Saxe-Merseburg
Encyclopedia
TheDuchy of Saxe-Merseburg was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation with Merseburg
as its capital. It existed from 1656/57 to 1738 and was owned by the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.
John George I
stipulated in his will dated 20 July 1652 that his three younger sons should receive secundogeniture
principalities. After the elector died on 8 October 1656, his sons concluded the "friend-brotherly main treaty" in Dresden
on 22 April 1657 and a further treaty in 1663 delineating their territories and sovereign rights definitively. The treaties created three duchies:
Prince Christian, the third oldest son, received, among other properties, the castles, cities and districts of Merseburg
, Plagwitz, Rückmarsdorf, Delitzsch
(with Delitzsch Castle), Bad Lauchstädt
, Schkeuditz
, Lützen
, Bitterfeld
, Zörbig
, the County of Brehna and the Margraviate of Lower Lusatia
, inculding the cities and castles of Lübben
, Doberlug
, Finsterwalde
, Döbern
, Forst and Guben
. Many of these territories had belonged to the Diocese of Merseburg until it was secularized in 1562.
The area of Saxe-Merseburg stretched to the city limits of Leipzig. The customs station was in what is now the inner city district of Lindenau.
After the death of the last male heir of the Saxon branch line, the Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg fell back to the Electorate of Saxony
.
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
as its capital. It existed from 1656/57 to 1738 and was owned by the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.
Emergence
The Saxon ElectorElector
Elector may refer to:* Prince-elector or elector, a member of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of electing the Holy Roman Emperors...
John George I
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
stipulated in his will dated 20 July 1652 that his three younger sons should receive secundogeniture
Secundogeniture
A secundogeniture was a dependent territory given to a younger son of a princely house and his descendants, creating a cadet branch. This was a special form of inheritance...
principalities. After the elector died on 8 October 1656, his sons concluded the "friend-brotherly main treaty" in Dresden
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
on 22 April 1657 and a further treaty in 1663 delineating their territories and sovereign rights definitively. The treaties created three duchies:
- Saxe-ZeitzSaxe-ZeitzThe Duchy of Saxe-Zeitz was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire of German Nation from 1656/57 to 1718. Its capital was Zeitz. It was owned by the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.- History :...
, - Saxe-WeissenfelsSaxe-WeissenfelsSaxe-Weissenfels was a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire from 1656/7 until 1746 with its residence at Weißenfels. Ruled by a cadet branch of the Albertine House of Wettin, the duchy passed to the Electorate of Saxony upon the extinction of the line....
and - Saxe-Merseburg.
Prince Christian, the third oldest son, received, among other properties, the castles, cities and districts of Merseburg
Merseburg
Merseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
, Plagwitz, Rückmarsdorf, Delitzsch
Delitzsch
Delitzsch is a large district and also an important regional center in Saxony. With over 26,300 inhabitants Delitzsch is the largest city in the northern district of Saxony...
(with Delitzsch Castle), Bad Lauchstädt
Bad Lauchstädt
' is a town in the district Saalekreis, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, 13 km southwest of Halle. Pop. 4,933. It contains an Evangelical church, a theatre, a hydropathic establishment and several educational institutions, among which is an agricultural school affiliated to the university of Halle....
, Schkeuditz
Schkeuditz
Schkeuditz is a town in the district of Nordsachsen, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, 12 km northwest of Leipzig. Leipzig/Halle Airport is located in Schkeuditz...
, Lützen
Lützen
' is a town in the Burgenlandkreis district, in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 14 km northeast of Weißenfels, and 18 km southwest of Leipzig.The town was the scene of two famous battles:...
, Bitterfeld
Bitterfeld
Bitterfeld is a town in the district Anhalt-Bitterfeld, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. Since 1 July 2007 it has been part of the town Bitterfeld-Wolfen. It is situated approx. 25 km south of Dessau, and 30 km northeast of Halle...
, Zörbig
Zörbig
' is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km west of Bitterfeld, and 20 km northeast of Halle . Zörbig is well-known for its molasses made from sugar beets....
, the County of Brehna and the Margraviate of Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia
Lower Lusatia is a historical region stretching from the southeast of the Brandenburg state of Germany to the southwest of the Lubusz Voivodeship in Poland. Important towns beside the historic capital Lübben include Calau, Cottbus, Guben , Luckau, Spremberg, Finsterwalde, Senftenberg and Żary...
, inculding the cities and castles of Lübben
Lübben (Spreewald)
Lübben is a town of 14,800 people, capital of the Dahme-Spreewald district in the Lower Lusatia region of Brandenburg, Germany.-Administrative structure:Districts of the town are:...
, Doberlug
Doberlug-Kirchhain
Doberlug-Kirchhain is a town in the district of Elbe-Elster, Brandenburg, Germany. -History:937. The town of Kirchhain was built by Margrave Gero. A document written in 1005 mentions the town Doberlug for the first time. In 1165 the Cistercian Dobrilugk Abbey was founded by Margrave Dietrich of...
, Finsterwalde
Finsterwalde
Finsterwalde is a town in the Elbe-Elster district , in Brandenburg, Germany.-Overview:It is situated on the Schackebach, a tributary of the Kleine Elster, 28 m. W.S.W of Cottbus by rail. Pop. 18,840. The town has a Gothic church , a castle, schools, cloth and cigar factories, iron-foundries,...
, Döbern
Döbern
Döbern is a town in the district of Spree-Neiße, in southeastern Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 25 km southeast of Cottbus, and 15 km south of Forst with a population of 3,696.- References :...
, Forst and Guben
Guben
Guben is a town on the Lusatian Neisse river in the state of Brandenburg, Germany. Located in the Spree-Neiße district, Guben has a population of 20,049...
. Many of these territories had belonged to the Diocese of Merseburg until it was secularized in 1562.
The area of Saxe-Merseburg stretched to the city limits of Leipzig. The customs station was in what is now the inner city district of Lindenau.
Rulers
- 1656-1691 Christian IChristian I, Duke of Saxe-MerseburgChristian I of Saxe-Merseburg , was the first duke of Saxe-Merseburg and a member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 27 October 1615 in DresdenDresdenDresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
; died: 18 October 1691 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
) - 1691-1694 Christian IIChristian II, Duke of Saxe-MerseburgChristian II of Saxe-Merseburg , was a duke of Saxe-Merseburg and member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 19 November 1653 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
; died: 20 October 1694 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
) - 1694-1694 Christian III MauriceChristian III Maurice, Duke of Saxe-MerseburgChristian III Maurice, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg , was a duke of Saxe-Merseburg and member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 7 November 1680 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
; died: 14 November 1694 in MerseysideMerseysideMerseyside is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 1,365,900. It encompasses the metropolitan area centred on both banks of the lower reaches of the Mersey Estuary, and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral, and the city of Liverpool...
), under the regency of Elector Frederick August I of Saxony and the guardianship of his mother Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-ZeitzErdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-ZeitzErdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz was the wife of Duke Christian II of Saxe-Merseburg, whom she married on 14 October 1679 at Moritzburg Palace in Zeitz.- Regent of the duchy of Saxe-Merseburg :... - 1694-1731 Maurice WilhelmMaurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-MerseburgMaurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg , was a duke of Saxe-Merseburg and member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 5 February 1688 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
; died: 21 April 1731 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
), until 1712 under the regency of Elector Frederick August I of Saxony and the guardianship of his mother Erdmuthe Dorothea of Saxe-Zeitz - 1731-1738 HeinrichHeinrich, Duke of Saxe-MerseburgHeinrich, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg , was a duke of Saxe-Merseburg and member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 2 September 1661 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
; died: 28 July 1738 in DoberlugDoberlug-KirchhainDoberlug-Kirchhain is a town in the district of Elbe-Elster, Brandenburg, Germany. -History:937. The town of Kirchhain was built by Margrave Gero. A document written in 1005 mentions the town Doberlug for the first time. In 1165 the Cistercian Dobrilugk Abbey was founded by Margrave Dietrich of...
), previously already Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Spremberg
After the death of the last male heir of the Saxon branch line, the Duchy of Saxe-Merseburg fell back to the Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
.
Cadet lines
To supply his three younger sons with incomes befitting a duke, Duke Christian I created apanages for his younger sons during his lifetime. These territories remained dependent on the main line and their soverignty was severely restricted. They were named after their owner's residences and disappeared with the death of their first duke, because none of them fathered a male heir. Before it died out, the Saxe-Merseburg-Spremberg line inherited all of Saxe-Merseburg.- Until 1715 AugustAugust, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-ZörbigAugust, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Zörbig , was a German prince and member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 15 February 1655 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
; died: 27 March 1715 in ZörbigZörbig' is a town in the district of Anhalt-Bitterfeld in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It is situated approx. 15 km west of Bitterfeld, and 20 km northeast of Halle . Zörbig is well-known for its molasses made from sugar beets....
), Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Zörbig - Until 1690 PhilippPhilipp, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-LauchstädtPhilipp, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Lauchstädt , was a German prince. He was a member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 26 October 1657 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
; died: 1 July 1690 in FleurusFleurusFleurus is a Walloon municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. On January 1, 2006 Fleurus had a total population of 22,221. The total area is which gives a population density of 375 inhabitants per km²...
), Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Lauchstädt - Until 1731 HeinrichHeinrich, Duke of Saxe-MerseburgHeinrich, Duke of Saxe-Merseburg , was a duke of Saxe-Merseburg and member of the House of Wettin....
(born: 2 September 1661 in MerseburgMerseburgMerseburg is a town in the south of the German state of Saxony-Anhalt on the river Saale, approx. 14 km south of Halle . It is the capital of the Saalekreis district. It had a diocese founded by Archbishop Adalbert of Magdeburg....
; died: 28 July 1738 in DoberlugDoberlug-KirchhainDoberlug-Kirchhain is a town in the district of Elbe-Elster, Brandenburg, Germany. -History:937. The town of Kirchhain was built by Margrave Gero. A document written in 1005 mentions the town Doberlug for the first time. In 1165 the Cistercian Dobrilugk Abbey was founded by Margrave Dietrich of...
), Duke of Saxe-Merseburg-Spremberg until 1731, inherited Saxe-Merseburg in 1731