in Saxony-Anhalt The oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is
Theodoric I of Wettin, also known as
Dietrich,
Thiedericus, and
Thierry I of Liesgau (died c. 982). He was most probably based in the
Liesgau (located at the western edge of the
Harz). Around 1000, the family acquired
Wettin Castle, which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes (see
Sorbs), after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in
Wettin in the
Hassegau (or Hosgau) on the
Saale River. Around 1030, the Wettin family received the
Eastern March as a
fief. The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March (or
Ostmark) caused
Emperor Henry IV to invest them with the
March of Meissen as a fief in 1089. The family advanced over the course of the
Middle Ages: in 1263, they inherited the
landgraviate of
Thuringia (although without
Hesse) and in 1423, they were invested with the
Duchy of Saxony, centred at
Wittenberg, thus becoming one of the
prince-electors of the
Holy Roman Empire. == Ernestine and Albertine Wettins == The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of
Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly. The elder son
Ernest, who had succeeded his father as
Prince-elector, received the territories assigned to the Elector (
Electorate of Saxony) and
Thuringia, while his younger brother
Albert obtained the
March of Meissen, which he ruled from
Dresden. As Albert ruled under the title of "Duke of Saxony", his possessions were also known as
Ducal Saxony. File:Ernst Kurfürst von Sachsen, 1441-1486 (AT KHM GG4795).jpg|
Ernest, Elector of Saxony (1441–1486) File:Albrecht der Beherzte, 1443-1500 (AT KHM GG4796).jpg|
Albert, Duke of Saxony (1443–1500) File:Saxony (Division of Leipzig) - DE.png|Ernestine (red) and Albertine (yellow) domains upon the
Treaty of Leipzig (1485) File:Saxony after the Capitulation of Wittenberg (1547) - DE.png|Ernestine (yellow) and Albertine (red) domains upon the
Capitulation of Wittenberg (1547) File:Saxony after the Treaty of Naumburg - DE.png|Ernestine (yellow) and Albertine (red) domains upon the
Treaty of Naumburg (1554)
Ernestines The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the
Protestant Reformation.
Frederick III (
Friedrich der Weise) appointed
Martin Luther (1512) and
Philipp Melanchthon (1518) to the
University of Wittenberg, which he had established in 1502. The Ernestine predominance ended in the
Schmalkaldic War (1546/7), which pitted the Protestant
Schmalkaldic League against the
Emperor Charles V. Although itself Lutheran, the Albertine branch rallied to the Emperor's cause. Charles V had promised
Moritz the rights to the electorship. After the
Battle of Mühlberg,
Johann Friedrich der Großmütige, had to cede territory (including Wittenberg) and the electorship to his cousin Moritz. Although imprisoned, Johann Friedrich was able to plan a new university. It was established by his three sons on 19 March 1548 as the
Höhere Landesschule at
Jena. On 15 August 1557,
Emperor Ferdinand I awarded it the status of university.
Residences of Ernestine branches File:Schloss Altenburg 02.JPG|
Altenburg Castle File:Schloss Saalfeld.jpg|
Saalfeld Castle File:Schloss Weimar - Panorama.jpg|
Schloss Weimar File:City palace - Stadtschloss - Eisenach - Thuringia - Germany.jpg|
Eisenach Palace File:GER-TH-SM-Meiningen (Schloss Elisabethenburg, Blick von Osten) — 2009 uploaded 2011-09-24.jpg|
Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen File:Schloss Hildburghausen.JPG|
Hildburghausen Castle
Albertines , 1806–1918) The junior
Albertine branch maintained most of the territorial integrity of Saxony, preserving it as a significant power in the region, and used small
appanage fiefs for its cadet branches, few of which survived for significant lengths of time. The Ernestine Wettins, on the other hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory, creating an intricate patchwork of small
duchies and counties in Thuringia. The Albertine Wettins ruled as Electors (1547–1806) and
Kings of Saxony (1806–1918), and also played a role in Polish history – two Wettins were
Kings of Poland (between 1697 and 1763) and a third ruled the
Duchy of Warsaw (1807–1814) as a satellite of
Napoleon I. After the
Napoleonic Wars, the Albertine branch lost about 40% of its lands (the economically less-developed northern parts of the old Electorate of Saxony) to Prussia, restricting it to a territory coextensive with the modern
Saxony (see
Final Act of the Congress of Vienna Act IV: Treaty between Prussia and Saxony 18 May 1815).
Frederick Augustus III lost his throne in the
German Revolution of 1918. The role of current head of the Albertine "House of Saxony" is claimed by his great-grandson
Prince Rüdiger of Saxony, Duke of Saxony, Margrave of Meissen (born 23 December 1953). However, the headship of Prince Rüdiger is contested by his second cousin,
Alexander (born 1954), son of Roberto Afif (later by change of name Mr Gessaphe) and Princess Maria Anna of Saxony, a sister of the childless former head of the Albertines,
Maria Emanuel, Margrave of Meissen (died 2012), who had adopted his nephew and granted him the name Prince of Saxony, contrary to the rules of male descent under the
Salic Law. However, neither are recognized by the Nobility Archive in Marburg, nor by the Conference of the Formerly Ruling Houses in Germany – Prince Rüdiger because his father Timo was expelled from the House of Wettin, and Prince Alexander because he is not of
agnatic noble descent (his father was Roberto Afif from Lebanon). Consequently, the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin is officially treated by the German nobility as extinct in its legal succession-line.
Residences of the Albertine branch (Electors, later Kings of Saxony) File:DD-Schloss-gp.jpg|
Dresden Royal Palace File:Meißen Burgberg mit Albrechtsburg und Dom.jpg|
Meissen (near Dresden) File:Luftbild Schloss Moritzburg 2014-03-29 1.JPG|Hunting Palace of
Moritzburg (near Dresden) File:Pillnitz-Wasseransicht.jpg|
Pillnitz Palace (near Dresden) File:Schloss Weesenstein (14-2).jpg|
Weesenstein Castle (near Dresden) File:Schloss Freudenstein Freiberg.jpg|
Freudenstein Castle at Freiberg File:Schloss Augustusburg Südseite.jpg|
Augustusburg Hunting Lodge (near
Chemnitz) File:Schloss Hubertusburg, Wermsdorf, Sachsen, Deutschland.JPG|Hunting Palace of
Hubertusburg (near
Leipzig) == The House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha ==