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Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

Georg I
Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
GeorgIsamei.JPG
Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Reign 1782–1803
Predecessor Karl Wilhelm
Successor Bernhard II
Born (1761-02-04)4 February 1761
Meiningen
Died 24 December 1803(1803-12-24) (aged 42)
Meiningen
Spouse Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg
Issue Adelaide, Queen of the United Kingdom
Ida, Princess Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Bernhard II
Full name
Georg I Friedrich Karl
House Saxe-Meiningen
Father Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
Mother Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal
Religion Lutheranism
Full name
Georg I Friedrich Karl

Georg I Frederick Karl, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (Frankfurt, 4 February 1761 – Meiningen, 24 December 1803), was Duke of Saxe-Meiningen from 1782 to 1803. He was known as a reformer and considered a model prince by many of his peers.

Georg was born on 4 February 1761 at Frankfurt as the fourth but second surviving son of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen and Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal. His father was 73 years old at the time and died two years later in 1763.

Georg succeeded his older and childless brother, Karl Wilhelm in the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen in 1782. He ruled based on the principles of "enlightened absolutism" emphasizing in particular the importance of education. He initiated the building of the Gymnasium later named Bernhardinum after his son. Georg I also opened the ducal library to the public, reformed the (Protestant) church practices in his princedom and initiated new social policies. Under a nom-de-plume he published philosophical treatises. As a result, many of his fellow princes considered him a model ruler and his duchy as the German state where enlightened absolutism reached its apogee.

In Langenburg on 27 November 1782, Georg married Luise Eleonore of Hohenlohe-Langenburg. After ten years they began to have children, finally having four:

Georg I died of a fever on 24 December 1803 at Meiningen.



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