Named for the town of Altenburg, noted for its outstanding buildings (e.g. the theater and Lindenau {see planet  (9322)} Museum) and its eventful 1000-year history. It was first the palace of German kings and emperors (Ottonian, Hohenstaufen), later an imperial city and the capital of the duchy Sachsen-Altenburg. The Saxonian princes resided in this place for 600 years, until 1918. Altenburg is also renowned as the “town of playing cards”, which have been produced here for 450 years. In 1813, “Skat”, the chief card game of the Germans, was created here by impassioned players associated with the chancellor Hans Carl Leopold von der Gabelentz. (M 33795) _ _.