Page:Statesman's Year-Book 1913.djvu/1062

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page needs to be proofread.

940

GERMAN EMPIRE :— KINGDOM OF SAXONY

Schools

Elementary schools . . . .

Gymnasia

Realgymnasia

Realschule with Realprogymnasium Oberrealschule (recently founded) . Realschulen (1 private)

Normal schools

Drawing schools

Deaf-mute and blind asylum

No.

Teachers

Pupils

405

1,159

65,888

3

56

836

2

29

583

1

12

179

1

20

405

5

38

616

2

35

296

o

7

375

1

10

52

Saxe- Weimar contains two Landgerichte, while the district of Neustadt is subject to the jurisdiction of the Landgericht at Gera, common to Saxe- Weimar and the Reuss Principalities. The Oberlandesgericht at Jena is a common court of appeal for the four Saxon Duchies, Sohwarzhurg-Rudolstadt, the two Reuss Principalities, and parts of Prussia.

British Minister Plenipotentiary . — Rt. Hon. SirW. E. Goschen, G.C.V.O., K.C.M.G.

Refrrknc'E.— /St'obe? (A.), Thuringen [in ' Land and Leute' series]. Bielefeld, 1902.

KINGDOM OF SAXONY.

(KONIGREIGH SaCIISEN.)

Reigning King.— Friedrlch August III., born May 25, 1865, son of the late King Georg ; succeeded to the throne on the death of his father, October 15, 1904; married November 21, 1891, to Princess Luise of Tuscany, born September 2, 1870. The marriage was dissolved February 11, 1903. Offspring: Prince Georg, born January 15, 1893; Prince Friedrich Christian, born December 31, 1893; Prince Ernst Heinrich, born December 9, 1896; Princess Margarethe, born January 24, 1900; Princess Maria Alix, born September 27, 1901 ; Princess Anna Monica, born May 4, 1903.

The King has two sisters : Princess Mathilda, born March 19, 1863, and Princess Maria Josefa, born May 31, 1S(37 ; married October 2, 1880, to the late Archduke Otto of Austria, widow, November 1, 1900; and two brothers: Prince Johann Georg, born .July 10, 1869; married (1) April 5, 1894, to Duchess Maria Isabella of Wurttemberg (died May 24, 1904) (2) October 30, 1900, to Princess Maria Immaculata of Bourbon ; and Prince Max, born November 17, 1870 ; became a priest July 20, 1890.

The royal house of Saxony counts amongst the oldest reigning families in Europe. Heinrich of Eilenburg, of the family of Wettin, was Margrave of Meissen 1089-1103 ; he was succeeded by his son, Heinrich (1103-1123), and Konrad the Great (1123-1156), well known in Saxon history. The house subsequently spread into numerous branches, the elder of which, called the Ernestine line, is represented by the ducal families of Saxe-Altenbur^ Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, and Saxe-Meiningen, and the grand-ducal family of Saxe-Weimar ; while the younger, the Albertine line, lives in tVie rulers of the Kingdom of Saxony. In 1806 the Elector Friedrich August III. (1763-1827), on entering the Confederation of the Rhine, took from Napoleon tlie title of King of Saxony, which was confirmed by the Con- gress of Vienna in 1815. The predecessors of the present King were Friedrich August I. (1S06-1S27), Anton (1827-1830), Friedrich August II. (1836-1854), Johann (1854-1873), AJbert (1873-1902), Georg (1902-1904).

King Friedrich August III. has a civil list of 3,741,902 marks per annum. Exclusive of this sum are the appanage of the Prince Johann Georg, and the appanage of the Princess Mathilde amounting (1910-11) to 349,554 marks. The formerly royal domains consisting chiefly of extensive forests, became, in 1830, the property of the State.

Constitution and Government.— The Constitution dates from September 4, 1831 ; but has undergone alterations up to 1909. The crown is hereditary in the male line ; but, at the extinction of the latter, also in the female line. The sovereign comes of age at the completed eighteenth year, and, during his minority, the nearest heir to the throne takes the regency.