{{ infobox nobility , name = August , title = Count of Legnica , image = Herb hrabiego legnickiego.jpg , image_size = , caption = Coat of arms of the Barons and later Counts of Legnica. , noble family =

Silesian Piasts The Silesian Piasts were the elder of four lines of the Polish Piast dynasty beginning with Władysław II the Exile (1105–1159), eldest son of Duke Bolesław III of Poland. By Bolesław's testament, Władysław was granted Silesia as his h ...

, father =

John Christian of Brieg John Christian of Brieg ( pl, Jan Chrystian; german: Johann Christian; Ohlau, 28 August 1591 – Osterode in Ostpreußen (today Ostróda), 25 December 1639), was a Duke of Brzeg–Legnica–Wołów (since 1602; with his brother as co-ruler in Leg ...

, mother = Anna Hedwig of Sitzsch , spouse = Elisabeth Raupowsky , issue = Christian August
Anna Louise Elisabeth
Johanna Elisabeth , birth_date = 21 August 1627 , birth_place =

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on t ...

, death_date = 14 May 1679 , death_place = Siebenhufen near

Przeworno Przeworno (; german: Prieborn) is a village in Strzelin County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district ('' gmina'') called Gmina Przeworno. Prior to 1945 it was in Germany. It lies app ...

Count August of Legnica ( pl, August hrabia legnicki; german: Graf August von Liegnitz;

, 21 August 1627 – Siebenhufen near

, 14 May 1679), was a member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branc ...

. He was the ninth (fourth surviving) son of John Christian, Duke of

Legnica Legnica (Polish: ; german: Liegnitz, szl, Lignica, cz, Lehnice, la, Lignitium) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River (left tributary of the Oder) and the Czarna Woda. Between 1 June 197 ...

Wołów Wołów (german: Wohlau, cz, Volov) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Wołów County and Gmina Wołów. It lies approximately north-west of the regional capital Wrocław. , the town has a popul ...

Oława Oława (pronounced , , szl, Oława) is a historic town in south-western Poland with 33,029 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship (from 1975–1998 it was in the former Wrocław Voivodeship), within the Wrocław m ...

, but the first-born by his second wife Anna Hedwig of Sitzsch.

Life

The marriage of Duke John Christian and Anna Hedwig was considered

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

and in consequence all the eventual children born of them were excluded from the succession of the Duchy of Legnica-Brzeg. The status of Anna Hedwig changed considerably when she was raised to the rank of Baroness by

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were ...

on 7 December 1627. Shortly after, on 18 February 1628, August was also raised to the Baronial rank with the title of ''Baron of Legnica'' (german: Freiherr von Liegnitz), a title who was secured for the future children of the couple. From August's six full-siblings, only two survive infancy: Baron Sigismund and Baroness Johanna Elisabeth of Legnica, by marriage Baroness Berka von Dub und Leipa. None of them leave descendants. After the outbreak of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of batt ...

, the young August and his family fled to Poland, first to

Toruń )'' , image_skyline = , image_caption = , image_flag = POL Toruń flag.svg , image_shield = POL Toruń COA.svg , nickname = City of Angels, Gingerbread city, Copernicus Town , pushpin_map = Kuyavian-Pom ...

and later to

Ostróda Ostróda (; Old Prussian: ''Austrāti'') is a town in northern Poland, in the historic region of Masuria. It is the seat of the Ostróda County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and has approximately 33,191 inhabitants (2009). Ostród ...

, where his parents died in 1639. August was raised to the Comital rank with the title of ''Count of Legnica'' (german: Graf von Liegnitz) by Bohemian royal order at

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

on 12 January 1664. In 1675 his nephew George William, the last

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

Duke of Legnica-Brzeg, died without issue. Then August made his claim over the Duchies, as the last living male representative of the family (his younger brother Sigismund had died in 1664). The key of his eventual success was to demonstrated that the Agreement of 24 June 1626 who deprived Anna Hedwig of Sitzsch's descendants from the right of succession over Legnica-Brzeg was valid only if the descendants of Duke John Christian's first marriage were alive. August's claims were ultimately rejected, and in compensation, the

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; hu, I. Lipót; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, Croatia, and Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Roman Emperor, by his first wife, Maria An ...

granted to him a high annual pension. From all the Legnica-Brzeg lands, August could retain only two districts:

and Kantorowice near Brzeg. August, the last male member of the Piast dynasty, died on 14 May 1679 in his castle of Siedminie (''Siebenhufen'') and 28 September of that year he was buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Przeworno.

Marriages and Issue

On 8 October 1653, August married firstly with Elisabeth (d. 24 April 1660), daughter of Johann Adam Raupowsky von Raupow, Baron of Ruppau, and widow of Karl Deodat, Baron of Zahradek. They had three children: #Count Christian August of Legnica (b. 30 April 1655 - d. 26 May 1671). #Countess Anna Louise Elisabeth of Legnica (b. 18 January 1658 - d. 2 November 1659). #Countess Johanna Elisabeth of Legnica (b. and d. 5 April 1660). On 2 August 1665, August married secondly with Elisabeth Charlotte (b. Dillenburg, 2 June 1643 - d. Györ (Raab), Hungary, 2 March 1686), daughter of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of

Nassau-Dillenburg The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire and later part of the German Confederation. Its ruling dynasty, the male line of which is now extinct, was the House of Nassau. Origins Nassau, originally a county, developed ...

. This union was childless.

References

*''This article was translated from his original in Polish Wikipedia'' 1627 births 1679 deaths Piast dynasty