Saxe-Meiningen [key], Ger. Sachsen-Meiningen, former duchy, Thuringia, central Germany. The capital was Meiningen. A possession of the Ernestine branch of the house of Wettin, it became a separate duchy in 1681 under Bernard, third son of Ernest the Pious of Saxe-Gotha. In the dynastic rearrangement that followed the extinction (1825) of the male line of Saxe-Gotha, the duke of Saxe-Meiningen received (1826) Saxe-Saalfeld from the duke of Saxe-Coburg (who obtained Gotha instead) and Saxe-Hildburghausen (whose duke was compensated with Saxe-Altenburg). Saxe-Meiningen sided (1866) with Austria in the Austro-Prussian War. The last duke abdicated in 1918, and in 1920 Saxe-Meiningen was incorporated into Thuringia. For the theatrical company organized by Duke George II of Saxe-Meiningen, see Meiningen Players.
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