The Fürstenstrasse of the Wettins denotes a themed road with five partial routes in the former rule and sphere of activity of the prince and royal house of the Wettins in the five German federal states Bavaria, Brandenburg, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia as well as in parts Poland. The total length of the route is 3,330 kilometers.
background
Wettin Castle on the banks of the Saale
The Wettiner are a German nobility, whose documented history goes back to the first millennium. The first possessions were the eponymous castle Wettin at the Saale and Eilenburg at the hollow. In 1089 the Wettins took over the margraviate of Meissen, which they ruled until 1918. In the period that followed, they expanded this area to the west (Leipzig area) and south (Ore Mountains). In 1264 they inherited the Landgraviate of Thuringia and ruled a more or less contiguous area between the Werra and the Oder.
The Wettins experienced an increase in power in 1423 through the enfeoffment of the Electorate of Saxony-Wittenberg (royal seat Wittenberg, with which the electoral dignity was connected. In 1485 the brothers Ernst and Albert divided the territory and never established family branches named after them. The Ernestine line took over the electoral dignity, Saxony-Wittenberg and Thuringia, the Albertine line the Margraviate of Meissen. The Ernestine Elector Friedrich the Wise protected Martin Luther and the young Reformation. In the Schmalkaldic War of 1547, the Ernestines and Albertines stood on different sides of the front, the Albertines on the victorious side. Therefore they took over the electoral dignity, the Ernestines could only keep Thuringia.
While the Albertines expanded the electorate and later Kingdom of Saxony into one of the German centers of power and with Augustus the Strong also acquired the Polish royal crown and their residence DresdenThe Ernestines in Thuringia lost political influence through numerous inheritance divisions into small principalities, also through the income from rich silver mines. The marriage policy of the Ernestines to European royal houses was more successful, for example Albert von Sachsen-Coburg-Gotha with Queen Victoria of Great Britain.
Over the centuries, members of the family provided numerous margraves of Meissen, landgraves of Thuringia, dukes and electors of Saxony as well as kings in Saxony, Poland, Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria and Great Britain. Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and King Albert II of Belgium come from the Ernestine line.
Project sponsor is the association "Fürstenstrasse der Wettiner".
Route overview
The Fürstenstrasse of the Wettins includes five routes, in the center of which of course the original seat Wettin is located. The following distances do not include optional trips to Poland. Crossing points of the various routes are shown in bold.
Main route (1,206 kilometers)
Bayreuth – Kulmbach – Sun field – Coburg – Neustadt near Coburg – Sonneberg – Ice field – Schleusingen – Hildburghausen – Bad Colberg-Heldburg – Römhild – Veßra Monastery – Henneberg – Meiningen – Wasungen – Schmalkalden – Love stone – Ruhla – Eisenach – Bad Langensalza – Gotha – Muhlberg – Erfurt – Ettersburg – Weimar – Liebstedt – Buttstädt – Rastenberg – Apolda – Jena – Dornburg (Dornburg-Camburg) – Camburg – Eckartsberga – Auerstedt – Bad Sulza – Bad Kosen – Naumburg – Weissenfels – Lützen – Bad Durrenberg – Merseburg – Querfurt – Hall – Wettin – LöbejünPetersberg – Zörbig – Brehna – Delitzsch – Leipzig – Rötha – Bad Lausick – Colditz – Grimma – Wermsdorf – Spice up – Eilenburg – Bad Düben – Wittenberg – Wartenburg (Kemberg) – Pretzsch / Elbe – Jessen (magpie) – Prettin – Torgau – Belgians – Mühlberg / Elbe – Zeithain – Chub – Nossen – Meissen – Moritzburg – Dresden – Heidenau – Pirna – Königstein (Saxon Switzerland)
North route (994 kilometers)
Wettin – Gerbstedt – Eisleben – Sangerhausen – Mansfeld – Ballenstedt – Gernrode – Quedlinburg – Halberstadt – Magdeburg – Castle (near Magdeburg) – Gommern – Barby – Zerbst – Wiesenburg – Bad Belzig – Niemegk – Wittenberg – Seyda – Jueterbog – Dahme / Mark – Baruth / Mark – Golßen – Luebben (Spreewald) – Great Leuthen – Straupitz – Love rose – Friedland – New cell – Guben - (Poland) - Bad Muskau – Spremberg – Senftenberg – Calau – Princely Drehna – Luckau – Sonnewalde – Doberlug-Kirchhain – Bad Liebenwerda – Elsterwerda – Lauchhammer – Outskirts – Zabeltitz – Grossenhain – Diesbar-Seusslitz – Meissen
East route (302 kilometers)
Dresden – Radeberg – Pulsnitz – Kamenz – Wittichenau – Hoyerswerda – Kleinwelka – Bautzen – Löbau – Reichenbach (Upper Lusatia) – Gorlitz - (Poland) - Zittau – Herrnhut – Eibau – Bischofswerda – Stumble – Pillnitz – Dresden
South route (444 kilometers)
Jena – Bürgel – Eisenberg – Crosses – Time – Pegau – Lucka – Altenburg – Kohren-Sahlis – Geithain – Rochlitz – Waldenburg (Saxony) – Glauchau – Meerane – Werdau – Zwickau – Wildenfels – Bad Schlema – Schneeberg – Eibenstock – Johanngeorgenstadt – Schwarzenberg – Zwönitz – Stollberg – Chemnitz – Frankenberg – Augustusburg – Freiberg – Dippoldiswalde – Großsedlitz – Pirna
Route East Thuringia-Vogtland-Ore Mountains (389 kilometers)
Sonneberg – Steinach – Lauscha – Neuhaus am Rennweg – Schwarzburg – Bad Blankenburg – Rudolstadt – Saalfeld – Poessneck – Neustadt (Orla) – Triptis – Weida – Greiz – Reichenbach in the Vogtland – Plauen – Oelsnitz – Adorf – Bad Elster – Bad Brambach – Rural desert – Markneukirchen – Klingenthal – Carlsfeld (Eibenstock) – Johanngeorgenstadt – Oberwiesenthal – Annaberg-Buchholz – Ehrenfriedersdorf – Zschopau – Augustusburg
Main route
Veste Coburg
- 1 Bayreuth - In 1693, in the former residence of the Margraviate of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Princess Chistiane Eberhardine of Bavaria married the Saxon Prince Friedrich August, generally known to posterity as August the Strong, in a not too happy marriage ..
- 2 Kulmbach -
- 3 Sun field - Belonging to the Ernestine Principality of Saxony-Hildburghausen since 1705
- 4 Coburg - Wettin since 1353, one of the southernmost possessions of the Wettins, secured by a mighty castle (Veste Coburg). Later the royal seat of the Ernestine dynasty of Saxe-Coburg
- 6 Sonneberg - Wettin since 1353. Later in the Ernestine area, Sonneberg, as a kind of Ernestine challenge cup, once belonged to Saxe-Coburg, Saxe-Gotha, Saxe-Eisenach, Saxe-Altenburg, then again to Saxe-Gotha and finally Saxe-Meiningen.
- 7 Ice field -
- 8 Schleusingen - came to the Wettins only in 1583 after the counts of Henneberg, who ruled their own territory in the Holy Roman Empire, died out. The Bertholdsburg became the administrative seat of the governors of the changing Ernestine princes who ruled Schleusingen from then on
- 9 Hildburghausen - Residence town of the Ernestine Principality of Saxony-Hildburghausen
- 10 Bad Colberg-Heldburg - Veste Heldburg was another castle that guarded the Wettin area to the south
- 11 Römhild - The former residence of the Counts of Henneberg with the Glücksburg fell to the Wettins and was briefly the residence of the Dukes of Saxony-Römhild.
Elisabethenburg Meiningen
- 12 Veßra Monastery - Premonstratensian monastery founded in the 12th century, secularized after the Reformation and a Saxon state domain
- 13 Henneberg - Ancestral seat of the Counts of Henneberg, whose territory fell to the Wettins in 1583. The Henneburg, which was used until the 17th century, is one of the largest castle ruins in Thuringia.
- 14 Meiningen - Former residence of the Wettin Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen
- 15 Wasungen - since 1583 Ernestine and in 1747 the subject of a war-like inheritance dispute between Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and Saxe-Gotha-Meiningen, which, however, turned into a dispute over the reign in Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach.
- 16 Schmalkalden - Schmalkalden was never owned by Wettin (it was a Hessian enclave until the 20th century), but in 1530 it was founded Schmalkaldic Confederation Protestant princes who opposed the anti-reformist policies of Emperor Charles V.
Wartburg
- 17 Love stone - with Liebenstein Castle, which guards the Geratal.
- 18 Ruhla - Iron ore finds and the abundant wood in the Thuringian Forest were the economic basis for (weapons) smiths, which have given Ruhla importance since the 14th century. So much importance that several Ernestine duchies ruled parts of the place. So there was "Ruhla Tenneberger Orts" and "Ruhla Uetterodtschen Orts", later merged to "Ruhla Gothaischer Teil" and next to it the "Ruhla Weimarischen Teil"
- 19 Eisenach - The Wettins took over Eisenach in 1264 after a military mission from the inheritance of the extinct Landgraves of Thäuringia. With the mighty Wartburg, one of the most important castles in German history, became the southwest corner pillar of the Wettin territory. Later residence of the Duchy of Saxony-Eisenach.
Friedenstein Castle Gotha
- 20 Bad Langensalza - One of the largest cities in Thuringia in terms of area, came the one at that time Salza 1345 by purchase to the Wettins (it didn't always have to be war or inheritance). Reached the Albertine line as an exclave when Leipzig was divided, came Langensalza after the Congress of Vienna to Prussia.
- 21 Gotha - Located on the old trade route Via Regia and guarded by the strong Grimmenstein Castle, the city grew into the later royal seat of the Duchy of Saxony-Gotha-Altenburg and Sachse-Coburg-Gotha. Friedenstein Castle is one of the largest residences of the Wettins.
- 22 Muhlberg –
- 23 Erfurt - Of all things, the largest city in Thuringia in the Middle Ages never belonged to the Thuringian Landgrafenlat = 50.9774 | long = 11.0250 or later to the Wettins. The old trade, fair and university town belonged to the Archdiocese of Mainz.
- 24 Ettersburg - Small town north of Weimar with the palace and palace park of the later dukes of Saxe-Weimar
- 25 Weimar - Wettin since 1365, Weimar became the seat of the Ernestine dukes in 1547 after the Schmalkaldic War and loss of the electoral dignity. Weimar later developed into one of the cultural centers of Germany.
- 26 Liebstedt - Exchanged in 1331 from Margrave Friedrich II of Meissen to the Teutonic Order, who built an order castle there.
- 27 Buttstädt - Founded in the 9th century by Margrave Ekkehard von Meissen.
- 28 Rastenberg - once a castle on the Via Regia trade route.
- 29 Apolda - Once belonging to the Archbishop of Mainz, the small town came to the Wettins in the 14th century, and later to the Ernestine small states.
Old Dornburg Castle
- 30 Jena - (also the starting point of the southern route). Wettin since 1331, later belonged to the Ernestine Electorate of Saxony and remained with the Ernestines when they lost their electoral dignity. Ex-Elector Johann Friedrich the Magnanimous founded today's Friedrich Schiller University here in 1548 to replace the University of Wittenberg, which he had lost.
- 31 Dornburg (Dornburg-Camburg) - The three Dornburg castles high above the Saale are among the most beautiful legacies of the Wettins
- 32 Camburg - Settlement with a mighty castle above the Saale valley of the Counts of Brehna, an early Wettin branch, existing since the 12th century.
- 33 Eckartsberga - Margrave Ekkehart von Meissen founded a castle in 966 that guarded the Via Regia passing there.
- 34 Auerstedt - The place, which today belongs to Bad Sulza, was the scene of a battle in 1806 (double battle of Jena and Auerstedt), which Napoleon won against Prussia.
Early Wettiner Ekkehard II, Margrave of Meissen and wife Uta von Ballenstedt as the donor of the Naumburg Cathedral
- 35 Bad Sulza - Market town on the Via Regia with salt production dating back to the Middle Ages.
- 36 Bad Kosen - Founding of the former Pforta monastery in front of its gates on the Saale
- 37 Naumburg - Burg und Mark founded by the Margraves of Meissen in 1012, soon also a bishopric. The Naumburg Cathedral, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, contains numerous images of early Wettins with its donor figures.
- 38 Weissenfels - Former residence of an Albertine branch with a dominant castle high above the Saale.
- 39 Lützen - The scene of one of the great battles of the Thirty Years War.
- 40 Bad Durrenberg - one of the oldest brine baths in central Germany.
- 41 Merseburg - Since the 11th century bishopric with an important cathedral, later residence of an Albertine branch.
- 42 Querfurt - one of the largest castles in Central Germany, at times there was even Saxony-Querfurt as a territory.
- 43 Hall - Already rich in salt production in the High Middle Ages, the city belonged to the Archdiocese of Magdeburg as a secular property
- 44 Wettin - with the Wettiner ancestral castle above the Saale. Starting point of the north route.
- 45 Löbejün –
- 46 Zörbig - Small town with an old city wall
- 47 Brehna - The county of Brehna was a Wettin territory of the Middle Ages that stretched far to the east over the Elbe. With an old monastery church in town.
- 48 Delitzsch - Well fortified city, in Wettin hands since around 1200.
- 49 Leipzig - Exhibition and university city of Albertine Saxony.
- 50 Rötha –
- 51 Bad Lausick - Marktflecken, which belonged to Albertine things after the division of Leipzig
- 52 Colditz - Small town on the Mulde with the Wettin hunting lodge, which later became famous as a prisoner of war camp for Allied officers ("Escape from Colditz Castle")
- 53 Grimma - one of the oldest foundations of the Wettins from 1170, strategically located on the Mulde.
Elector Friedrich the Wise and Johann the Steadfast at the theses portal of the Wittenberg Castle Church
- 54 Wermsdorf –
- 55 Spice up - strategically located city, where the trade route Via Regia crosses the Mulde, which for a long time preserved its independence and only became part of Electoral Saxony in 1581
- 56 Eilenburg - owned by the Wettins since the turn of the first millennium and an important anchor for their eastern expansion.
- 57 Bad Düben - Castle on the Mulde
- 58 Wittenberg - Residence of the Ernestine line after the division of Leipzig. Starting point of the Reformation under Elector Friedrich the Wise. Crossing with the north route.
- 59 Wartenburg (Kemberg) - The Prussians crossed the Elbe near Wartenburg in 1813 in the run-up to the Battle of Leipzig
- 60 Pretzsch / Elbe - over 1000 years old small town on the Elbe
- 61 Jessen (magpie) - with a hunting lodge of the Ernestines
- 62 Prettin - Small town on the Elbe, already laid out in the times of the County of Brehna to protect the Elbe crossing.
- 63 Torgau - with the mighty Hartenfels Castle on the Elbe, Torgau became the residence of the Ernestine princes after the partition of Saxony.
- 64 Belgians –
- 65 Mühlberg / Elbe - In the battle of Mühlberg the Albertine Duke Moritz von Sachsen won the electoral dignity from his Ernestine cousin Elector Johann Friedrich ("the magnanimous") in a military alliance with Emperor Charles V.
- 66 Zeithain - The scene of a gigantic military parade of August the Strong in 1730, the "Lustlager von Zeithain",
- 67 Chub - founded in the 10th century around a castle over the Mulde in the western part of the margraviate of Meissen
- 68 Nossen - Small town on the Mulde with a hunting lodge (former castle) of the Albertines. In a suburb, the once mighty Altzella monastery
Princely procession at Dresden Castle
- 69 Meissen - Residence of the margraviate of the same name and for many centuries the seat of the Wettins with cathedral and Albrechtsburg as well as the royal porcelain manufacture. End point of the north route.
- 70 Moritzburg - Magnificent hunting lodge of August the Strong
- 71 Dresden - developed over many centuries into the shining capital of the Kingdom of Saxony
- 72 Heidenau - with the Gross-Sedlitz baroque garden on a hill above the Elbe
- 73 Pirna - the gateway to Saxon Switzerland in a strategically prominent location at the transition from Bergland to the basin of the Elbe. End point of the south route.
- 74 Koenigstein - Fortress guarding the narrow Elbe valley.
literature
Web links
- House Wettin, Article on the German Wikipedia
- Association "Fürstenstrasse der Wettiner"
