SAXE-COBURG-GOTHA, a duchy in the southern part of Thuringia, is composed of two Urge and various smaller detached which are surrounded by the territories of Prussia, Schwarz berg, Sonderhausen, Weimar, Electoral Ileme, Meiningen, and Bavaria. The principality of Coburg liesbetween 50' 8' and 50' 23' N. lat., 10' 49' and 11' 14' E. long., and that of Gotha between 60' 38' and 61' 20' N. lat., 10' 15' and 2' E. long. The area and tion are given under C,onvna. The south part of Gotha is traversed by a large portion of the Thuringian Mountains, of which the loftiest points are, the Schneekopf, 3113 feet, the Inselberg, 2947 feet, with others of nearly equal elevation. This chain, extending in a south easterly direction from Eisenach through Gotha to the frontiers of Renee, where It motives the name of Frankenwald, U on the whole nearly 70 miles in length, and from 4 to 6 miles in breadth. The rivers of Coburg are the Itz, Steinach, Rodach, and Nasalach; those of Gotha are the Horsed, with the Emse, Ruhl, and Nesse, the Unstrut, Gera, and Apfelstedt.
Agriculture is the principal occupation of the inhabitants, especially in the low lands, which yield abundance of corn, hops, vegetables, carrots for the making of sugar, flax, anise, carmway, poppy, and canary seed, and excellent fruit. The forests yield timber, potash, and pitch. The rearing of cattle is prosecuted with much activity ; the sheep are generally of the Merino breed, and the horses strong and of a good make ; swine and poultry, particularly geese, are plentiful. Iron is found near Friederichstadt; there are also coals, sandstone, millstones, marble, alabasters, gypsum, lime, potters'-clay, porcelain earth, and salt. There is considerable manufacturing industry in Gotha ; the chief articles are linen-yarn, ticking, twills, woollens, and cottons; tar and lamp-black ; there are also manufactories of iron, steel, starch, tobacco, whitelead, soap, paper, porcelain, copper and iron utensils, and glass.
The exports from Gotha are timber, pine and other wood seeds, wool, coriander and anise seed, and oil, pitch, lampblack, peat, linen and cotton goods, metal and wooden wares. In addition to the exports, the duchy has a considerable transit trade, as the high road from Leipzig to Frankfurt passes through it.
Saxe-Coburg participates in the joint proprietorship of the Uuiversity of Jena, and has several gymnasia, and numerous town, village, Sunday, training, commercial, and mechanics schools. The princi pality of Coburg has had a representative constitution since 1821, composed of 17 delegates ; Gotha has had its chamber of represen tatives from an early period, which differs in its nature and arrange ment from that of Coburg.
Coburg formerly belonged to the counts of Hanneberg, but came by marriage into the Ernestine branch of the house of Saxony. The house of Gotha, properly so called, commenced in 1640, on the extinc tion of the Coburg and Eisenach houses of the Albortine branch of Saxony. Ernest the Pions received that portion in which Gotha was situated ; he considerably augmented it by Inheritance, and caused it to be erected into an independent principality by the German Diet. Ernest's eldest son, Frederick I., had Gotha and other neighbouring districts as his portion, and to preserve it from subdivision he estab lished the law of primogeniture. His successors were great promoters of the arts and sciences, and laid the foundation of many noble colleo' dons. On the death of the lastlineal descendant, in February, 1825, the duchy of Goths was divided among the dukes of Saxe-Memingen, Hildburghaneen, and Coburg, the last named receiving the princi pality of Gotha, but it still retains its ancient and peculiar constitu timal and political laws and customs. The town and duchy of Coburg are noticed under the article Comet, and, the town of Gorse is described in a separate article.