and Andreas Reyher, he led major educational reforms through the Schulmethodus (1642), promoting compulsory and graded schooling with a broader curriculum. He also founded the ducal library at Gotha and patronized early currents of the German Enlightenment.

In 1675 he was interred as the first member of the House of Saxe-Gotha-Altenburg in the crypt beneath the chancel