Saxe-Gotha, Ger. Sachsen-Gotha, former duchy, Thuringia, central Germany. A possession of the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin, it passed in the 16th cent. to the dukes of Saxe-Weimar. After the death (1605) of Duke John of Weimar, his territories were divided among his heirs. Saxe-Gotha, along with Coburg, Meiningen, Saalfeld, and other territories, gradually came under the control of Ernest the Pious, one of John's younger sons, who inherited Saxe-Altenburg in 1672. On Ernest's death (1675), the succession was divided among his seven sons; the eldest, Frederick I, received Gotha and Saxe-Altenburg, which his descendants ruled until the male line failed in 1825. Saxe-Gotha was awarded in 1826 to Ernest III of Saxe-Coburg (Ernest I of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha; see under Saxe-Coburg). Saxe-Altenburg became a separate duchy under a collateral line. In 1920 Saxe-Gotha was incorporated into Thuringia.

Saxe-Gotha (Sachsen-Gotha) was a historical state in today's Thuringia, Germany. It was created in 1640 for Duke Ernest I and ended in 1680 when his lands were divided after his death in 1675. The area around Gotha passed to Ernest's eldest surviving son, Frederick of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, who also inherited Altenburg (which Ernest had inherited through his wife Elisabeth Sophie) and became Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Dukes of Saxe-Gotha

• Ernest I the Pious (1640–75, also Duke of Saxe-Altenburg from 1672)
• Divided into Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Meiningen, Saxe-Römhild, Saxe-Eisenberg, Saxe-Hildburghausen and Saxe-Saalfeld in 1680

When the house of Saxe-Gotha and Altenburg became extinct in 1825, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg was split. Saxe-Gotha passed to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld who in turn gave Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen. The Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen received Saxe-Altenburg, and gave the district of Hildburghausen to Saxe-Meiningen.

After the abolition of German monarchies at the end of the First World War it became a part of the newly created state of Thuringia in 1920.

References

• Saxe-Gotha, Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition, Columbia University Press (2001–05), accessed January 27 2007

See also

• Ernestine duchies