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Albertine Branch
The Albertine branch is a German princely family of the House of Wettin. The name derives from the progenitor of the line, Albert III, Duke of Saxony. The Albertine branch ruled from 1485 to 1918 as dukes, electors and kings in Saxony. History of the Albertine Branch Ernest and Albrecht of Saxony, the two sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony, initially ruled their paternal inheritance for a long time, with Ernst as the eldest being the elector. In 1485, the two brothers divided their countries (Treaty of Leipzig). Albrecht and his descendants received their own territory with Dresden as the center, which they ruled from now on as the dukes of Saxony. While Frederick III, Elector of Saxony supported the Reformation, George, Duke of Saxony tried to prevent it in his area. It was not until his brother Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, who succeeded Georg as duke, that the Reformation was also introduced in Saxony. Acquisition of the dignity Although Maurice, Elector of Saxony was al ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
House Of Wettin
The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, Saxony-Anhalt. The Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of several medieval states, starting with the Saxon Eastern March in 1030. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, and Saxony in 1423. These areas cover large parts of Central Germany as a cultural area of Germany. The family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the Treaty of Leipzig: the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation. Many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Albertine branch, while less ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catherine Of Mecklenburg
Catherine of Mecklenburg (1487 – 6 June 1561, Torgau), was a Duchess of Saxony by marriage to Henry IV, Duke of Saxony. She was the daughter of the Duke Magnus II of Mecklenburg and Sophie of Pomerania-Stettin. Life She married on 6 July 1512 in Freiberg Duke Henry the Pious of Saxony. Catherine sympathized early with Martin Luther's teachings, while her husband suppressed the Reformation until 1536 for fear of his brother, the reigning Duke George the Bearded. Later, the Freiberg area became Lutheran. When duke George tried bear down on Catherine, she told the envoy: ''You could do me a big favor by leaving Freiberg right now''. In 1539, after the death of Duke George, the couple moved to Dresden and brought the Reformation there. Duke Henry died on 18 August 1541; Catherine outlived him by 20 years. She spent her days in Wolkenstein castle. In 1560, she published a book on etiquette for ladies, which is culturally and historically very interesting. Issue She h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Maurice, Duke Of Saxe-Zeitz
Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz (28 March 1619 – 4 December 1681) was a duke of Saxe-Zeitz and member of the House of Wettin. Born in Dresden, he was the youngest surviving son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia. Life Together with his brothers, Maurice was educated at the court of the Elector of Saxony in Dresden. Among his teachers, Field Marshal Kurt of Einsiedel took an outstanding role. From August 1642 until September 1645, Maurice and his brother Christian took a Grand Tour through northern Germany and the Netherlands. In 1645, shortly after his return home, Maurice was selected by Prince Ludwig I of Anhalt-Köthen to be a member of the Fruitbearing Society. In 1650, he was appointed Bailiwick of Thuringia by the Teutonic Knights. He selected as his chancellor and president to his consistory the noted state scientist and theologian Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff. As ''Hofprediger'' he chose the dramatist Johann Sebastian Mitternac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian I, Duke Of Saxe-Merseburg
Christian I of Saxe-Merseburg (Dresden, 27 October 1615 – Merseburg, 18 October 1691), was the first duke of Saxe-Merseburg and a member of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth (third surviving) son of Johann Georg I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia. Life As a younger son, Christian had little prospect of inheriting the Electorate of Saxony, and instead received from his father in 1650 the administration of the former Bishopric of Merseburg, which had been confiscated after the Reformation. He was also elected by the Chapter of the cathedral. In a testament signed on 20 July 1652, the Elector John George I settled on an official division of the Albertine lands. Christian moved to Merseburg with his wife and children on 30 September 1653 and set up a household of his own. His court soon encompassed 150 people. Christian took formal possession of his lands on 22 April 1657, a few months after the funeral of his father on 27 January 1657 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Augustus, Duke Of Saxe-Weissenfels
Augustus of Saxe-Weissenfels (Dresden, 13 August 1614 – 4 June 1680, Halle), was a Duke of Saxe-Weissenfels-Querfurt of the House of Wettin and administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg. He was the fourth (but second surviving) son of John George I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife, Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia. Early life On 23 January 1628, at the age of 13, August was appointed administrator of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg by its Chapter to replace the current holder of that title, Christian Wilhelm of Brandenburg. By that time, August had already served three years as coadjutor. Nevertheless, he could not assume his post: on 20 May 1631, after seven months of siege and plundering during the Sack of Magdeburg, the city was taken by the Imperial troops; the Catholic competitor for the diocese, Archduke Leopold Wilhelm of Austria, assumed the title of archbishop and administrator of Magdeburg. The Peace of Prague (1635) confirmed his rule over the city, but th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John George II, Elector Of Saxony
Johann George II (31 May 1613 – 22 August 1680) was the Elector of Saxony from 1656 to 1680. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Biography He was the third (fourth in order of birth) but eldest surviving son of the Elector Johann George I, Elector of Saxony and Magdalene Sybille of Prussia, his second spouse. He succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony when John George I died on 8 October 1656. In 1657 John George made an arrangement with his three brothers with the object of preventing disputes over their separate territories, and in 1664 he entered into friendly relations with Louis XIV. He received money from the French king, but the existence of a strong anti-French party in Saxony induced him occasionally to respond to the overtures of the emperor Leopold I. The elector's primary interests were not in politics, but in music and art. He adorned Dresden, which under him became the musical centre of Germany; welcoming foreign musicians and others he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Margravine Magdalene Sibylle Of Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Magdalene Sibylle of Brandenburg-Bayreuth (27 October 1612 – 20 March 1687) was Electress of Saxony from 1656 to 1680 as the wife of John George II.Fritz Roth: Restlose Auswertungen von Leichenpredigten für genealogische und kulturhistorische Zwecke. Selbstverlag, Boppard/Rhein 1980, Band 10, S. 492, R 9803 The daughter of Christian, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, and Marie of Prussia, she was by birth a '' Markgräfin'', or Margravine, and a member of the Brandenburg-Bayreuth branch of the House of Hohenzollern. Life Born in Bayreuth, she was her parents' fifth child. Her maternal grandparents were Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia, and Marie Eleonore of Cleves. One of her maternal aunts was Duchess Anna of Prussia. She had three surviving siblings: Anna Maria (1609–1680), wife of Prince Johann Anton I von Eggenberg, Duke of Krumlov; Erdmann August (1615–1651); and George Albert (1619–1666). She was married to John George, Prince Elector of Saxony, on 13 Novemb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian II, Elector Of Saxony
Christian II of Saxony (23 September 1583 – 23 June 1611) was Elector of Saxony from 1591 to 1611. He was born in Dresden, the eldest son of Christian I of Saxony and Sophie of Brandenburg. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. Christian succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony in 1591 at the age of eight. Because of his youth, his mother Sophie of Brandenburg and his kinsman, Duke Frederick William I of Saxe-Weimar, assumed the regency of the Electorate until 1601, when Christian was declared an adult and began to govern. In the course of the event that eventually led to the Thirty Years' War, his refusal to join the Union of Auhausen deepened the division between the Protestant German states. In Dresden, on September 12, 1602, Christian married Hedwig, daughter of the King Frederick II of Denmark Frederick II (1 July 1534 – 4 April 1588) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Schleswig and Holstein from 1559 until his death. A member o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John George I, Elector Of Saxony
John George I (5 March 1585 – 8 October 1656) was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656. He led Saxony through the Thirty Years' War, which dominated his 45 year reign. Biography Born in Dresden, John George was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. John George succeeded to the electorate on 23 June 1611 on the death of his elder brother, Christian II. The geographical position of the Electorate of Saxony rather than her high standing among the German Protestants gave her ruler much importance during the Thirty Years' War. At the beginning of his reign, however, the new elector took up a somewhat detached position. His personal allegiance to Lutheranism was sound, but he liked neither the growing strength of Brandenburg nor the increasing prestige of the Palatinate; the adherence of the other branches of the Saxon ruling house to Protestantism seemed to him to suggest that the head of the E ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duchess Magdalene Sibylle Of Prussia
Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia (31 December 1586 – 12 February 1659) was an Electress of Saxony as the spouse of John George I, Elector of Saxony. She is a 6th times matrilineal great grandmother to Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom. Life She was born in Königsberg, the daughter of Albert Frederick, Duke of Prussia and Marie Eleonore of Cleves. She married John George on 19 July 1607 in Torgau. She was a great-granddaughter of Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. She is also in three ways an ancestor of Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, mother of George III of the United Kingdom. In that way, she connected the ancestry of the British monarchs to the Catholic Monarchs. She was a friend of the Swedish queen Maria Eleonora of Brandenburg, her niece, and was interested in painting, poetry and gardening. She used Swedish prisoners of war to work on the ''Dresdner Festungsbau'' ("Dresden fortress"). As a widow in 1656, she retired to the ''Dresdner Frau Kurfürstin-Haus'' and died in Dresde ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Christian I, Elector Of Saxony
Christian I of Saxony (29 October 1560 in Dresden – 25 September 1591 in Dresden) was Elector of Saxony from 1586 to 1591. He belonged to the Albertine line of the House of Wettin. He was the sixth but second surviving son of Elector Augustus of Saxony and Anna of Denmark. The death of his older brother, Alexander (8 October 1565), made him the new heir apparent to the Electorate of Saxony. Christian succeeded his father when he died, in 1586. His chancellor was Nikolaus Krell. During his reign, the first measurement was made of the Electorate of Saxony by Matthias Oeder. Later, the work of Oeder was continued by Balthasar Zimmermann until 1633 and completed as far as possible. In 1591 his wife organised a set of 12 suits of armour that she planned to give him as a Christmas present. A number of the suits survive. Family In Dresden on 25 April 1582, Christian married Sophie, daughter of John George, Elector of Brandenburg. They had seven children: #Christian II (b. D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sophie Of Brandenburg
Sophie of Brandenburg (6 June 1568 – 7 December 1622) was Electress of Saxony by marriage to Christian I, Elector of Saxony. She was regent from 1591 to 1601 during the minority of their son Christian II. Biography Sophie was born at Zechlin castle, Rheinsberg, a daughter of the Elector of Brandenburg John George (1525–1598) by his second marriage with Sabina of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1548–1575), daughter of Margrave George of Brandenburg-Ansbach. On 25 April 1582 in Dresden, Sophie married Elector Christian I of Saxony (1560–1591). Sophie was 14 years old at her wedding, and after a year she had her first child. Regency After the death of her husband, who died at age 31, Sophie, together with Duke Frederick William I of Saxe Weimar, became Regent of the Electorate for her eldest son. Sophie was an orthodox Lutheran, and fought against crypto-Calvinism in Saxony. After Christian I's death in 1591, she had the Calvinist Chancellor Nikolaus Krell, an opponent ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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