Saxe-Altenburg, 5 Mark 1903

For the 50th anniversary of the reign. Minted only one year!

Saxony-Altenburg
5 Mark 1903 A
Av.: Duke Ernst of Saxony-Altenburg
Rs.: Eagle
Mint: Berlin

Historical:

Ernst I of Saxe-Altenburg (1826-1908) was Duke of Saxe-Altenburg from 1853 to 1908. He initially belonged to the House of Saxe-Hildburghausen, which was renamed Saxe-Altenburg shortly after his birth. Ernst studied at the University of Jena and received military training. When he married Princess Agnes of Anhalt-Dessau in 1853, Prussia's King Friedrich Wilhelm IV was also among the guests.

Ernst took over the reins of government in 1853 even before his father's death, as he was seriously ill. After his father's death in the same year, he took over the reign of the Duchy of Saxony-Altenburg as Ernst I. The duke largely kept out of politics, but was nevertheless extremely open to social problems. He simplified the state administration and developed Altenburg into an important industrial city. In 1868, he regulated by contract the course of the border with the Principality of Reuss, younger line. He also had Altenburg's town hall restored and opened the court theater and the state museum. With a military law in 1855, the monarch established the duchy's close affiliation with Prussia.

After an unusually long reign of 55 years, his nephew Ernst II of Saxe-Altenburg took over the regency after his death in 1908. Duke Ernst I was considered a close friend of all three German emperors.