Coburg - History

History

Coburg lies about 90 km south of Erfurt and about 100 km north of Nuremberg. Coburg was first mentioned in a document dated 1056, although there was a settlement at the site that predates it called Trufalistat. Following several changes of aristocratic ownership, it came into the hands of the House of Wettin in 1353 from the House of Henneberg with the marriage of Friedrich III, the Strong, with Katherina von Henneberg and was initially regarded by them as a Saxon outpost within Franconia.

In 1596, it was raised to the status of capital of one of the dynasty's splintered Saxon-Thuringian territories, the new Duchy of Saxe-Coburg under the leadership of Duke Johann Casimir (ruled 1596–1633). From 1699 to 1826, it was one of the two capitals of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, and from 1826-1918 it was a capital of the duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.

One of Germany's largest castles, the mighty Veste Coburg citadel, built starting in 1225 (upon the site of an 11th century chapel), dominates the town from its hilltop. During the Diet of Augsburg in 1530 reformer Martin Luther spent six months at the castle (located at the southernmost point of the Saxon duchy) while his liege lord, the Duke of Saxony, attended the Diet. Luther was forbidden to attend by the duke, who feared that he would be imprisoned and burned as a heretic. While quartered at the castle Luther continued with his translation of the Bible into German.

Today the Veste Coburg is home to three museums. One is the Ducal Palace (Fürstenbau), with many furnished rooms of the Dukes of Coburg, including the apartment where Martin Luther lived in 1530. Probably the most notable room in the castle (unique in all of Germany) is the Hunting Room (Jagdzimmer) of 1632, which is entirely made of marquetry wood inlay, done up with over 60 marquetry panels, deeply coffered marquetry ceilings and a wood paneled floor. Another museum is the Armory (Rüstkammer), containing the largest collection of medieval armour and weaponry in Germany, with over 10,500 items. The third is the Art Collections (Kunstsammlungen), which contains a world class collection of 300,000 engravings (Kupferstich-Kabinett), a 20,000 piece coin collection (Münzkabinett), a 7000 piece documentation collection (Briefe & Urkunden), and a 3,500 piece glassware collection (Gläser-Sammlung).

In the old town at the base of the castle hill, the Ehrenburg Palace (a former Franciscan Monastery) was rebuilt in 1543. It was gutted by fire in 1690 and rebuilt in a Baroque style, with stucco work by North Italian craftsmen that includes a famous "Hall of the Giants" (which contains a plaque that states it was the location of the first meeting between England's Queen Victoria and Franz Josef Emperor of Austria in 1860). Its Gothic Revival exterior was remodelled by Karl Friedrich Schinkel in the 19th century. It now also houses a museum as well as a famous library.

Ernst Frederick, the fourth Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, moved his capital from Saalfeld to Coburg in 1764. Coburg then became capital of the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld and then the Duchy of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. During the 19th century, dynastic marriages created ties with the royal families of Belgium, Bulgaria, Portugal, as well as Great Britain. The era of political dominance peaked with Leopold Friedrich; born Prince of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld, becoming the King of Belgians in 1831 and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, born in Schloss Rosenau, marrying his first cousin, Queen Victoria in 1840. The marriage between Albert and Victoria established the present British royal house, which renamed itself Windsor during World War I. This marriage in turn led to a union with Germany's ruling dynasty, the Hohenzollerns, when the couple's eldest child, Victoria, married the future Kaiser Friedrich III.

After her marriage, Queen Victoria said of Coburg

If I were not who I am, this would have been my real home, but I shall always consider it my second one.

Due to the royal connections among the royal houses of Europe, Coburg was the site of many royal Ducal weddings and visits. Britain's Queen Victoria made 6 visits to Coburg during her 64 year reign. In 1894 one ceremony brought together Queen Victoria, her son Edward (future Edward VII), her second son Alfred (Duke of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha), her daughter the German dowager Empress Friedrich (Victoria), and many of her grandchildren, such as future Tsar Nicholas and Alexandra of Russia, Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany, and the future King George V of Great Britain.

In 1920, two years after the abdication of the last duke, the locals voted to join Bavaria. Thus whilst the other Saxon-Thuringian principalities were later incorporated into the German Democratic Republic after World War II, Coburg became part of West Germany. As a result, the town spent the Cold War years lying right next to the Iron Curtain, surrounded by East German territory on three sides.

In 1929, Coburg was the first German city in which the Nazi Party won the absolute majority of the popular votes during municipal elections.

In 1946, Polish ambassador Oskar R. Lange alleged that Coburg was a base for the Western Allies to organize a Polish armed insurgency led by Władysław Anders against Soviet-backed communists in Poland.