duchy · Germany and Central Europe
Duchy of Saxe-Weimar
Origins
The Ernestine Wettins, who lost the electorate in 1547, kept lands in Thuringia that were repeatedly divided. The Erfurt Division of 1572 gave Duke Frederick William I the lands around Weimar, while his cousins received Coburg and Eisenach.
Rule and society
Weimar's Lutheran dukes ruled a farming territory with the university of Jena nearby. The duchy was repeatedly divided among brothers, and in 1640 the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha split off, while Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar became a famous Protestant general in the Thirty Years' War. Johann Sebastian Bach served as court organist and concertmaster at Weimar from 1708 to 1717.
Decline and legacy
When the Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach's line died out in 1741, Duke Ernest Augustus I united the two as the Duchy of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach. Under Duchess Anna Amalia and Charles Augustus the united duchy became the home of Goethe and Schiller.
Lineage
On the connections map
Open the full map →Connections (4)
- Duchy of Saxe-Weimar was part of Holy Roman Empire1572 CE – 1741 CE
- Duchy of Saxe-Gotha split from Duchy of Saxe-Weimar1640 CE
- Duchy of Saxe-Eisenach split from Duchy of Saxe-Weimar1672 CE
- Duchy of Saxe-Jena split from Duchy of Saxe-Weimar1672 CE
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Cite this page
- APA
- The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Saxe-Weimar. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-weimar
- MLA
- “Duchy of Saxe-Weimar.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-weimar. Accessed .
- Chicago
- The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Saxe-Weimar.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-weimar.
- Harvard
- The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Saxe-Weimar’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-saxe-weimar (Accessed: ).
Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻