Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld

Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld
Herzogtum Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld
State of the Holy Roman Empire State of the Confederation of the Rhine State of the German Confederation
1699–1825
Coat of arms of Saxony
Saxe-Coburg-Saafeld, shown within the other Ernestine duchies
Capital		Saalfeld (to 1764) Coburg thereafter
Government		Principality
Historical era		Middle Ages
•	Division of Erfurt	1572
•	Coburg and Saalfeld     united	August 6, 1699
•	Renamed on     Imperial decision of     Ernestine succession	1735
•	Lost Saalfeld, gained     Gotha, renamed	February 11, 1825
Preceded by Succeeded by Saxe-Coburg Saxe-Saalfeld Saxe-Coburg and Gotha Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen

Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (German: Sachsen-Coburg-Saalfeld) was one of the Saxon Duchies held by the Ernestine line of the Wettin Dynasty. Established in 1699, the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfield line lasted until the reshuffle of the Ernestine territories that occurred following the extinction of the Saxe-Gotha line in 1825, in which the Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld line received Gotha, but lost Saalfeld to Saxe-Meiningen.

After the Duke of Saxe-Gotha, Ernest the Pious, died on 26 March 1675 in Gotha, the Principality was divided on 24 February 1680 among his seven surviving sons. The lands of Saxe-Saalfeld went to the youngest of them, who became John Ernest IV (1658–1729), the Duke of Saxe-Saalfeld. But the new Principality did not have complete independence. It had to depend on the higher authorities in Gotha for the matters of administration of its three districts, Saalfeld, Grafenthal and Probstzella – the so-called “Nexus Gothanus” – because that was the residence of John Ernest’s oldest brother, who ruled as Frederick I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg. Saalfeld was the residence of the Dukes of Saxe-Saalfeld from 1680 to 1735.

When Albert V, the Duke of Saxe-Coburg, died in 1699 without any surviving descendants, disputes arose over the inheritance, especially with Bernhard I of Saxe-Meiningen, and they were not settled until 1735. Most of the Saxe-Coburg properties were given to the new Ernestine line of Saxe-Saalfeld and the Principality of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld was born with John Ernest as its Duke (not Prince). However, the Districts of Sonneberg and Neuhaus am Rennweg had to be handed over to Saxe-Meiningen and the District of Sonnefeld had to be given to Saxe-Hildburghausen. One-third of the District of Römhild and five-twelfths of the District of Themar remained with Saxe-Coburg.