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The Kingdom of Saxony (German: Königreich Sachsen) was a German monarchy that existed in Central Europe between 1806 to 1918. The territory of the Kingdom comprised from the former Electorate of Saxony. A member of historical confederacies, it joined the Confederation of the Rhine after the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, later joining ...
In 1806 The Elector of Saxony became King of an independent Kingdom of Saxony. For the Kings that followed the electors, see below the Kingdom of Saxony. To continue the list of the multiple duchies that were contemporaries of this kingdom, follow this table. Ernest Frederick: 8 March 1724: 1764–1800: 8 September 1800: Ernestine Saxe-Coburg ...
Sep 19, 2024 · In 843 Saxony became part of the East Frankish, or German, kingdom. By the early 10th century Saxony had emerged as a hereditary duchy under the Liudolfing dynasty, and in 919 Duke Henry of Saxony was elected German king. He founded the Saxon, or Ottonian, dynasty, which held the German crown until 1024. (See Saxon dynasty.)
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Establishment of The Electorate
- Beginning of Wettin Rule
- The Reformation
- Thirty Years' War
- Augustan Age
- Rétablissement and Transformation to A Kingdom
- Bibliography
Background
From the end of the 12th to the middle of the 13th century, a narrow circle of imperial electors emerged that succeeded in excluding others from their number. The electoral college consisted initially of two ecclesiastical and two secular princes, one of whom was the duke of Saxony. The circle was extended in the 13th century to seven: the archbishops of Mainz, Trier and Cologne plus the count palatine of the Rhine, the margrave of Brandenburg, the king of Bohemiaand the duke of Saxony. Tying...
Saxe-Wittenberg becomes Electoral Saxony
The Wittenberg Ascanians Albert I, Albert II and Rudolf I (r. 1298–1356) ruled as dukes of Saxony for almost 150 years. They secured the continuity of the dynasty with their sons and asserted themselves as heirs to the Saxon electoral privilege. The electors were mainly concerned with external conflicts with other territorial rulers and pushed forward the territorial development of the still sparsely populated area. In 1290 the duchy was extended to include the Burgraviate of Magdeburg and th...
Re-Enfeoffment of the Electorate
In November 1422 Albert III (r. 1419–1422), Elector and Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg, died without descendants who were entitled to inherit. The German king, on the basis of the provisions of the Golden Bull, confiscated the duchy as a vacant imperial fiefdom. Both the Lauenburg Ascanians under Duke Erich V and the Meissen Wettins in the person of Frederick I(r. 1423–1428) laid claim to Saxe-Wittenberg and the associated electoral privilege. Frederick I's claim was based on his support of the Cath...
Formation of the territorial complex in the late Middle Ages
Since the ruler's place of residence and his visibility to the people gained in importance in the early phase of the Renaissance, the Wettins created a new seat in the Dresden valley of the Elbe towards the end of the 15th century. Dresden became the permanent residence of the elector, his councilors and administrative officials. The elector's increased expenses for equipping and maintaining an army and for his own court could no longer be met as before. The solution was to levy new types of...
Joint rule of Ernest and Albert
When Elector Frederick II died in Leipzig on 7 September 1464, his eldest son Ernest (r. 1464–1486) succeeded him at the age of 23. It marked the beginning of an almost twenty-year period of joint rule with his brother Duke Albert. Initially the two ruled in harmony, favored by the onset of a long economic upswing and increasing urban development. Agreement on political actions and decisions was ensured by a joint court in Dresden Castle. Together the brothers had the Albrechtsburg Castle bui...
Renewed division
Tensions that had their origins in family relations increased between the two brothers Ernest and Albert and culminated in the Partition of Leipzig of 11 November 1485.It was not originally intended to be permanent, but in the end it significantly weakened the powerful position of the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire and led to open confrontation. Ernest had his main focus in the north with his residence at Torgau and held the prestigious electoral district in the north. His terr...
When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses in Wittenberg in 1517, the electoral district and Ernestine possessions of Saxony became the focus of European attention since it was there that the first phase of the Protestant Reformation was anchored. Elector Frederick the Wise (r. 1486–1525) protected Luther, most notably when he sheltered him at the War...
The 1618 Defenestration of Prague, in which angry Protestants threw Catholic officials out of a window of Prague Castle, marked the end of a long period of religious peace. Elector John George I (r. 1611–1656) joined the emperor's side with the goal of preserving the status quo of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg. Initially he and the elector of Mainz tr...
Absolutism and splendor
On 27 April 1694 the prince who until then had scarcely made an appearance took over the affairs of state of Saxony as Elector Frederick Augustus I (r. 1694–1733), better known as Augustus II the Strong. Festivities, baroque splendor, art and patronage, as well as lavish grandeur and ostentation characterized both his reign and the period. Augustan Dresden continued to develop into the "Florence on the Elbe". The period saw the building of the Zwinger Palace, the Taschenbergpalais, the Pillni...
Personal union with Poland
After the death of the Polish king John III Sobieski in 1696, Augustus II the Strong converted to Catholicism and with Habsburg support, military pressure and bribes, won the free election for the kingship in 1697, becoming King Augustus II of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The political calculation behind a dynastically based personal union with the elective kingdom of Poland-Lithuaniawas rooted in the aspirations for independence among German territorial princes. Saxony's rulers, like...
The Electorate stood on the verge of national bankruptcy after the Hubertusburg Peace. The national debt had reached 49 million thalers, about ten times the year's state revenue. Thomas von Fritsch and the restoration commission of which he was president placed the systematic reduction of the national debt at the center of a Saxon reconstruction pr...
Sources in German: 1. Reiner Groß: Die Wettiner. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-17-018946-1. 2. Reiner Groß (Hrsg.): Landtage in Sachsen 1438–1831.Beiträge auf dem von der Professur Regionalgeschichte Sachsens der Technischen Universität Chemnitz veranstalteten wissenschaftlichen Kolloquium am 25. Februar 2000. Technische Universität...
1763-1806 Friedrich August III *- became First King of Saxony, as Friedrich August I; Kings of Saxony. 1806-1827 Friedrich August I; 1827-1836 Anton; 1836-1854 Friedrich August II; 1854-1873 Johann; 1873-1902 Albert; 1902-1904 Georg; 1904-1918 Friedrich August III *-abdicated; Pretenders to the Throne. 1918-1932 Friedrich August III
Last king of Saxony. Lost his throne in the German revolutionsof 1918. Close. Saxony became a republic at the end of the German Empirein 1918. For later rulers, see List of Ministers-President of Saxony. Frederick Augustus III of Saxony, 1918-1932. Frederick Christian, Margrave of Meissen, 1932-1968.
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Kingdom of Saxony: An Overview. by Johan. Dynasty: Wettin. Capital: Dresden. Last Ruler: King Frederick Augustus III (1865-1932) ruled 1904-1918. Official residences: Zwinger Palace, Pillnitz Castle (summer home), Dresden Castle. For much of the 18th century, the Wettin dynasty also reigned as Kings of Poland, and during the Napoleonic period ...
