Editing Saxe-Meiningen (section)

==History==
[[File:GER-TH-SM-Meiningen (Schloss Elisabethenburg, Blick von Osten) — 2009 uploaded 2011-09-24.jpg|thumb|left|[[Elisabethenburg Palace]], residence of the Duchy since 1682]]
===House of Wettin===
The [[House of Wettin|Wettiner]] had been the rulers of sizeable holdings in today's states of [[Saxony]], [[Saxony-Anhalt]] and [[Thuringia]] since the Middle Ages. In the ''[[Treaty of Leipzig|Leipziger Teilung]]'' of 1485, the Wettiner were split into two branches named after their founding princes [[Albert III, Duke of Saxony|Albrecht]] and [[Ernest, Elector of Saxony|Ernst]] (''albertinisch'' and ''ernestinisch''). Thuringia was part of the Ernestine holdings of ''Kursachsen'' (the [[Electorate of Saxony]]). In 1572, the branches [[Saxe-Coburg-Eisenach]] and [[Saxe-Weimar]] were established there. The senior line again split in 1641/41 into three duchies, including the [[Duchy of Saxe-Gotha]].<ref name="Museum"/>

[[Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha|Duke Ernst I]] who founded this duchy with its seat at [[Gotha]] opposed the system of [[primogeniture]]. As a result, on his death in 1675 all of his sons inherited part of his holdings and were supposed to rule under the leadership of his oldest son. In practice, this proved very complicated and brought on three settlements in 1679, 1680 and 1681 that established the following princedoms: Saxe-Gotha ([[Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg|Friedrich]]), [[Saxe-Coburg]] ([[Albert V, Duke of Saxe-Coburg|Albrecht]]), Saxe-Meiningen (Bernhard), [[Saxe-Eisenberg]] ([[Christian, Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg|Christian]]), [[Saxe-Hildburghausen]] ([[Ernest, Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen|Ernst]]) and [[Saxe-Saalfeld]] ([[John Ernest IV, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld|Johann Ernst]]).<ref name="Museum"/>

===Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen===
[[Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen|Bernhard]], Ernst I's third son, received the town of [[Meiningen]] as well as several other holdings ([[Wasungen]] und Salzungen, Maßfeld und Sand, Herrenbreitungen, Herpf, Stepfershausen, Utendorf, Mehlis and the former [[Franconia]]n lands of the extinct [[House of Henneberg]], Henneberg).<ref name="Museum"/>

Bernhard chose the town of Meiningen as his residence and became the first duke of Saxe-Meiningen. From 1682 Duke Bernhard I had the [[Schloss Elisabethenburg]] built and in 1690 established the [[Meiningen Court Orchestra|Court Orchestra]] (''Hofkapelle''), in which [[Johann Ludwig Bach]] later became the ''[[Kapellmeister]]'' (1711).

In the reshuffle of Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinction of the [[Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg]] line upon the death of Duke [[Frederick IV, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg|Frederick IV]] in 1825, Duke [[Bernhard II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen|Bernhard II of Saxe-Meiningen]] received the lands of the former Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen as well as the [[Saalfeld]] territory of the former [[Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld]] duchy.

As Bernhard II had supported [[Austrian Empire|Austria]] in the 1866 [[Austro-Prussian War]], the prime minister of victorious [[Kingdom of Prussia|Prussia]], [[Otto von Bismarck]], enforced his abdication in favour of his son [[George II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen|George II]], after which Saxe-Meiningen was admitted to join the [[North German Confederation]].

By 1910, the duchy had grown to {{cvt|2,468|km2}} and 278,762 inhabitants.<ref name="Museum"/> The ducal summer residence was at [[Altenstein Palace|Altenstein]] Castle. Since 1868, the duchy comprised the ''Kreise'' (districts) of [[Hildburghausen]], [[Sonneberg]] and [[Saalfeld]] as well as the northern [[enclave and exclave|exclaves]] of [[Camburg]] and [[Kranichfeld]].

===End of the Duchy===
In the [[German Revolution of 1918–19|German Revolution]] after [[World War I]], Duke [[Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen|Bernhard III]], brother-in-law of Emperor [[Wilhelm II, German Emperor|Wilhelm II]], was forced to abdicate and his brother Ernst on 11/12 November 1918 refused the succession. The succeeding "Free State of Saxe-Meiningen" was merged into the new state of [[Thuringia]] on 1 May 1920.<ref name="Museum"/>