They bid on apersonally signed letter fromMarie Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt (1656-1715), by marriage (on 1. March 1676) with Duke Heinrich of Saxony-Römhild from 1680 the only Duchess of Saxony-Römhild.
DatedRomhild, the 22nd December 1676. -- Written a few months after their wedding and a little over three years before the creation of the Duchy of Saxony-Römhild. Even then she lived with her husband at Glücksburg Castle in Römhild.
Aimed at her brother-in-law Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen (1649-1706) in Ichtershausen, then still Duke of Saxe-Gotha, a brother of her husband.
Beautiful Christmas and New Year letter!
Transcription:
"Our kind honorary services and what we love more and good fortune always ahead, Your Serene Prince, kindly beloved cousin, brother-in-law and godfather.
As we approach the joyful time of the blessed birth of our Savior and the new year that follows, which, as we do not want to doubt, we will experience with health and princely well-being, we cannot refrain from attesting to the joy we have felt here and sending our heartfelt wish there , God will it. May. in the new year to continue to rule over ED with powerful protection and guidance, to protect the same for all new events, and with self-demanding princely. enjoy high well-being. And we are always willing to provide honorary services. Date Römhild, the 22nd December, 1676.
By the grace of God Maria Elisabetha, Duke of Saxony, Jülich, Cleve and Berg, born Countess of Hesse, Princess of Kirchfeldt, Countess of Thuringia, Countess of Marck of Meißen, Countess of Henneberg, Countess of Marck and Revensberg, wife of Ravenstein p. "
Written by scribe's hand; including his own signature: “Ew. D. Willing to serve Bass, sister-in-law and servant Maria Elisabetha v. Saxony."
The nobility predicate used, which I have transcribed here as "ED" (Your Serene Highness), appears to be different (E. Ld. or similar).
With entry note (Possibly. from the hand of Bernhard I?): "Praes. the 2. Jan. 1677"; the letters were therefore only read in the New Year.
Scope: a text page (32.2 x 19.5 cm), two blank pages and an address page (this one trimmed; the seal is missing).
With later attribution in ink: "Wife of H. Heinrich, g. 1656 v. 1676 † 1715."
Condition: paper browned and slightly stained; the address sheet was trimmed, the seal was missing (there was a tear in the paper, without any loss of text). bplease note the pictures too!
Internal note: Ostbhf Vorphila 23-10-08 (3) Autograph Autograph Adel
OverMarie Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt, her husband Duke Heinrich of Saxe-Römhild, the recipient Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen, Glücksburg Castle and the Duchy of Saxony-Römhild (source: wikipedia):
Marie Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt (*11. March 1656 in Darmstadt; † 16. August 1715 in Römhild) was the only one through marriage Duchess of Saxony-Römhild.
Life: Marie Elisabeth was a daughter of Landgrave Ludwig VI. of Hesse-Darmstadt (1630–1678) from his marriage to Maria Elisabeth (1634–1665), daughter of Duke Friedrich III. from Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf.
She married on the 1st. In March 1676 in Darmstadt he met the future Duke Heinrich of Saxe-Römhild, who at the time of the marriage still ruled over Saxony-Gotha together with his six brothers. They divided the country in 1680 and Heinrich received Saxe-Römhild, where he had resided at Glücksburg Castle since 1676. Heinrich loved his wife very much, he always called her “Marielies” and had several luxury buildings built in her honor, including the grotto house, called “Marien-Elisabethenlust”. The marriage remained childless and Heinrich died in 1710, leaving behind enormous debts. An inheritance dispute arose among his remaining brothers over Saxe-Römhild, which was only finally resolved in 1765. Marie Elisabeth survived her husband by five years.
Duke Henry of Saxony-Römhild (*19. November 1650 in Gotha; † 13. May 1710 in Römhild) was the only regent of Saxony-Römhild and imperial general.
Life: Heinrich was the fourth son of Duke Ernst I the Pious of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675) and his wife Elisabeth Sophia (1619–1680), daughter of Duke Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg.
On the 1st In March 1676 he married Marie Elisabeth of Hesse-Darmstadt (1656–1715), daughter of Landgrave Ludwig VI, in Darmstadt. from Hesse-Darmstadt. This year he also moved his residence to Römhild. On the 24th In February 1680, the seven sons of Ernst the Pious divided the land among themselves and in the division, Heinrich received the offices and cities of Römhild, Königsberg, Themar, Behrungen and Milz as well as the Echter fiefs.
Heinrich moved on the 18th. November 1680 he arrived in Römhild with his young wife Marielies and resided in the castle, which he called “Glücksburg” and had rebuilt and furnished according to his ideas. Duke Heinrich also carried out a lot of other building activity. Under his rule, among other things, the castle church, an office and customs house, four cavalier houses for the court nobility, a riding school, a racetrack and the orangery were built. The most magnificent buildings were the grotto house (also called Marien-Elisabethenlust after his wife, whom he loved very much) and the pleasure palace in Mertzelbach, built according to designs by the court sculptor Lux, who also created the high altar in the collegiate church. Many of these buildings no longer exist today, but are described in detail in the work he published himself, “The Princely Building Lust of Duke Henry of Saxony-Römhild”. The book is considered one of the few written documents about ephemeral architecture that still exist. Heinrich also had the Bürgersee drained and converted into a pleasure garden and equipped the town church with a baroque high altar, a magnificent royal box and a new organ.
Heinrich, who was well versed in mechanics, architecture and mathematics, maintained a princely library at Glücksburg Castle, which he constantly expanded and which passed to the Duke of Saxe-Gotha after his death. From 1691 to 1693 he, together with his brother Bernhard, worked for Duke Friedrich II. led the regency in Saxony-Gotha. Heinrich entered imperial military service at a young age and became imperial field master general in 1697, and the following year he received the Order of the Elephant.
The duke's luxurious court life and representative court helped the small country town of Römhild achieve economic prosperity and cultural prosperity. The effort far exceeded the Duke's financial strength. When the popular ruler died unexpectedly in 1710, he left behind considerable debts. In the last four years of his life he was the senior of the Ernestine house. His estate was auctioned off.
Duke Heinrich was buried in the altar hall of the Römhilder collegiate church. Today there are no more inscriptions or tombs.
His marriage remained childless and the Ernestine sideline Römhild died out. The principality was divided in the Coburg-Eisenberg-Römhilder inheritance dispute between the Gotha Ernestines (ended in 1735).
Bernard I (*10. September 1649 in Gotha; † 27. April 1706 in Meiningen), from the Ernestine line of the House of Wettin, was the first Duke of Saxony-Meiningen and founder of the princely house of the same name.
Life: Bernhard was the third of the seven sons of Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675) and his wife Elisabeth Sophia (1619–1680), daughter of Duke Johann Philipp of Saxe-Altenburg.
After the death of their father in 1675, the seven sons of Ernst I ruled the country jointly, as their father had decreed. They held court together at Friedenstein Castle in Gotha until 1676, but then went with their wives to the places from which they derived their income, because their father had assigned them sub-principalities (“Mutschierung”), but without dividing the land according to imperial law. Bernhard went to Ichtershausen, where he found the former Ichtershausen monastery as his official residence, and began building the new Marienburg Castle on the monastery grounds in the summer of 1677, which he named after his wife, who died before the castle was completed in 1680.
The “Gotha Main Recess” led to a division of the state in 1680, in which Bernhard received the Principality of Saxony-Meiningen. He therefore made Meiningen his residence and immediately began building another castle there, Elisabethenburg Castle, which he named after his second wife, who he married the following year. The castle construction was completed in 1692. In 1690 the Duke founded the Meiningen Court Chapel and in 1692 the Meiningen Palace Park was initially laid out as a Renaissance garden. The lavish court was hardly adequate for the financial situation and so Bernhard soon lost stability in the country. The result was the sale of chamber goods and an additional burden on the population with taxes and forced labor. But his immense expenses due to his penchant for alchemy and military affairs also led to numerous complaints from the estates.
Bernhard was highly educated and paid particular attention to topics such as religion and education, working in the country's administration with general visits. In terms of foreign policy, Bernhard's government was characterized by tensions and military conflicts, primarily with his brothers.
From 1699 until his death, Bernhard was the senior of the Ernestines. Although he decreed the indivisibility of the country in his will, there was no primogeniture. Bernhard's sons ruled the country jointly after his death. This led to power struggles and further economic decline in the principality.
Descendants: From his first marriage in 1671 to Maria Hedwig (1647–1680), daughter of Landgrave Georg II. from Hesse-Darmstadt he had the following children:
Ernst Ludwig I (1672–1724), Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
⚭ 1. 1704 Princess Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (1674–1713)
⚭ 2. 1714 Princess Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg (1674–1748)
Bernhard (1673–1694)
Johann Ernst (1674–1675)
Marie Elisabeth (*/† 1676)
Johann Georg (1677–1678)
Friedrich Wilhelm (1679–1746), Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Georg Ernst (1680–1699)
From his second marriage in 1681 to Elisabeth Eleonore (1658–1729), daughter of Duke Anton Ulrich of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel. Mecklenburg-Schwerin, the following children were born:
Elisabeth Ernestine (1681–1766), Abbess of Gandersheim 1713
Eleonore Friederike (1683–1739), canon in Gandersheim
Anton August (*/† 1684)
Wilhelmine Luise (1686–1753)
⚭ Duke Charles of Württemberg-Bernstadt (1682–1745)
Anton Ulrich (1687–1763), Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
⚭ 1. 1711 Philippine Elizabeth Caesar (1686–1744)
⚭ 2. 1750 Princess Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal (1730–1801)
The Glücksburg is one in the 16th. Castle completed in the century with two inner courtyards. It is located in the northern part of the old town of Römhild, Griebelstraße 28.
Story
Henneberg-Römhild Residence: The castle was built in 1465 by Count Friedrich II. Built by the Henneberg-Aschach line (1465–1488), who moved his residence from the castle on the Hartenberg (the Hartenburg) into the walls of the city. There was probably a lower castle at this point as a previous building. The residential palace, which was still built in the late Gothic architectural style, was built in 1491 by Friedrich's son and successor, Count Hermann VIII. (1488–1535) completed. In 1539 a fire required the castle to be rebuilt (1540 to 1546). As a result of the two building projects, the Römhild counts were soon on the brink of financial ruin. The castle was the inherited residence of the Counts of Henneberg of the Henneberg-Aschach-Römhild line until the Römhild line died out in 1549.
Saxe-Römhild Residence: From 1676 to 1710, the castle was the residence of the Duchy of Saxony-Römhild, which was created as a result of the Ernestine division of the inheritance. The name “Glücksburg” was given in 1680 by Heinrich von Sachsen-Römhild. A baroque palace garden was created and the directly adjacent city wall was reduced in size and sanded down. In this garden, according to Baroque tradition, a grotto, a pleasure palace “Elisabethenlust”, a gardener's house and an orangery were built. The original castle park stretched from the full length of the city wall to the “Spring” river (today it is still approx. receive a sixth of it). In 1715 the Duchess Elisabeth died.
Widow's seat: With the extinction of this Ernestine branch, one third of the town and office of Römhild fell to Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and two thirds to Saxe-Meiningen. Some courtly life returned when the widow of the Meiningen Duke Ernst Ludwig, Elisabeth Sophie von Brandenburg, chose the castle as her widow's residence from 1724 to 1748. She had what is now the ballroom and other rooms in the back castle equipped with elaborate stucco ceilings. The castle church, today's ceramics studio, was also renovated. Sofia von Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt also used the castle as a widow's residence until 1780.
Secular subsequent use: In 1826, after the office and the city of Römhild were completely annexed to the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen, the castle was restored. Minor renovations were made for new use as an official building. The district court, tax and forestry office, central savings bank, land registry and cadastral office were located here. On the 17th In August 1884, the first German warrior orphanage was inaugurated in the rear part. Until 1948, the German Warrior League and later the Kyffhäuserbund gave around 100 orphans and half-orphans a new home every year. The “Rudolf Harbig” youth workshop was housed here until 1961, after which it was used as a barracks facility for the GDR border troops.
The compact palace complex, grouped around two rectangular inner courtyards, now houses the administration of the city of Römhild and a museum with several special collections.
Museum: Almost the entire rear castle and parts of the former castle church are now used as a museum. The museum presents the following collections and exhibitions:
Collection International Ceramics Symposium Römhild: Modern ceramic art since 1975
Exhibition on the history of the castle and town
Toy and doll exhibition
Pierre Mavrogordato's collection of antiquities
Artist dolls by Erato Mavrogordato
Folklore collection by Walter Hönn: Systematically structured display collection of implements and tools from rural crafts and trades in the town of Römhild and its region
Saxony-Römhild
was an Ernestine duchy in Grabfeld, the Upper Werra Valley and the Haßberge; it only existed for 30 years.
History: Saxe-Römhild was created in 1676 during the division of the inheritance of Saxe-Gotha as an inheritance for Heinrich, the fourth son of Duke Ernst I "the Pious" of Saxe-Gotha (1601–1675) and included the Principality of Römhild with the offices of Römhild , Königsberg in Franconia (this fell to Saxe-Hildburghausen as early as 1683) and Themar, the Behrungen winery, the Milz farm and the Echten fiefdoms.
The residence was Glücksburg Castle in Römhild. The town thus gave its name to this branch of the Ernestine dynasty.
The Duke of Saxony-Römhild had no sovereignty of his own; this had dHe was Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg (so-called “Nexus Gothanus”).
Prince:
Henry, Duke of Saxony-Römhild (1650–1710)
After his death in 1710, Saxe-Römhild was divided among the following duchies:
Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg (7/12 from the Themar office),
Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (1/3 from the Römhild office and 5/12 from the Themar office),
Saxony-Meiningen (2/3 from the Römhild office) and
Saxony-Hildburghausen (Behrungen winery, Hof zu Milz and the Echten fiefs).
Since the reorganization of the Ernestine duchies in 1826, the entire former territory of the Principality of Römhild belonged to Saxe-Meiningen.