Meiningen
Meiningen is a town in the southern part of the state of Thuringia, Germany. It has a population of around 21,000 and is the capital of the Schmalkalden-Meiningen district, from 1680 to 1920, Meiningen was the capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen. Meiningen is considered the cultural and financial centre of southern Thuringia and is reliant on mechanical engineering, high-tech industry. The city lies in the linguistic and cultural area of Franconia, Meiningen originated during the formation of the Frankish Empire in the 6th or 7th century, which established trade routes, river crossings and boundary markers. An intersection of two routes and a ford was located at the present-day southern end of the old town near the Werra river. Meiningen was first mentioned in 982, the village was first a crown land in the Duchy of Franconia and a possession of the king. Around the year 1000, construction of the Stadtkirche began and it was several times expanded and rebuilt over the centuries. German Emperor Henry II donated Meiningen in 1008 to the Roman Catholic Diocese of Würzburg, to protect their property, the Bishops of Würzburg built a moated castle in the 11th century.
In 1153, the plague raged in Meiningen, which was granted rights that year by the rulers. In 1222, Würzburg and the House of Henneberg fought for possession of Meiningen, Meiningen was first mentioned in 1230 as a Stadt and was granted wide-ranging autonomy in 1344. During this time the citizens built a fortification with a double wall. From 1239 to 1242 the Friars Minor of the Franciscan Order built a monastery between the castle and the Lower Gate, in 1380, a fire destroyed around a quarter of the city, including the archives of the town council. The city joined together with ten other cities of the Bishopric of Würzburg, Würzburg troops besieged Meiningen, until it capitulated in 1399. In an uprising on 10 August 1432, the destroyed the castle. In the years 1443-1455, the city church was enlarged in the Gothic style, Meiningen had about 2,000 inhabitants in 1450. A t the end of the 15th century two devastating fires destroyed almost the whole city, the city church was spared from the fire.
Bishop Lorenz von Bibra built a new castle from 1509 to 1511, in the city textiles, metal working and trade became more important. In 1542, Meiningen came to the Henneberg family in exchange for the district of Mainberg from the Prince-Bishop of Würzburg
Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen was a duke of Saxe-Meiningen. He was the sixth but third surviving son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg, bernhard became the founder of the Saxe-Meiningen line. The building of a residence in Meiningen began immediately. The residence was finished in 1692 and was called Schloss Elisabethenburg, like his brother Ernst, Bernhards financial stability in his duchy was remarkable. The sales of goods and the additional charge of taxes to the population were the result. Bernhards will ordered the indivisibility of the duchy, but not Primogeniture and this allowed his sons to govern the duchy jointly after his death. He married in Schloss Friedenstein, Gotha, on 20 November 1671 Marie Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt and they had seven children, Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen. He married secondly in Schöningen on 25 January 1681 Elisabeth Eleonore of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel daughter of Anthony Ulrich and they had five children, Elisabeth Ernestine, Abbess of Gandersheim Abbey.
Eleonore Frederika, a nun at Gandersheim, wilhelmine Luise, married on 20 December 1703 to Charles, Duke of Württemberg-Bernstadt. Hannelore Schneider, Das Herzogtum Sachsen-Meiningen unter seinen ersten Herzögen, L. Hertel, Meiningische Geschichte von 1680 bis zur Gegenwart. In, Schriften des Vereins für Sachsen-Meiningische Geschichte und Landeskunde, vol
Primogeniture
The son of a deceased elder brother inherits before a living younger brother by right of substitution for the deceased heir. In the absence of any children, brothers succeed, among siblings, sons inherit before daughters. The principle has applied in history to inheritance of property as well as inherited titles and offices, most notably monarchies. Variations on primogeniture modify the right of the son to the entirety of a familys inheritance or, in the West since World War II. Most monarchies in Europe have eliminated male preference in succession, Denmark, Netherlands, Sweden, equal, or lineal primogeniture is a form of primogeniture in which gender does not matter for inheritance. This form of primogeniture was not practiced by any modern monarchy before 1980, according to Poumarede, the Basques of the Kingdom of Navarre transmitted title and property to the firstborn, whatever the gender. This inheritance practice was adhered to by the nobility and free families alike in the early. The Navarrese monarchy, was inherited by dynasties from outside of Navarre which followed different succession laws, eventually only the Basque lower nobility and free families of the Basque country and other regions continued to follow this practice, which persisted as late as the 19th century.
The most notable of these are the Egyptian cases of Hatshepsut and Thutmose III, as well as the Ptolemaic Dynastys kings, Zapateros proposal was supported by the leader of the main opposition party, the conservative Partido Popular, making its passage likely. However, Zapateros administration ended before any amendment was drafted, Felipe succeeded to the throne as Felipe VI, upon his fathers abdication in 2014, by which time he had two daughters. Felipe VI has no son that would, absent the constitutional change, in July 2006, the Nepalese government proposed adopting absolute primogeniture, but the monarchy was abolished in 2008 before the change could be put into effect. In 2011, the governments of the 16 Commonwealth realms who share the person as their respective monarch announced the Perth Agreement. This was implemented when the legislation came into effect on 26 March 2015. In Japan, debates have occurred over whether to adopt absolute primogeniture, the birth of Prince Hisahito, a son of Prince Akishino has sidelined the debate.
In 2006, King Juan Carlos I of Spain issued a decree reforming the succession to noble titles from male-preference primogeniture to absolute primogeniture. The order of succession for all noble dignities is determined in accordance with the title of concession and, if there is none, with that traditionally applied in these cases. Men and women have a right of succession to grandeeship and to titles of nobility in Spain. Male-preference primogeniture accords succession to the throne to a member of a dynasty if she has no living brothers
Bernhard III, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Bernhard III Friedrich Wilhelm Albrecht Georg, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, was the last reigning duke of Saxe-Meiningen. Bernhard was born on 1 April 1851 at Meiningen in what was the German Confederation, as the eldest son of Georg II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and he had one full sister, Princess Marie Elisabeth, and several half-brothers by his fathers second marriage. From 1860 Berhnard was schooled by a Prof. Rossmann before he went to study at Heidelberg University in 1869, for the war against France he interrupted his studies and served as Ordonnanz-Offizier. After the war ended he resumed his studies at Leipzig, from 1873 he again served in the military and rose into the highest echelons, By 1905 he was Generaloberst and Generalinspekteur der 2. In 1909, he became Generalfeldmarschall and in 1912 left military service with that rank and he married in Berlin on 18 February 1878 Princess Charlotte of Prussia, his second cousin, daughter of Frederick III, German Emperor and granddaughter of the Queen Victoria.
They had one daughter, Princess Feodora of Saxe-Meiningen, married on 24 September 1898 to Heinrich XXX of Reuss-Köstritz, Bernhard assumed the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen after the death of his father in 1914. With the start of World War I Bernhard hoped to be assigned command over an army but was disappointed, in reaction he withdrew from his role in the Duchys government. After Germany lost the war, the German revolution forced Bernhard to abdicate as duke on 10 November 1918, like all the German princes he lost his title and state. He spent the rest of his life in his country as a private citizen. Bernhard died on 16 January 1928 in Meiningen and he is buried next to his wife in the park at Altenstein. Despite his military career he took a great interest in the arts. He was active as a composer and translator and he was known in particular as an expert on Modern Greek and was renowned for translating German literature into Greek. For his historical studies, for which he travelled to Greece and Asia Minor
Saxe-Saalfeld
The Duchy of Saxe-Saalfeld was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1680 for Johann Ernst, seventh son of Ernest I and it remained under this name until 1699, when Albert, Duke of Saxe-Coburg died without sons. His brother Johann Ernst of Saxe-Saalfeld became the new Duke of Coburg, Johann Ernst Christian Ernst Renamed into Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Electorate of Saxony
Upon the extinction of the House of Ascania, it was enfeoffed to the Margraves of Meissen from the Wettin dynasty in 1423, who moved the residence up the Elbe river to Dresden. After the Empires dissolution in 1806, the Wettin electors raised Saxony to a kingdom, when Emperor Frederick Barbarossa deposed the Saxon duke Henry the Lion in 1180, the Wittenberg lands belonged to Alberts youngest son Count Bernhard of Anhalt, who assumed the Saxon ducal title. Bernards eldest son, Albert I, ceded Anhalt to his younger brother Henry, retained the ducal title and his sons divided the possessions into the duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg. Louis was succeeded by the Luxembourg king Charles of Bohemia, after being crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 1355, Charles issued the Golden Bull of 1356, the fundamental law of the Empire settling the method of electing the German King by seven Prince-electors. In this way, the country, though small in area, the electoral dignity was connected with it the obligation of male primogeniture, that is, only the eldest son could succeed as ruler.
This forbade the division of the territory among several heirs, preventing the disintegration of the country, the importance of this stipulation is shown by the history of most of the fragmented German principalities which were not electorates. Late Alberts Ascanian relative Duke Eric V of Saxe-Lauenburg protested in vain, thus, in 1423, Saxe-Wittenberg, the Margraviate of Meissen and Thuringia were united under one ruler, and the unified territory gradually received the name of Saxony. The partition decisively enfeebled the Wettin dynasty in the rivalry with the rising House of Hohenzollern, the Protestant movement of the 16th century was largely effected under the protection of the Saxon rulers. The Elector did not become at once an adherent of the new opinions, owing to his intervention, Pope Leo X decided against summoning Luther to Rome in 1518, and the Elector secured for Luther Imperial safe-conduct to the 1521 Diet of Worms. When Luther was declared to be under the ban of the empire by Emperor Charles V.
Lutheran doctrines spread first in Ernestine Saxony, in 1525, Frederick died and was succeeded by his brother, John the Constant. John was followed in 1532 by his son, John Frederick the Magnanimous, in 1542, he seized the Diocese of Naumburg-Zeitz, and confiscated the secular possessions of the Dioceses of Meissen and Hildesheim. The Catholic faith was forcibly suppressed, after the outbreak of the Schmalkaldic War, Elector John Frederick was placed under the Imperial ban and finally defeated and captured by Emperor Charles V at the Battle of Mühlberg on 24 April 1547. In the Capitulation of Wittenberg of May 19, he was obliged to yield former Saxe-Wittenberg with the dignity to his Albertine cousin Duke Maurice. The Saxon Electorate after the Wittenberg Capitulation consisted of former Saxe-Wittenberg and Meissen together, Maurice secretly shared in all the princely conspiracies against the Emperor, who only escaped capture by flight. During the same year, Charles V was obliged by the Peace of Passau to grant freedom of religion to the Protestant Estates, Maurice died in 1553 at the age of 32.
His brother and successor Elector Augustus seized the Catholic dioceses of Merseburg, the last Bishop of Merseburg, Michael Helding called Sidonius, died at Vienna in 1561. In the same manner after the death of Julius von Pflug, the last Catholic Bishop of Naumburg, in 1564 and those cathedral canons who were still Catholic were only permitted to exercise their religion for ten years more
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire.
In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels.
After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
Ernest, Elector of Saxony
Ernest was Elector of Saxony from 1464 to 1486. Ernst was the founder and progenitor of the Ernestine line of Saxon princes, and he was the second son of the eight children of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Margaret of Austria, sister of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor. The death of his older brother Frederick made him the new heir apparent to the position of Elector of Saxony, in 1455 Ernst was kidnapped, along with his brother Albert, by the knight Kunz von Kaufungen an episode famous in German history as the Prinzenraub. According to the Treaty of Leipzig he received an area around Wittenberg, the southern Thuringian part, as a residence he selected Wittenberg. He provided for the welfare of the country and introduced the constitution, one year after the division elector Ernest died in Colditz, at the age of 46 years, the consequence of a fall from a horse. In Leipzig on 19 November 1460 Ernst married Elisabeth of Bavaria, the Chivalric Ethos and the Development of Military Professionalism.
This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Hugh
North German Confederation
The North German Confederation was a confederation of 22 previously independent states of northern Germany, with nearly 30 million inhabitants. It was the first modern German nation state and the basis for the German Empire, after several unsuccessful proposals from several sides to reform the German Confederation, the North German major power Prussia left the German Confederation with some allies. It came to war between states on one hand and southern states led by Austria on the other. After a quick decision in the Austro-Prussian War of July 1866, Prussia, at first, it was a military alliance between independent states, the so-called August Alliance, but the states already had the intention to form a federation or confederation with a constitution. The North German Confederation is historically important for the economic and judicial unification of Germany, many of its laws were taken over by the German Empire, the North German Confederation continues as the German nation state which still exists today.
On January 1,1871, the received a new constitution that gave it the name German Empire. In 1815, after the defeat of Napoleon, the German princes. The sovereignty remained with the individual German states, there were several attempts to create a modern nation state, most prominently in the Revolution of 1848. A major issue in the struggle was the rivalry between Austria, the principal power in Germany, and the ascending Prussia. The Austro-Prussian War of 1866 demonstrated the superiority of Prussia, led by its ingenious. The alliance had 15 members then, with 80 percent of the living in Prussia. A notable exclave of the North German Confederation was the Prussian territory of Hohenzollern in the south, hesse-Darmstadt was part of the new Confederation only with its northern part. A South German Confederation, as mentioned in the Peace of Prague, from the beginning the alliance was supposed to become a nation state with a federal constitution. On 15 December 1866, Bismarck presented a proposal to the representatives of the allied governments and their complaints did not seriously alter the proposal.
On 7 February 1867, the proposal of the governments was ready. It was the not to impose the new constitution but to stipulate it together with a representation of the people. To this end a parliament was elected on 12 February and this Konstituierender Reichstag accepted the constitution, with relatively minor changes, on 16 April 1867. Then, the state parliaments adopted it, the first North German Reichstag was elected, the only one during the existence of the North German Confederation
Confederation of the Rhine
The Confederation of the Rhine was a confederation of client states of the First French Empire. It was formed initially from 16 German states by Napoleon after he defeated Austria and Russia in the Battle of Austerlitz, the Treaty of Pressburg, in effect, led to the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine. It lasted from 1806 to 1813, the members of the confederation were German princes from the Holy Roman Empire. They were joined by 19 others, all together ruling a total of over 15 million subjects providing a significant strategic advantage to the French Empire on its eastern front and Austria were not members. Napoleon sought to consolidate the modernizing achievements of the revolution, but he wanted the soldiers, Napoleon required it to supply 63,000 troops to his army. The success of the Confederation depended on Napoleons success in battle, on 12 July 1806, on signing the Treaty of the Confederation of the Rhine in Paris,16 states in present-day Germany joined together in a confederation.
On 1 August, the members of the confederation formally seceded from the Holy Roman Empire and his Habsburg dynasty continued as emperors of Austria. According to the treaty, the confederation was to be run by common constitutional bodies, as such, he was President of the College of Kings and presided over the Diet of the Confederation, designed to be a parliament-like body although it never actually assembled. The President of the Council of the Princes was the Prince of Nassau-Usingen, in return for their support of Napoleon, some rulers were given higher statuses, Hesse and Berg were made into grand duchies, and Württemberg and Bavaria became kingdoms. States were made larger by incorporating the many smaller Kleinstaaten and they had to pay a very high price for their new status, however. The Confederation was above all a military alliance, the members had to maintain substantial armies for mutual defense, as events played out the members of the confederation found themselves more subordinated to Napoleon than they had been to the Habsburgs.
After Prussia lost to France in 1806, Napoleon cajoled most of the states of Germany into the Confederation of the Rhine. Eventually, an additional 23 German states joined the Confederation and it was at its largest in 1808, when it included 36 states—four kingdoms, five grand duchies,13 duchies, seventeen principalities, and the Free Hansa towns of Hamburg, Lübeck, and Bremen. Only Austria, Danish Holstein, and Swedish Pomerania stayed outside, not counting the west bank of the Rhine and the Principality of Erfurt, which were annexed by the French empire. In 1810 large parts of what is now northwest Germany were quickly annexed to France in order to monitor the trade embargo with Great Britain. The Confederation of the Rhine collapsed in 1813, in the aftermath of Napoleons failed campaign against the Russian Empire, many of its members changed sides after the Battle of Leipzig, when it became apparent Napoleon would lose the War of the Sixth Coalition. The following table shows the members of the confederation, with their date of joining, the allies opposing Napoleon dissolved the Confederation of the Rhine on 4 November 1813.
It was dissolved on 20 June 1815, on 30 May 1814 the Treaty of Paris declared the German states independent
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a federal parliamentary republic in central-western Europe. It includes 16 constituent states, covers an area of 357,021 square kilometres, with about 82 million inhabitants, Germany is the most populous member state of the European Union. After the United States, it is the second most popular destination in the world. Germanys capital and largest metropolis is Berlin, while its largest conurbation is the Ruhr, other major cities include Hamburg, Cologne, Stuttgart, Düsseldorf and Leipzig. Various Germanic tribes have inhabited the northern parts of modern Germany since classical antiquity, a region named Germania was documented before 100 AD. During the Migration Period the Germanic tribes expanded southward, beginning in the 10th century, German territories formed a central part of the Holy Roman Empire. During the 16th century, northern German regions became the centre of the Protestant Reformation, in 1871, Germany became a nation state when most of the German states unified into the Prussian-dominated German Empire.
After World War I and the German Revolution of 1918–1919, the Empire was replaced by the parliamentary Weimar Republic, the establishment of the national socialist dictatorship in 1933 led to World War II and the Holocaust. After a period of Allied occupation, two German states were founded, the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic, in 1990, the country was reunified. In the 21st century, Germany is a power and has the worlds fourth-largest economy by nominal GDP. As a global leader in industrial and technological sectors, it is both the worlds third-largest exporter and importer of goods. Germany is a country with a very high standard of living sustained by a skilled. It upholds a social security and universal health system, environmental protection. Germany was a member of the European Economic Community in 1957. It is part of the Schengen Area, and became a co-founder of the Eurozone in 1999, Germany is a member of the United Nations, NATO, the G8, the G20, and the OECD.
The national military expenditure is the 9th highest in the world, the English word Germany derives from the Latin Germania, which came into use after Julius Caesar adopted it for the peoples east of the Rhine. This in turn descends from Proto-Germanic *þiudiskaz popular, derived from *þeudō, descended from Proto-Indo-European *tewtéh₂- people, the discovery of the Mauer 1 mandible shows that ancient humans were present in Germany at least 600,000 years ago. The oldest complete hunting weapons found anywhere in the world were discovered in a mine in Schöningen where three 380, 000-year-old wooden javelins were unearthed
Saxe-Hildburghausen
Saxe-Hildburghausen was an Ernestine duchy in the southern side of the present State of Thuringia in Germany. It existed from 1680 to 1826 but its name and borders are used by the District of Hildburghausen. After the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, Ernest the Pious, died on 26 March 1675 in Gotha, the lands of Saxe-Hildburghausen went to the sixth son, who became Ernest II, the first Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen. But the new Principality did not have complete independence, Saxe-Hildburghausen did not become fully sovereign until 1702. Two more districts were added – Königsberg in 1683 and Sonnefeld in 1705, in 1684 the city of Hildburghausen became the residence of the Duke so it was developed to reflect its new status. It was placed under the direction of the Regent, Charlotte Amalie of Saxe-Meiningen, with the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Saxe-Hildburghausen gained its full sovereignty as the Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen. A few months later, on 15 December 1806, it, along with the other Ernestine duchies, in 1815, it joined the German Confederation.
In 1818, it was one of the first German states to receive a constitution, the extinction of the oldest line, Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg in 1825 again led to inheritance disputes among the other lines of the Ernestine family. On 12 November 1826 the decision, from the arbitration of the head of the family, King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony. Saxe-Hildburghausen lost the Districts of Königsberg and Sonnefeld to the new Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, but the last Duke of Saxe-Hildburghausen, became the new Duke of Saxe-Altenburg. In 1868, four districts were established in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, one of them was Hildburghausen, with boundaries very similar to those of the former duchy. It remained almost unchanged until 1993, when the District of Suhl was dissolved and most of its municipalities joined the District of Hildburghausen
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Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "Saxe-Meiningen". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "
Upper Saxon Circle (1512–1806) of the Holy Roman Empire
States of the Confederation of the Rhine (1806–13)
States of the North German Confederation (1867–71)
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