Menu dated 19th December 1898

Dinner at the Altenburg Palace (Schloss Altenburg) hosted by His Royal Highness Duke Ernst I of Saxe-Altenburg.

Saxe-Altenburg was an independent Duchy located in modern-day Thuringia, in central Germany. The Duchy was created in the early 1600’s and ruled by members of the Wettin royal family.

The venue for this dinner was the Ducal residence, the imposing high-walled Altenburg Palace (Schloss), which was built in the 12th century and illustrated at the base of the menu-card.

Duke Ernst I ruled the Duchy from 1853 until his death in 1908. The menu is embossed with the crowned Ducal arms of Saxe-Altenburg swinging from the letter ‘E’ representing the duke’s name.

The twelve course dinner starts with natural oysters and features roast wild-turkey (truthuhn), venison steaks with truffles and prized lobsters from Heligoland (Helgolӓnd) -  a German archipelago in the North Sea.