Prince Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

: ''Clemens Wenzeslaus August Hubertus Franz Xaver von Sachsen'') (28 September 1739 – 27 July 1812) was a Saxon prince from the

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 ori ...

and the Archbishop-

Elector of Trier The elector of Trier was one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and, in his capacity as archbishop, administered the archdiocese of Trier. The territories of the electorate and the archdiocese were not, however, equivalent. History ...

from 1768 until 1803, the

Prince-Bishop of Freising The following people were bishops, prince-bishops or archbishops of Freising or Munich and Freising in Bavaria: Bishops of Freising * St. Corbinian (724–730); founded the Benedictine abbey in Freising, although the diocese was not orga ...

from 1763 until 1768, the

Prince-Bishop of Regensburg The Bishops of Regensburg (Ratisbon) are bishops of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Regensburg, Bavaria, Germany.

from 1763 until 1769, and the

Prince-Bishop of Augsburg The Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg (german: Fürstbistum Augsburg; Hochstift Augsburg) was one of the prince-bishoprics of the Holy Roman Empire, and belonged to the Swabian Circle. It should not be confused with the larger diocese of Augsburg, ...

from 1768 until 1812.

Biography

Clemens Wenceslaus was the ninth child of the

Prince-Elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prince ...

Augustus III Augustus III ( pl, August III Sas, lt, Augustas III; 17 October 1696 5 October 1763) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1733 until 1763, as well as Elector of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire where he was known as Frederick Augu ...

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a landlocked state of ...

, who was also the King of

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. In 1760 he went to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

and entered the

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n army as a field marshal. He was present at the

Battle of Torgau In the Battle of Torgau on 3 November 1760, King Frederick the Great's Prussian army fought an Austrian army under the command of Field Marshal Leopold Josef Graf Daun. The Prussians won a costly victory in one of the bloodiest battles of the Thir ...

(3 November 1760), but he decided that warfare was not for him and instead entered the church. On 18 and 27 April 1763 he was elected the Bishops of

Freising Freising () is a university town in Bavaria, Germany, and the capital of the Freising ''Landkreis'' (district), with a population of about 50,000. Location Freising is the oldest town between Regensburg and Bolzano, and is located on the Is ...

and

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 f ...

, respectively, but he abandoned these dioceses for the Archbishopric-Electorate of

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and the Prince-Bishopric of

Augsburg Augsburg (; bar , Augschburg , links=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swabian_German , label=Swabian German, , ) is a city in Swabia, Bavaria, Germany, around west of Bavarian capital Munich. It is a university town and regional seat of the ' ...

in February and August 1768, respectively, where he already functioned as

coadjutor The term coadjutor (or coadiutor, literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadj ...

since 1764. As Archbishop-Elector, Clemens Wenceslaus greatly improved public education, established several non-profit organisations for general education and prosperity, and in 1783 raised an edict of tolerance. He took a mixed view in spiritual affairs. He allowed the

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

s to remain in Trier after abolishing their order, protested the radical reforms of his cousin, the Emperor

Joseph II Joseph II (German: Josef Benedikt Anton Michael Adam; English: ''Joseph Benedict Anthony Michael Adam''; 13 March 1741 – 20 February 1790) was Holy Roman Emperor from August 1765 and sole ruler of the Habsburg lands from November 29, 1780 unt ...

, and banned several processions and holidays. Although a modest person who lived simply, he rebuilt

Ehrenbreitstein Ehrenbreitstein Fortress (german: Festung Ehrenbreitstein, ) is a fortress in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, on the east bank of the Rhine where it is joined by the Moselle, overlooking the town of Koblenz. Occupying the position of an ...

into a magnificent palace and dwelt there. He established the theatre in

Coblenz Koblenz (; Moselle Franconian: ''Kowelenz''), spelled Coblenz before 1926, is a German city on the banks of the Rhine and the Moselle, a multi-nation tributary. Koblenz was established as a Roman military post by Drusus around 8 B.C. Its name ...

and encouraged music in the archdiocese. Clemens Wenceslaus enjoyed hunting and established a hunting lodge at Kärlich, though he was opposed to several inhumane ways of hunting. With the outbreak of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

at the end of the 18th Century, Clemens Wenceslaus became worried. He ceased all reforms and began to rule strictly. He offered refuge to members of the French royal family (King

Louis XVI Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

was his nephew) in

Schönbornslust Schönbornslust (german: Schloss Schönbornslust ) was a palace located in Kesselheim, part of the city of Koblenz in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It was a summer residence and hunting loge of the Prince-Electors and Archbishops of Trier. ...

palace, and allowed Coblenz to become a centre of French monarchism. He and the archbishopric-electorate were greatly affected by the success of the French revolutionary forces, and at the

Treaty of Lunéville The Treaty of Lunéville (or Peace of Lunéville) was signed in the Treaty House of Lunéville on 9 February 1801. The signatory parties were the French Republic and Emperor Francis II, who signed on his own behalf as ruler of the hereditary doma ...

in 1801 he lost all lands of the electorate west of the

River Rhine ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , sourc ...

, retaining only a few small territories pertaining to Trier itself. In 1803 he lost those as well, along with the Prince-Bishopric of Augsburg and the Prince-Provostry of

Ellwangen Abbey Ellwangen Abbey (german: Kloster Ellwangen) was the earliest Benedictine monastery established in the Duchy of Swabia, at the present-day town of Ellwangen an der Jagst, Baden-Württemberg, about 100 km (60 mi) north-east of Stuttgart. ...

, which were secularized and annexed by the princes of Nassau-Weilburg, the Elector of Bavaria, and the

Duke of Württemberg Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

, respectively. Clemens Wenceslaus received a pension of 100,000 guldens and retired to Augsburg, dying in the episcopal summer residence in

Marktoberdorf Marktoberdorf () is the capital of the Bavarian district of Ostallgäu in the ''Regierungsbezirk'' of Swabia. Marktoberdorf is near Kempten, Füssen, known for the castle Neuschwanstein, Bad Wörishofen, and Schongau. The nearest larger city is K ...

Allgäu The Allgäu (Standard German: , also Allgovia) is a region in Swabia in southern Germany. It covers the south of Bavarian Swabia, southeastern Baden-Württemberg, and parts of Austria. The region stretches from the pre-alpine lands up to the A ...

in 1812. He was buried there. His grandniece

Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria Maria Clementina of Austria (24 April 1777 – 15 November 1801) was an Austrian archduchess and the tenth child and third daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. In 1797 she married her first cousin Prince Fran ...

was named after him. Archduchess Maria Clementina was a daughter of

Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor , house =Habsburg-Lorraine , father = Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor , mother = Maria Theresa of Hungary and Bohemia , religion =Roman Catholicism , succession1 =Grand Duke of Tuscany , reign1 =18 A ...

and

Maria Luisa of Spain Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain (Spanish: ''María Luisa'', German: ''Maria Ludovika''; 24 November 1745 – 15 May 1792) was Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Hungary and Bohemia, and Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the spouse of Leopold II, H ...

. Maria Luisa was his niece by his sister

Maria Amalia of Saxony es, María Amalia Cristina Francisca Javiera Flora Walburga , spouse = Charles III of Spain , issue = , issue-link = #Issue , house = Wettin , father = Augustus III of Poland , mother = Maria Josepha of ...

Ancestry

References

, - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Clemens Wenceslaus Of Saxony 1739 births 1812 deaths People from Wermsdorf People from the Electorate of Saxony Saxon princes House of Wettin Archbishop-Electors of Trier Roman Catholic Prince-Bishops of Freising History of Augsburg Albertine branch 18th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bavaria Recipients of the Order of the White Eagle (Poland) Sons of kings