Duchy of Saxe-Gotha

Origins

Saxe-Gotha was created in 1640 when the Ernestine lands of Saxe-Weimar were divided among the brothers of the ducal house, and Ernest I received Gotha. He built Friedenstein Palace as his residence. In 1672 he inherited Saxe-Altenburg, and the state became known as Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg.

Rule and society

Ernest the Pious introduced compulsory schooling, a famous school method and detailed church and state ordinances, rebuilding a land ruined by the Thirty Years' War. On his death in 1675 his lands were divided among seven sons, creating the duchies of Coburg, Meiningen, Römhild, Eisenberg, Hildburghausen and Saalfeld. Ernest II, in the 18th century, was an Enlightenment patron of astronomy who founded the Seeberg observatory.

Decline and legacy

The line died out with Duke Frederick IV in 1825. In the redistribution of 1826 Gotha went to the Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, forming the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, while Altenburg became the Duchy of Saxe-Altenburg.