Charles of Saxony (1733–1796)
Karl Christian Joseph Ignaz Eugen Franz Xaver of Poland and Saxony (born July 13, 1733 in Dresden ; † June 16, 1796 ibid) was a born Prince of Saxony and Poland from the house of the Albertine Wettins and Duke of Courland and Semigall from 1758 to 1763 .
Family and youth
Karl was the tenth child and fifth son of August III. , the Elector of Saxony and King of Poland and the Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria . Therefore, he was relatively far removed from the Saxon succession to the throne. His older brother, who later became Elector Friedrich Christian, took first place there. He had fourteen siblings in total. Among them were the future Spanish Queen Maria Amalia , the future Bavarian Electress Maria Anna and Maria Josepha , who married the French heir to the throne Louis .
In the war studies he received lessons from Jakob von Eggers .
During the Seven Years' War he fled to Munich with a large part of the electoral-royal family.
Background of his election to the Duke
After the then Duke of Courland and guardian of the Russian Tsar Ivan VI. , Ernst Johann, Count of Biron , because of his extravagance and his autocratic style of government hated by the Russian nobility, he was overthrown and arrested in 1740 with the consent of the Tsarina Anna Leopoldowna . But even Anna Leopoldowna did not succeed in making herself popular as regent. When her Prime Minister Burkhard Christoph von Münnich , who was in charge of organizing the conspiracy against Biron at the time, also turned away from her because of political and personal differences, a court clique around Grand Duchess Elisabeth Petrovna succeeded in removing the regent in 1741 and banishing her to Riga with her son .
Tsarina Elisabeth, for her part, had Biron partially pardoned, but for fear that he might regain great power, she did not reinstate him in his old dignity in Courland. In order to reoccupy the Kurland throne, which had been vacant for some time and administered by Russia, the local knighthood reacted to pressure from Saxony and Poland by electing the favorite son of their overlord, the Polish king, Prince Charles of Poland and Saxony, as duke in 1758 . The young prince had previously traveled to Saint Petersburg himself to obtain the consent of Tsarina Elisabeth, who in turn confirmed these plans.
The mostly Protestant nobility of Courland themselves, however, had great doubts about Karl, mainly because they feared that a Catholic duke would reduce their influence in favor of the Polish Catholic Szlachta . An attempt was therefore made to restrict Karl by means of a contractually formulated election surrender. Even before these negotiations could come to a conclusion, his father appointed him Duke on November 10, 1758 and formally enfeoffed him on January 8, 1759 with the Duchies of Courland and Zemgale. Karl, who had now only signed a very general insurance policy on questions of religion and noble privileges, then traveled to Courland and made a solemn entry into the royal seat of Mitau on March 29, 1759 . After the Courland Landtag and the Estates met, their hopes of wresting a declaration in their favor from Karl was not fulfilled. Accordingly, many aristocrats refused to pay homage to the duke on November 3, 1759 , and protested instead in Warsaw and St. Petersburg.
Reign
The cheerful duke soon set up a splendid court at the Mitau Castle, built by his predecessor , and entertained the nobility with festivals and courtly hunts , which enabled him to increase his following. He also took over the leadership of the then flourishing Masonic Order in Poland and thus secured the approval of many nobles who were knights. In contrast, he left domestic affairs to his court master Otto Christopher von der Howen .
Forced abdication
When Tsarina Catherine II , who had always had a negative attitude towards Duke Karl due to his lack of interest in intellectual education, ascended the throne after a coup in Russia in July 1762 , she now completely rehabilitated Biron. She had him brought to Mitau, convened a state parliament in its favor and exerted considerable diplomatic pressure on Electoral Saxony to reinstate him in his old office as duke. August III., Who at that time was severely weakened both in health and politically by the consequences of the Seven Years' War , had to finally give in despite protests. Duke Karl then renounced the throne in 1763, meanwhile forced by Russian troops, and returned to Saxony. One of his officers in the military resistance against the Russians was the future hetman Simon Kossakowski .
His hopes of regaining Courland were dispelled after the imminent death of his father and the associated loss of the Polish crown for the Saxon electors. Karl then lived in seclusion in the Kurländer Palais named after him in Dresden or his summer residence at Schloss Elsterwerda , but continued to hunt in the Annaburg Heath .
Karl died on June 16, 1796 at the age of 62. He was buried in the St. Marienstern monastery near Panschwitz-Kuckau . Through his daughter he is one of the progenitors of the Italian kings.
Marriage and offspring
Karl married on March 21, 1760 Warsaw secretly Franziska von Corvin-Krasinska (born March 9, 1742 in Maleszowa in today Świętokrzyskie , † April 30, 1796 in Dresden ), the daughter of Count Stanislaus von Corvin-Krasinski . Since Franziska came from the simple Polish nobility, the marriage was initially considered improper and morganatic . At the instigation of Charles and the Saxon court, however, in June 1775 Emperor Joseph II raised her to the personal status of a prince, which spared the descendants a reduction in status. The two had only one daughter together:
- Maria Christina Albertina Carolina (1770-1851)
- ⚭ (I.) (October 24, 1797 in Turin) Karl Emanuel Ferdinand of Savoy , Prince of Carignan (1770–1800);
- ⚭ (II.) (February 1, 1816 in Paris) Jules Maximilien Thibaut, Prince of Montléart (1787–1865)
ancestors
literature
- Heinrich Diederichs : Karl (Duke of Courland) . In: Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB). Volume 15, Duncker & Humblot, Leipzig 1882, p. 297 f.
- Bolesław Łopaciński : Charles de Saxe, duc de Courlande , Paris 1870.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Gustav Bekker: "Franziska Krasinska-Wettin" in "Home calendar for the country between Elbe and Elster 2014/2015", December 2015, p. 58
| predecessor | Office | successor |
|---|---|---|
| Ernst Johann von Biron |
Duke of Courland and Semgallia 1758–1763 |
Ernst Johann von Biron |
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Charles of Saxony |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Karl Christian Joseph Ignaz Eugen Franz Xaver von Wettin |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Born Prince of Saxony , Duke of Courland and Semigallia (1758–1763) |
| DATE OF BIRTH | July 13, 1733 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Dresden |
| DATE OF DEATH | June 16, 1796 |
| Place of death | Dresden |