Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
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Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (German Sachsen-Gotha-Altenburg) was a historical state in today's Thuringia, Germany. It was nominally created in 1672 when Frederick Wilhelm III, the last duke of Saxe-Altenburg died and Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha (who had married Frederick Wilhelm's cousin, Elisabeth Sophie) inherited his possessions.
It was common for the Ernestine duchies to merge and split; Ernest's combined duchy was divided again after his death in 1675, and the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg officially came into existence with the completion of this division and the accession in 1680 of his eldest son, Frederick, to the subdivision centered around Gotha and Altenburg.
When the house of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg became extinct in 1825, Saxe-Gotha was given to Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Saxe-Altenburg passed to the Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, who in turn passed his own domain to Saxe-Meiningen. After the abolition of German monarchies at the end of the First World War, both Saxe-Gotha and Saxe-Altenburg became part of the newly created state of Thuringia in 1920.
[edit] Dukes of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
- Ernest I the Pious (1640-1675), inherited Saxe-Altenburg in 1675
- Frederick I (1675-1691), son of previous; first to bear the title Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg
- Frederick II (1691-1732), son
- Frederick III (1732-1772), son
- Ernest II (1772-1804), son
- Emil (1804-1822), son
- Frederick IV (1822-1825), brother
Divided between Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and Saxe-Hildburghausen
Saxe-Weimar (1572 to 1806) • Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach (1572 to 1596) • Saxe-Coburg (1596 to 1633; 1681 to 1699) • Saxe-Eisenach (1596 to 1638; 1640 to 1644; 1672 to 1806) • Saxe-Altenburg (1603 to 1672; 1826 to 1918) • Saxe-Gotha (1640 to 1680) • Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1681 to 1826) • Saxe-Marksuhl (1662 to 1672) • Saxe-Jena (1672 to 1690) • Saxe-Eisenberg (1680 to 1707) • Saxe-Hildburghausen (1680 to 1826) • Saxe-Römhild (1680 to 1710) • Saxe-Saalfeld (1680 to 1735) • Saxe-Meiningen (1681 to 1918) • Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1735 to 1826) • Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach (1806 to 1918) • Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (1826 to 1918)
States of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806-1813)
Rank elevated by Napoleon → Kingdoms: Bavaria | Saxony | Württemberg | Grand Duchies: Baden | Hesse
States created → Kingdoms: Westphalia | Grand Duchies: Berg | Frankfurt (until 1810 as Principality of Aschaffenburg) | Würzburg |
Principalities: Leyen | Regensburg (until 1810)
Already existing states → Duchies: Anhalt-Bernburg | Anhalt-Dessau | Anhalt-Köthen | Arenberg | Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Nassau | Oldenburg | Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld | Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg | Saxe-Hildburghausen | Saxe-Meiningen |
Saxe-Weimar, Saxe-Eisenach (from 1741 personal union, from 1809 state union), Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach |
Principalities: Hohenzollern-Hechingen | Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen | Isenburg-Birstein | Liechtenstein | Lippe-Detmold | Reuss-Ebersdorf | Reuss-Greiz | Reuss-Lobenstein | Reuss-Schleiz | Salm-Kyrburg | Salm-Salm | Schaumburg-Lippe | Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Waldeck
Empires: Austria | Kingdoms: Prussia | Bavaria | Saxony | Hanover | Württemberg | Electorates: Hesse-Cassel |
Grand Duchies: Baden | Hesse | Luxembourg | Mecklenburg-Schwerin | Mecklenburg-Strelitz | Oldenburg | Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach |
Duchies: Anhalt (since 1863) | Anhalt-Bernburg (until 1863) | Anhalt-Dessau (until 1863) | Anhalt-Köthen (until 1847) | Brunswick | Holstein | Lauenburg | Limburg | Nassau | Saxe-Altenburg (since 1826) | Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (became Saxe-Coburg and Gotha in 1826) | Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (until 1826) | Saxe-Hildburghausen (until 1826) | Saxe-Meiningen | Principalities: Hesse-Homburg | Hohenzollern-Hechingen (until 1850) | Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen (until 1850) | Liechtenstein | Lippe | Reuss Junior Line | Reuss Elder Line | Schaumburg-Lippe | Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt | Schwarzburg-Sondershausen | Waldeck and Pyrmont | Free Cities: Frankfurt | Hamburg | Lübeck | Bremen
