Julius Francis (16 September 1641 – 30 September 1689) was duke of

Saxe-Lauenburg The Duchy of Saxe-Lauenburg (, ), was a ''reichsfrei'' duchy that existed from 1296 to 1803 and again from 1814 to 1876 in the extreme southeast region of what is now Schleswig-Holstein. Its territorial centre was in the modern district of Herz ...

between 1666 and 1689. He was a son of Duke Julius Henry and his third wife Anna Magdalena of Lobkowicz (1606–1668), daughter of Baron William ''the Younger'' Popel of Lobkowicz. He was officially known as ''Julius Franz von Sachsen, Engern und Westfalen''.

Life

His father Julius Henry had acquired sprawling estates around and a castle in Ploschkowitz (Ploskovice) and Schlackenwerth (Ostrov),

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia (), sometimes referenced in English literature as the Czech Kingdom, was a History of the Czech lands in the High Middle Ages, medieval and History of the Czech lands, early modern monarchy in Central Europe. It was the pr ...

. Julius Francis had inherited more estates from his Bohemian mother, which is why the dukes of Saxe-Lauenburg had been adopted into the Bohemian nobility, however, not as imperially immediate aristocrats, as in their homeland. Having no sons Julius Francis provided for the legal grounds of female succession in Saxe-Lauenburg. With his death, the Lauenburg line of the

House of Ascania The House of Ascania () was a dynasty of German rulers. It is also known as the House of Anhalt, which refers to its longest-held possession, Principality of Anhalt, Anhalt. The Ascanians are named after Ascania (or Ascaria) Castle, known as ' ...

was extinct in the male line. So Julius Francis' two daughters Anna Maria Franziska and Sibylle fought for the succession of the former, the elder sister. Also, Julius Francis' cousin, Eleonore Charlotte of Saxe-Lauenburg-Franzhagen, claimed the succession. Their weakness was abused by George William, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg, who invaded Saxe-Lauenburg with his troops, thus inhibiting the ascension of the legal heiress. Also other monarchies claimed the succession, resulting in a conflict involving further the neighboring duchies of

Mecklenburg-Schwerin The Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin () was a duchy in northern Germany created in 1701, when Frederick William, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Frederick William and Adolphus Frederick II, Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Adolphus Frederick II divided ...

and of Danish

Holstein Holstein (; ; ; ; ) is the region between the rivers Elbe and Eider (river), Eider. It is the southern half of Schleswig-Holstein, the northernmost States of Germany, state of Germany. Holstein once existed as the German County of Holstein (; 8 ...

, as well as the five Ascanian-ruled Principalities of Anhalt, 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 ...

, which had succeeded the Dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg in 1422,

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

and

Brandenburg Brandenburg, officially the State of Brandenburg, is a States of Germany, state in northeastern Germany. Brandenburg borders Poland and the states of Berlin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony. It is the List of Ger ...

. Militarily engaged were Celle and Danish Holstein, which agreed on 9 October 1693 (Hamburger Vergleich), that Celle - anyway de facto holding most of Saxe-Lauenburg - would retain the duchy in

personal union A personal union is a combination of two or more monarchical states that have the same monarch while their boundaries, laws, and interests remain distinct. A real union, by contrast, involves the constituent states being to some extent in ...

. In 1728 Charles VI finally legitimized the de facto takeover. Anna Maria Franziska and Sibylle, never waiving their claim, were dispossessed in Saxe-Lauenburg and the former exiled in Ploschkowitz.

Marriage and issue

On 9 April 1668 Julius Francis married in Sulzbach Hedwig of the Palatinate (1650 – 1681), daughter of Christian Augustus, Count Palatine of Sulzbach. They had three daughters: * Maria Anna Theresia (1670–1671) * Anna Maria Franziska ( Neuhaus upon Elbe, 13 June 1672 – 15 October 1741, Reichstadt); ::married firstly on 29 October 1690 in Raudnitz upon Elbe to Philip William August, Count Palatine of Neuburg (1668–1693), son of

Philip William, Elector Palatine Philip William of Neuburg, Elector Palatine () (24 November 1615 – 2 September 1690) was Count Palatine of Neuburg from 1653 to 1690, Duchy of Jülich, Duke of Jülich and Berg (German region), Berg from 1653 to 1679 and Electorate of the Palat ...

; ::married secondly on 2 July 1697 in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

to Gian Gastone de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (1671–1737) * Franziska ''Sibylle'' Augusta (

Ratzeburg Ratzeburg (; Low German: ''Ratzborg'') is a town in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. It is surrounded by Ratzeburger See, four lakes—the resulting isthmuses between the lakes form the access lanes to the town. Ratzeburg is the capital of the distri ...

, 21 January 1675 – 10 July 1733,

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the German-French border, border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin, ...

), married 27 March 1690 in Raudnitz

Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden (; 8 April 1655 – 4 January 1707) was the ruling Margrave of Baden-Baden in Germany, chief commander of the Imperial army and Reichsgeneralfeldmarschall of the Holy Roman Empire. He was also known as ''T ...

References

*
Julius Franz von Sachsen-Lauenburg
on tuerkenbeute.de (in German) , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Julius, Duke Of Saxe-Lauenburg 1641 births 1689 deaths

Julius Francis Julius Francis (born 8 December 1964) is a British former professional boxer who participated in many noteworthy boxing matches in the mid 90s and 2000s. In 2007, he also participated in a mixed martial arts bout, having been a former European ...

Habsburg Bohemian nobility Field marshals of the Holy Roman Empire