Christian I of Saxony (29 October 1560 – 25 September 1591) was

Elector of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

from 1586 to 1591. He belonged to the

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 o ...

of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

. He was the sixth but second surviving son of

Augustus, Elector of Saxony Augustus (31 July 152611 February 1586) was Elector of Saxony from 1553 to 1586. First years Augustus was born in Freiberg, the youngest child and third (but second surviving) son of Henry IV, Duke of Saxony, and Catherine of Mecklenburg. He c ...

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 The Electorate of Saxony, also known as Electoral Saxony ( or ), was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden, Leipzig and Chemnitz. It was a ...

. 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

Dresden Dresden (; ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; , ) is the capital city of the States of Germany, German state of Saxony and its second most populous city after Leipzig. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, 12th most p ...

on 25 April 1582, Christian married

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

, daughter of

John George, Elector of Brandenburg John George of Brandenburg (; 11 September 1525 – 8 January 1598) was a prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1571–1598). Early life Born as a member of the House of Hohenzollern, he was the son of Joachim II Hector, Elector ...

. They had seven children: # Christian II (b. Dresden, 23 September 1583 – d. Dresden, 23 June 1611), successor of his father as Elector. # John George I (b. Dresden, 5 March 1585 – d. Dresden, 8 October 1656), successor of his brother as Elector. #Anna Sabine (b. Dresden, 25 January 1586 – d. Dresden, 24 March 1586) died in infancy. #

(b. Dresden, 29 April 1587 – d. Stettin, 9 December 1635), married on 26 August 1610 to Duke Francis I of Pomerania. #Elisabeth (b. Dresden, 21 July 1588 – d. Dresden, 4 March 1589) died in infancy. #

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

(b. Dresden, 7 September 1589 – d. Naumburg, 26 December 1615), married on 1 January 1612 to Elisabeth of Brünswick-Wolfenbüttel. This marriage was childless. # Dorothea (b. Dresden, 7 January 1591 – d. Quedlinburg, 17 November 1617), Princess-Abbess of

Quedlinburg Quedlinburg () is a town situated just north of the Harz mountains, in the Harz (district), district of Harz in the west of Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. As an influential and prosperous trading centre during the early Middle Ages, Quedlinburg becam ...

(1610).

Ancestry

References

Literature

* *Ilse Schunke: ''Beitraege zur Politik des Kurfürsten Christian I. v. Sachsen 1586-1591 vornehmlich in den Jahren 1586/89'', Munich, 1922

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Christian 01 Of Saxony, Elector 1560 births 1591 deaths Nobility from Dresden Prince-electors of Saxony House of Wettin Albertine branch Burials at Freiberg Cathedral