Christian II of Saxony (23 September 1583 – 23 June 1611) was

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony (German: or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356–1806. It was centered around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. In the Golden Bull of 1356, Emperor Charles ...

from 1591 to 1611. He was born in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

, the eldest son of

Christian I Christian I (February 1426 – 21 May 1481) was a Scandinavian monarch under the Kalmar Union. He was king of Denmark (1448–1481), Norway (1450–1481) and Sweden (1457–1464). From 1460 to 1481, he was also duke of Schleswig (within ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

. He belonged to the Albertine line of 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 ...

. 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 The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (80 ...

, 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 Hedwig may refer to: People and fictional characters * Hedwig (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Grzegorz Hedwig (born 1988), Polish slalom canoeist * Johann Hedwig, (1730–1799), German botanist * Romanus Adol ...

, 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 of the House of Oldenburg, Frederick began his personal rule of Denmark-Norway at the age of ...

. This marriage was childless. He died in Dresden in 1611. Having left no issue, on his death his brother John George succeeded him as Elector.Kamen, Henry. ''Who's Who in Europe, 1450-1750.'' London: Routledge, 2000. 161.

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Christian 02, Elector of Saxony 1583 births 1611 deaths Nobility from Dresden Prince-electors of Saxony House of Wettin Modern child rulers Albertine branch Burials at Freiberg Cathedral