by Susan Flantzer
© Unofficial Royalty 2025
On March 26, 1675, Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, died. Initially, his seven sons collectively governed the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, as set out in their father’s will. On February 24, 1680, the seven brothers concluded a treaty of separation, with each brother getting a portion of the Duchy of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg and becoming a Duke. One of the seven new duchies was the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, and Bernhard, one of the seven sons of Ernst I, Duke of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, became the first Duke of Saxe-Meiningen.
Bernhard I, the first Duke of Saxe-Meiningen; Credit – Wikipedia
Having moved to Meiningen and taken up residence at the Meiningen Castle, Bernhard soon made plans to build a new official residence in the city. The Elisabethenburg Palace in Meiningen, Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen, now located in the German state of Thuringia, was built between 1682 and 1692 and was named for the second wife of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, Elisabeth Eleonore of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen.
The Schlosskirche was integrated into the Elisabethenburg Palace during its construction, using a pre-existing Renaissance building as its base. It occupies two floors in the south wing of the Elisabethenburg Palace. The palace and the church were constructed in the Baroque style, and the church’s interior decorations reflect the Baroque style of this period.
In addition to the pulpit and choir barriers from 1689, the Schlosskirche has an altar with a four-column canopy from 1767 and a prince’s box decorated with a frieze of arms, a decorative panel featuring coats of arms, in the raised choir, where the concert organ is located today. The church has a large-format coffered ceiling, a grid-like pattern of recessed panels, decorated with stucco.
The Schlosskirche was consecrated on November 9, 1692, and dedicated to the Holy Trinity. From 1692 to 1920, it served as the court church of the Dukes of Saxe-Meiningen.
The church suffered destruction during the Seven Years’ War in 1760 and again during the Napoleonic Wars in the early 19th century. There were extensive renovations between 1885 and 1892, which included the construction of the west tower in its current form. Later renovations and additions incorporated Rococo and 19th-century Empire styles.
After the dissolution of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen in 1920, the Schlosskirche became part of the Meiningen church community, and services were held there until 1975. In 1977, the Schlosskirche ceased to be a church and was handed over to the Meiningen Museum (link in German), three cultural history museums in the town of Meiningen. After renovation and restoration work from 1980 to 1982, the Johannes Brahms Concert Hall was opened in the church, with the pulpit and altar preserved. The Johannes Brahms Concert Hall has been one of the venues for the Hans von Bülow International Piano Competition (link in German) since 2012, and also one of the venues for the Güldener Herbst Festival (link in German), a festival of early music in Thuringia.
The crypt beneath the Schlosskirche is one of the burial sites for the Dukes and Duchesses of Saxe-Meiningen and their family members. The Ducal Crypt (link in German) in the English Garden (link in German) in Meiningen was built between 1835 and 1839 and is the burial site of several Dukes and Duchesses. Additionally, many family members were buried in the grounds surrounding the English Garden. In 1977, the government of East Germany removed all the tombs from the Ducal Crypt, cremated the bodies, and reburied them in unmarked graves in the nearby Parkfriedhof (Park Cemetery – link in German). See Unofficial Royalty: Saxe-Meiningen Royal Burial Sites.
Burials at the Schlosskirche
- Maria Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (1647 – 1680), first wife of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, first buried in the Meiningen City Church in Meiningen, Duchy of Anhalt, now in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany, before being moved to the Schlosskirche at Elisabethenburg Palace
- Anton August of Saxe-Meiningen (born and died 1684), son of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen (1673 – 1694), son of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Georg Ernst of Saxe-Meiningen (1680 – 1699), son of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1649 – 1706)
- Friedrich August of Saxe-Meiningen (born and died 1707), son of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Dorothea Maria of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (1674 – 1713), first wife of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1672 – 1724)
- Joseph Bernhard of Saxe-Meiningen (1706 – 1724, son of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Elisabeth Eleonore of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (1658 – 1729), first wife of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Ernst Ludwig II, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1709 – 1729)
- Eleonore Frederikke of Saxe-Meiningen (1683 – 1739), daughter of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Karl Friedrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1712 – 1743)
- Philippine Elisabeth Caesar, Princess of Saxe-Meiningen (link in German) (1686 – 1744), morganatic first wife of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen; because her marriage was morganatic, Philippine Elisabeth’s coffin was initially not buried in the crypt, but simply had sand poured over it.
- Friedrich Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1679 – 1746)
- Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen, second wife of Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, her third husband (1674 – 1748)
- Elisabeth of Saxon-Meiningen (1753 – 1754), daughter of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Friedrich of Saxe-Meiningen (1757 – 1758), son of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Ludwig of Saxe-Meiningen (1756 – 1761), son of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen
- Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1687 – 1763)
- Charlotte Amalie of Hesse-Philippsthal, Duchess of Saxe-Meiningen (1730 – 1801), 2nd wife of Anton Ulrich, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, first buried in the Schlosskirche; in 1977, her remains were moved to the Parkfriedhof in Meiningen.
- Karl Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (1754 – 1782), first buried in the Schlosskirche; in 1977, his remains were moved to the Parkfriedhof in Meiningen
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Works Cited
- Authors of the Wikimedia projects. (2010,. Church Building in Meiningen, used as a concert hall. Wikipedia.org; Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schlosskirche_(Meiningen)
- Memorials in Schlosskirche Elisabethenburg in Meiningen – Find a Grave. (2025). Findagrave.com. https://www.findagrave.com/cemetery/2333895/memorial-search?cemeteryName=Schlosskirche+Elisabethenburg+in+Meiningen&page=1#sr-21960036
- (2025). Schloss Elisabethenburg – Treasury of Thuringia. (2025). Schatzkammer-Thueringen.de. https://www.schatzkammer-thueringen.de/en/objekt/schloss-elisabethenburg-in-meiningen/
