Saxe-Altenburg
(1813-1871: Sachsen-Altenburg)
The Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg, a German state in Thuringia since 1602, was a member state of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1866. After the Austro-Prussian War, when the duchy allied with Prussia, it became a member state of the North German Confederation in 1867. The Saxe-Altenburg military became a contingent of the Prussian army on 26 June 1867, and it became a member state of the Imperial German Empire in 1871.
Duke Ernst I served for 55 years until 1908. Ernst II was the last reigning Duke of Saxe-Altenburg; his father’s death left him first in line when his uncle, Ernst I, died without a surviving male son. Ernst married his first wife, Princess Adelaide of Schaumburg-Lippe, a granddaughter of George William, Prince of Schaumburg-Lippe. They had four children. The marriage ended in divorce on 17 January 1920. During WWI, he was offered an honorary appointment to the Kaiser’s headquarters. He turned it down. Resigning from his courtesy rank of Generalleutnant, he requested and was granted the rank of Col. and command of his duchy’s regiment, the 153rd (8th Thuringian) Infantry. Quickly promoted to General der Infanterie, he led several brigades on the western front. In 1915, he was awarded the Pour le Mérite award and was given command of the 8th Infantry Division, further distinguishing himself in the Battle of the Somme. In late 191due to illness, he relinquished his command and returned to Altenburg for the remainder of the war.Ernst joined the Nazi party in 1937.
He was the only former reigning German prince who accepted East German citizenship after the second world war , refusing an offer to relocate to the British occupation zone. His castle had been confiscated by the Soviet occupiers, but Ernst had been granted free use of it until his death. In March 1954, with the death of Charles Edward, Duke of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, he became the last survivor of the German princes who had reigned until 1918. One year later, he died.
Saxe-Altenburg was a hereditary constitutional monarchy. The parliament had one chamber called the Landtag consisting of 32 members. The franchise was even more restrictive than Prussia with nine Landtag members elected only by the highest taxpaying section and the other 23 by all males over 25 years of age who paid taxes according to the Prussian three-tier system. Saxe-Altenburg had one vote in the Reichstag and one in the Bundesrat.
The population was 222,000, 98 percent of which were Protestant. The capital was Altenburg. The Duchy consisted of two detached and almost equal sections, as well as twelve small enclaves. The duchy was 1323 km². The soldiers were concentrated among other small states in 8. Thüringisches Infanterie-Regiment Nr. 153 of the Prussian army.