of the dynasty in 1825 led to an extensive reorganization of the Thuringian states .
Emerge
The house of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg can be traced back to Duke Ernst I, the pious of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675). This was a younger son of Duke Johann III. of Saxe-Weimar . In 1640 Ernst the Pious divided up the paternal inheritance with his brothers ( Ernestine division ), Saxe-Gotha was separated from Saxe-Weimar and handed over to Ernst the Pious. In 1672 the ducal family died out in Saxony-Altenburg , the land was then divided between Saxe-Weimar and Saxe-Gotha, with Saxe-Gotha receiving the lion's share. This is how the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg came into being, and from that point on the Ernst the Pious family named themselves after their duchy.
In 1680, five years after the death of Ernst the Pious, there was a renewed division of the country among his children ( Gothaer Hauptreceß ). Altenburg and Gotha stuck to it in one hand and the Pious was the oldest son Ernst Friedrich I. awarded.
Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
| Surname | Life dates | Government data | married to | Remarks |
| Ernst I., the pious | 1601-1675 | 1640-1675 | Elisabeth Sophia , b. Princess of Saxe-Altenburg | from 1640 Duke of Saxe-Gotha, from 1672 also Duke of Saxe-Altenburg |
| Friedrich I. | 1646-1689 | 1675-1689 | first marriage to Magdalena Sybille , b. Princess of Saxony-Weißenfels , in second marriage to Christine , b. Princess of Baden-Durlach | |
| Friedrich II. | 1676-1732 | 1689-1732 | Magdalena Augusta , b. Princess of Anhalt-Zerbst | |
| Friedrich III. | 1699-1772 | 1732-1772 | Luise Dorothea , b. Princess of Saxe-Meiningen | |
| Ernst II. Ludwig | 1745-1804 | 1772-1804 | Charlotte Amalie , b. Princess of Saxe-Meiningen | |
| August | 1772-1822 | 1804-1822 | first marriage to Luise Charlotte , b. Princess of Mecklenburg-Schwerin , second marriage to Karoline Amalie , b. Princess of Hessen-Kassel | |
| Friedrich IV. | 1774-1825 | 1822-1825 | with his death extinction of the house of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg |
Extinction and successors
The last two rulers from the Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg family died without a male successor. Duke August had only one daughter, his brother Duke Friedrich IV died unmarried and childless. The extinction of the house can also be traced back to the insufficient endowment of the appanages of non-governmental members of the household. Frederick IV could not enter into marriage as a later-born child due to a lack of adequate appanage from Ernst II. When his older brother died unexpectedly, he was 47 years old and severely weakened due to an injury. The failed marriage of Johann Adolf von Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg with Ernestine Albertine , daughter of Ernst August I von Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach is not least due to the lack of protection of his ruling brother Friedrich III. so that Johann Adolf entered into an inappropriate marriage and his male descendant was illegitimate according to domiciliary rights.
After the death of Friedrich IV, protracted inheritance disputes followed among the other Ernestine princely houses, which were finally resolved by an arbitration award from King Friedrich August I, the Righteous of Saxony . Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was divided, Altenburg fell to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen , while Gotha fell to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld , who, however, had to do without Saalfeld, so that the new Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha came into being.