Ernst Ludwig I | |
Succession: | Duke of Saxe-Meiningen |
Reign: | 27 April 1706 – 24 November 1724 |
Predecessor: | Bernhard I |
Successor: | Ernest Louis II |
Spouse: | Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Gotha Elisabeth Sofie of Brandenburg |
Issue: | Prince Joseph Bernhard, Hereditary Prince of Saxe-Meiningen Prince Friedrich August Ernest Louis II Luise Dorothea, Duchess of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg Charles Frederick |
House: | Saxe-Meiningen |
Father: | Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen |
Mother: | Marie Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt |
Birth Date: | 7 October 1672 |
Birth Place: | Gotha |
Death Place: | Meiningen |
Religion: | Lutheranism |
Ernst Ludwig I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen (7 October 1672 – 24 November 1724) was a German (Saxon) nobleman.
He was born in Gotha, the eldest son of Bernhard I, Duke of Saxe-Meiningen, and his first wife, Marie Hedwig of Hesse-Darmstadt.
After the death of his father in 1706, Ernst Ludwig inherited the duchy of Saxe-Meiningen jointly with his brother, Frederick Wilhelm, and his half-brother, Anton Ulrich. His father, in his will, had stipulated that the duchy never be divided and that it be governed jointly by his sons.
The oldest brother, Ernst Ludwig, strove to establish autonomy for himself and his descendants. Immediately after the death of his father, Ernst Ludwig signed a contract with his brothers; in consideration of certain inducements, the brothers had to leave the government of the duchy in his hands. This introduction of primogeniture failed, however; his brothers managed to govern again after Ernst Ludwig's death, acting as guardians for his sons.
Ernst Ludwig married Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg, his cousin in Gotha on 19 September 1704. They had five children:
In Schloss Ehrenburg, Coburg on 3 June 1714, Ernst Ludwig married his second wife, Elisabeth Sophie of Brandenburg. They had no children.
He died in Meiningen in 1724.