Christian, Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg

Christian
Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg
Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg
Reign	1675–1707
Predecessor	New Creation
Successor	Disputed
Born	(1653-01-06)6 January 1653 Gotha
Died	28 April 1707(1707-04-28) (aged 54) Eisenberg
Spouse	Christiane of Saxe-Merseburg Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt
Issue	Christiane, Duchess of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg
House	House of Wettin
Father	Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg
Mother	Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg

Christian of Saxe-Eisenberg (Gotha, 6 January 1653 – Eisenberg, 28 April 1707) was a duke of Saxe-Eisenberg.

He was the eighth, but fifth surviving, son of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Altenburg and Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg.

Christian had traveled far in his youth and was interested early in History and Art. After the death of his father in 1675, he governed together with his brothers over Saxe-Gotha. He made Eisenberg his residence, where in 1677 he built the Schloss Christiansburg. After the divisionary treaty of the duchy in 1680, Christian retained Eisenberg and the towns of Ronneburg, Roda and Camburg. During his last years he was very interested in alchemy.

He died with considerable debts and, like his brothers Albrecht of Saxe-Coburg and Heinrich of Saxe-Römhild, without sons. His lands were disputed between his remaining brothers and their descendants in the "Coburg-Eisenberg-Römhild inheritance dispute", which took until 1735 to be resolved.

Issue

In Merseburg on 13 February 1677, Christian married firstly with Christiane of Saxe-Merseburg. They had only one daughter:

1. Christine (b. Eisenach, 4 March 1679 – d. Glücksburg, 24 May 1722), who was married on 15 February 1699 to Philip Ernst, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg (1673–1729), grandson of Philip, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg. Their son Duke Frederick of Schleswig-Holstein-Glücksburg (1 April 1701 - 27 November 1766) married Henriette Auguste, daughter of Simon Henry Adolph, Count of Lippe-Detmold. They had a son, Frederick William Henry (the last of the line, who married Anna Caroline, daughter of William Henry, Prince of Nassau-Saarbrücken) and a daughter, Louise Charlotte (who married Karl George Lebrecht, Prince of Anhalt-Köthen).

In Darmstadt, on 9 February 1681, Christian married secondly with Sophie Marie of Hesse-Darmstadt. They had no children.

Ancestry

Family of Christian, Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg

16. John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony 8. Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar 17. Sybille of Cleves 4. John II, Duke of Saxe-Weimar 18. Frederick III, Elector Palatine 9. Dorothea Susanne of Simmern 19. Marie of Brandenburg-Kulmbach 2. Ernest I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha 20. John V, Prince of Anhalt-Zerbst 10. Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt 21. Margaret of Brandenburg 5. Dorothea Maria of Anhalt 22. Christoph, Duke of Württemberg 11. Eleonore of Württemberg 23. Anna Maria of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1. Christian, Duke of Saxe-Eisenberg 24. Johann Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar (= 8) 12. Frederick Wilhelm I, Duke of Saxe-Weimar 25. Dorothea Susanne of Simmern (= 9) 6. Johann Philipp, Duke of Saxe-Altenburg 26. Philipp Ludwig of Pfalz-Neuburg 13. Anna Maria of the Palatinate-Neuburg 27. Anna of Cleves 3. Elisabeth Sophie of Saxe-Altenburg 28. Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 14. Henry Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg 29. Hedwig of Brandenburg 7. Elisabeth of Brünswick-Wolfenbüttel 30. Frederick II, King of Denmark 15. Elizabeth of Denmark 31. Sofie of Mecklenburg-Schwerin

References

• August Beck, Christian, einziger Herzog von Sachsen-Eisenberg. In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). vol IV. Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1876, pp. 178–180.
• Wolfgang Huschke (1957), "Christian, Herzog von Sachsen-Eisenberg", Neue Deutsche Biographie (in German), vol. 3, Berlin: Duncker & Humblot, p. 232
• Wilfried Warsitzka: Herzog Christian von Sachsen und der Bau der Schlosskirche zu Eisenberg. Wartburg-Verlag, Jena 1992, ISBN 3-86160-065-X