Electorate of Saxony

Territory in the Holy Roman Empire
Electorate of Saxony
coat of arms
map
The Electorate of Saxony after the division of Leipzig in 1485: The "Ernestine" countries are in red, the "Albertine" countries in yellow. From 1485 to 1547 the electoral dignity lay with the Ernestine line, so that only their countries (red) constituted an electorate during this period. Although the rule of Beeskow and Storkow and the Duchy of Sagan were designated as common property in the Leipzig Treaty , the Ernestine Elector denied the rule for himself until 1518; the Albertine ruler had been the Duke of Sagan since 1472. The Sorau rule was lost in 1512.
Consist	1356-1806
Arose from	Hzg. Saxony-Wittenberg
Form of rule	Electorate
Ruler / government	Elector
Today's region / s	DE-SN , DE-ST , DE-BB , DE-TH , DE-BY , PL
Parliament	Elector Council & Imperial Council
Reichskreis	Upper Saxon Imperial Circle
Capitals / residences	Wittenberg until 1547, then Dresden temporarily Meißen (15th century), Torgau (16th century)
Dynasties	Ascanians , Wettins
Denomination / Religions	Catholic until 1525/1527, then Lutheran
Incorporated into	Kingdom of Saxony , Saxon duchies

The Electorate of Saxony (red) in 1517 on a map of Europe. From the posting of the theses in 1517 to the Wittenberg surrender in 1547, the Kurkreis and the Ernestine possessions of Saxony were in the focus of world public opinion, as the first phase of the Reformation was anchored here , which spread worldwide.

The Electorate of Saxony , also briefly Electorate or Chur Saxony , was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire .

In 1356 the Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg was named one of the Courlands by Emperor Charles IV in the Golden Bull . From then on, the Ascanians provided an elector. After the Saxon-Wittenberg line of the Ascanians in the male line died out in 1422, the Roman-German King Sigismund enfeoffed the Meissnian Margrave Frederick the Quarrel from the Wettin line with the duchy in 1423, whereby the Saxon electoral dignity also passed to them in 1423. Due to the electoral dignity of the ruler, the name was subsequently usedElectorate of Saxony also used for the Meissnian and Thuringian possessions of the Wettins, although the electoral dignity was only linked to part of the electoral territories, the Kurlande. In the case of the Saxon Electorate, this was the Kurkreis , the area of ​​the former Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg.

In the Leipzig Treaty of 1485 , the division of the Wettin noble house into the Ernestine line and the Albertine line was agreed, with the Kurkreis going to the Ernestines . In 1547, during the Wittenberg surrender, the district and electoral dignity fell to Duke Moritz of the Albertine line. The Albertines remained electors until the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806 and then achieved the dignity of Saxony through an alliance with Napoleon . The Electorate of Saxony became the Kingdom of Saxony , a member state of the Rhine Confederation .

The country developed an administration that was strong and effective for this period ; it had a diversified economy and high prosperity at the same time . Socially, the bourgeois structures remained behind in comparison to the western states at that time, for example in the states- general , and were restricted in their development by the nobility and the administration. In return, the Reformation that emanated from Saxony provided important humanistic and educational impulses. Culture and the arts flourished in the 18th century.

In the early modern period the electorate was the second most important territory and protective power of the Protestant principalities in the Holy Roman Empire for about 200 years until the end of the 17th century . At the time of its greatest expansion in 1807 (a year after it was made a kingdom), Saxony was 636.25 square miles , which is the equivalent of 34,993.75 square kilometers , and reached a population of 2.010 million.

Historical geography

Political geography

Electorate of Saxony around 1600. The territory of the electorate extended to the four present-day federal states of Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg . (black: borders of today's federal states)

There has never been a territorially consolidated Electoral Saxony. The territorial structure was constantly changing through the purchase and sale of offices, the division of inheritance and inheritance , war losses and gains. From 1356 to 1422 the electorate consisted only of the area around Wittenberg. By assuming the electoral dignity of the Meissen margrave in 1422, the territorial area of ​​the Electorate of Saxony expanded and extended into the Vogtland and the Elbe Sandstone Mountains. In the Thirty Years' War the two Lausitzes were incorporated into the state association. As a result, the state area expanded again considerably and included the areas further east along the Oder and Neisse rivers. In 1547, after the Wittenberg surrender in Thuringia , larger parts were permanently lost to Electoral Saxony.

According to the political borders of 1550, Saxony was bordered in the south and east by the Kingdom of Bohemia , which was ruled by the Habsburgs , by the Margraviate of Niederlausitz , the Margraviate of Upper Lusatia and in the north by the emerging Brandenburg. In the southwest, Saxony bordered the Principality of Bayreuth and the Bamberg Monastery . In the west it bordered the Landgraviate of Hesse and the Principality of Anhalt . There were also some smaller counties and principalities in the border area. Saxony itself had a very irregularly structured border in the west. There were also individual enclaves within Saxony. In 1635 a closed territory was annexed with the two Lausitzes, since then Saxony bordered on the Habsburg ruled Silesia .

Landscape structure

The landscapes of Kursachsen ranged from the North German lowlands to the German low mountain range , the vegetation from barren heather vegetation to mixed forest . The natural spatial structure divides the Saxon state into three large zones:

• the Saxon mountainous and low mountain range ,
• the Saxon loess area including today's southern Saxony-Anhalt
• and the north Saxon plains including today's south Brandenburg and east Saxony-Anhalt areas .

A large part of the population lived in the low mountain range, the area around Annaberg and Freiberg in the Ore Mountains was the most densely populated . The soil was not very productive for agricultural use. Instead, trades, factories and mines dominated. In southern Saxony, the historical Vogtland , and Upper Lusatia with the Zittau Mountains , the Lusatian Bergland , and Saxon Switzerland are spatially striking differentiations of the Electoral Saxon territory.

Central Saxony is divided into the Leipzig lowland bay , the Saxon Elbland and the central Saxon hill country . The middle zone of Saxony was very heavily used agriculturally and was a supra-regional traffic hub with the centers Leipzig and Dresden. The Leipzig area developed into the second center in Saxony after Dresden.

Historic landscape zones and natural spaces in the northern area of ​​Kursachsen are the Fläming , the Spreewald , the Lower Lusatia with the Lusatian border wall . The former center of Saxony around Wittenberg to Torgau was initially just as densely populated as the Elbe basin, for example, but after 1547 it fell significantly behind in development, while the Dresden area increased significantly in population. The northern area was therefore not very productive, both agriculturally and commercially, and was generally less populated than the southern parts of the country. Larger settlements were rare.

The main river of the Electorate of Saxony was the Elbe with the Saale as the longest tributary. Other waterways were the Black Elster , the Neisse and the White Elster .

Anthropogeographical influences

Historic lime kiln (Rumfordofen) from 1856

Borna quarry

Coming from the right, the water from the overflow of the Pechöfer trench ran into the Jugelbach at this point

Electoral Saxony has been a country rich in natural resources, so that a heterogeneous production division in mining along the low mountain range in the south of Electoral Saxony, the Ore Mountains , was formed at an early stage . In addition to silver, copper and tin ores , iron , cobalt and tungsten have been mined there since the end of the Middle Ages . Lime has been mined in the Lengefeld lime works since 1528, limestone has been mined in the Maxen lime mining area since 1546, and in Borna lime mining has been produced since 1551. From there, marble was also made, among other thingsfor the expansion of the Dresden Residence. The Crottendorf lime works had been supplying marble since 1587, and the Hammerunterwiesenthal lime works and the Hermsdorf lime works also produced marble. The importance of mining for the Saxon economy rose sharply in the 16th century, so that Kursachsen had one of the most important mining areas in Europe after a long period of growth . Negative effects on the landscape from mining were mainly evident from logging in the forests of the Ore Mountains. The wood was used to fire the smelters in order to extract ore and silver from the ore rock of the mines .

The Elbe Sandstone Mountains were an important supplier of building materials for the Saxon residences. Sandstone has a significant impact on Dresden's old town and new town . The table mountains were also used as a fortress. The fortress Koenigstein is one such example. Lusatian granite was mainly extracted in many quarries in Upper Lusatia, especially West Lusatia. The anthropological impact of the Electoral Saxon period was significant in terms of landscape, as were the many artificial ditches such as the Pechöfer ditch, which were built to operate the many mines. Other important infrastructure buildings from the time of the electorate that still exist today are:

• Ore Canal in the Freiberg northern district
• Neugraben (large gallows pond)
• New dig rafts
• Elsterfloßgraben
• Cross trench
• Altväterbrücke

The soil values and also the moderate Central European climate made a generally extensive agriculture possible in the course axes outside the southern mountain zone.

The traffic-side penetration of the area was problematic in the premodern times, as paths and river crossings and precise directories had only low standards. To overcome the rivers, an officially regulated bridge was built in Saxony at an early stage . Many of these bridges are still in use today.

Territorial inventory changes

The three secondary principalities of Saxony in 1656

The Wettins made it possible for their later sons to form secondary lines within the entire house. These so-called secundogenitures did not mean a division of the country , because after the extinction of the favored line they fell back to the main line . In Saxony there were at times the following branch lines:

• Saxony-Weißenfels from 1656/57 to 1746
• Saxony-Zeitz from 1656/57 to 1718
• Saxony-Merseburg from 1656/57 to 1738

In this list, these countries are not included in the overall heritage of Saxony in terms of area.

• In 1697 the Quedlinburg inheritance , the Petersberg and three offices were sold to Brandenburg-Prussia (circumference 2 geographical square miles of 7,420,439 meters, 110 square kilometers).
• 1718 the succession of the lands of the Zeitz line followed (circumference 62.28 square miles, 3429.3 square kilometers).
• In 1736, Saxony received the offices of Landeck , Frauensee and the Hessian part of Treffurt (area 5.10 square miles, 280.8 square kilometers) to compensate for its claims on Hanau .
• In 1737 the lands of the line from Merseburg to Saxony (circumference 96.90 square miles, 5335.6 square kilometers) fell by inheritance .
• In 1743 Landeck and Frauensee were sold to Hessen-Kassel (circumference 5 square miles, 275.3 square kilometers).
• In 1746 the states of the Weißenfels line fell to Saxony (circumference 60.75 square miles, 3345 square kilometers).
• In 1780 half the Mansfeld was added (circumference 8.50 square miles, 468 square kilometers).

Already as a kingdom:

• In 1807, as a result of the Fourth Coalition War , Saxony received the Cottbus District of Prussia (circumference 20 square miles, 1101 square kilometers).
• In 1808, Saxony ceded most of Mansfeld, Treffurt, Dorla , Barby and Gommern to the Kingdom of Westphalia (6.5 square miles, 357.9 square kilometers).

In 1807, Albertine Saxony, which was elevated to a kingdom a year earlier, comprised the territorial maximum of 636.25 square miles, 34,993.75 square kilometers.

Territorial development in Electoral Saxony

unit	1694	1733	1763	1807
Square mile	398.22	458.5	616.25	636.25
Square kilometre	21,902.1	25,217.5	33,893.75	34,993.75

population

Reconstruction of Chemnitz around 1750 is evidence of the urban structures that have grown in the 18th century. The small towns all contained several electoral representative buildings with 4 to 5 floors. That was the office building or town hall, almost always a palace or a castle and representative market buildings. This rubbed off on the further construction by the townspeople in the urban area.

The article section on the population of the Electorate of Saxony is divided into a statistical complex of topics and a social-historical section.

The statistical section evaluates the changes in the population based on numbers and analyzes the formation of the classes and social structures . The relationship between the city and the surrounding area, the regional distribution of the inhabitants, the social gradient, population increases or decreases are also examined in the article section.

In the social history section, the areas of education, research, health and social issues are considered. These topics have become policy fields in today's world. In the early modern period, these social issues were not in the focus of government considerations, as there were no formal rights of co-determination of the masses. At the same time, these soft fields caused the development of the population and thus of society, since they had a direct impact on people's daily life and stimulated the development of more humane forms of life, which resulted in changes in life forms .

Population development

Since the High Middle Ages, the state area has been increasingly populated by German-speaking people as part of the eastern settlement . The Sorbian - speaking pre-population was linguistically assimilated in most areas over time. Settlement increased rapidly and urban structures formed. Economy and trade developed. By 1600, Electoral Saxony had around 750,000 inhabitants. Compared to other imperial territories of this time, Kursachsen was in the front area with its population number. The most heavily populated areas were the Habsburg lands, which had a total population of 5.8 million, of which two million were in the Habsburg hereditary lands alonelived. The second largest territory in terms of inhabitants was the Electorate of Bavaria with one million inhabitants. Saxony followed in third place, ahead of the Electorate of Brandenburg and the Duchy of Württemberg , each with 450,000 inhabitants.

During the early modern period, external environmental influences led to sometimes drastic fluctuations in the population. War casualties among the civilian population occurred primarily in the Thirty Years' Warcaused by fighting, epidemics, hunger and acts of violence by armies passing through. Saxony actively participated in the Thirty Years' War in 1631, as a result of which foreign armies also crossed the country and engaged in combat operations. The population losses of the Thirty Years War are estimated at around 400,000 people. This affects the losses actually incurred and the resulting loss of birth. It took 90 years for Saxony to regain its pre-war population. In the Seven Years' War from 1755 to 1763, Saxony was occupied by Prussia and again a theater of war. This also led to high casualties among the civilian population. Further fluctuations were caused by short-term events such as epidemics. These occurred during the entire time of the electorate and led to high mortality rates in the population. The last plague, which also claimed the most victims, raged from spring 1680 to January 1681.

Such fluctuations were partially offset by migration movements. A large part of the Protestants expelled from Bohemia during the Habsburg Counter-Reformation emigrated to neighboring Saxony. An estimated 50,000 to 80,000 exiles settled in the Electorate of Saxony between the start of emigration in 1620 and Emperor Joseph II's patent of tolerance in 1781. Despite the high mortality and the effects of the war, the population increased and doubled from 1600 to 1805 to two million inhabitants. Of these, 1,849,400 were considered to be German-speaking. About 160,000 Sorbs lived in Lusatiawho cultivated their own culture and language. The number of Jews who were only tolerated in some cities is given as 600 for this year (1768: 459).

The population density of Saxony was around 50 inhabitants per square kilometer in 1800, which was considered a densely populated area at the time. Alongside Württemberg, Kursachsen was the most densely populated German state, with a population density similar to that of the Netherlands. While there were 2,150 inhabitants per square mile in the Netherlands, this was around 1,700 in Kursachsen in 2017. Brandenburg-Prussia had only 919 inhabitants per square mile.

Population development in Electoral Saxony from 1755 to 1805

year	1755	1763	1772	1780	1795	1798	1799	1802	1805
Residents	1,686,908	1,635,000	1,632,660	1,843,260	1,925,695	1,962,790	1,980,790	1,997,508	2,010,000

According to other data, the population developed as follows (in round thousands):

year	1608	1612	1630	1645	1720	1755	1772	1790	1800	1805	1810	1814	1815	1820	1829
Residents	845	932	1500	1000	1500	1695	1633	1885	1976	2052	2055	1946	1179	1249	1397

Corporate structure

The society of the Electorate of Saxony was premodern . Many medieval structures and orders lasted until the end of the electorate. The most important form of social structure was the division of society into classes of different sizes. The smallest in number was the second estate, which in 1805 had 7600 people. It was made up of nobles and the civil servants of the Electoral Saxon administration. In addition to the high nobility , which was formed in Saxony by the Wettins, there was the land nobility and the court nobility . The landed gentry continued to maintain manors. Around 1750 there were about 800 manorial and official manors. As of August 2017, a total of 233 Saxon noble families have been recorded and categorized in Wikipedia (see category: Saxon noble family ). In 1805, 16,706 people belonged to the next largest first estate, made up of spiritual dignitaries and teachers of the lower clergy . The exact size of the third estate, made up of citizens and free farmers, is not known exactly, but around 1805 the number of citizens and townspeople was 592,000, and that of peasants and country people was 1,342,703.

Socially, Saxony was far superior to its neighbors in the north, but also to the Habsburg territorial complex in the south. It had an economically active citizenry, a high level of education compared to the time, and very heterogeneous social structures. In the north of the state territory the conditions were more similar to those of Brandenburg. There was a powerful manorial rule and an extremely strong medieval feudal and religious system in the country. Cities in Saxony did not have an easy time with the landlords either, but they were able to develop at least partially autonomous structures and assert themselves if they obtained patrimonial jurisdiction .

The social development in Saxony was pushed more directly from above and not from the middle. The middle formed the citizens. In this way Saxony differed from England or Holland, where a strongly developed bourgeoisie could defy feudal professional rights. The Leipzig merchant class did not succeed in this with respect to the aristocratic associations. The bourgeoisie remained integrated into the feudal state and got involved in its structures. Saxony was superior in the area of social liberalization and stimulated the European East in its own development, especially Poland-Lithuania . Opposite the progressive centers of the 18th century, the Île-de-France, Holland and England, but Saxony also lagged behind. However, it quickly adapted the developments there and adapted the models to its own needs. This applied to all social issues.

Settlement structure

City view of Wittenberg 1536/1537

Course of the Via Regia and Via Imperii in Europe, with an intersection in Leipzig, Saxony

The territory of Saxony was unevenly populated regionally, but was criss-crossed by a network of cities since the end of the Middle Ages. Several trade , production and agricultural centers were formed. There were trading cities mainly at transport hubs or along important trade routes. Leipzig was such an early, large trading center with supraregional importance. The most important urban centers of Upper Lusatia, which were incorporated into the electorate in 1636, had been formed in the Upper Lusatian Six- City League since the Middle Ages . The city of Görlitz stood out from this alliance as the largest and most important trading city. Immigration andPopulation growth took place mainly in the Ore Mountains in the area around Freiberg , Plauen and Annaberg .

There the economic activity opportunities through mining were higher than, for example, in North Saxon areas, which had unproductive soils for agriculture. In addition to the production and commercial towns, small farming towns formed everywhere , such as Annaburg , Prettin , Schweinitz , Bad Schmiedeberg or Seyda, all of which were located in the Kurkreis and in the early modern period had between 800 and 1500 inhabitants. They were often official seats and contact points for several dozen settlements, farms or colonies. The five agricultural towns mentioned were each 10 to 15 kilometers apart. From the 16th century onwards, there was a dense and closed city network of basic centers throughout Saxony.

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Prettin around 1650, an arable town with about 1000 inhabitants, which was considered the type for the majority of Saxon towns. These were mainly shaped by the princely seat, in the case of Prettin by Lichtenburg Castle.

Around 1500 there were around 150 places with city ​​rights in Saxony , in which around a third of the population lived. From this number, however, no corresponding form of urban settlement for these places can be derived, because at the time of the Reformation there was no city with more than 10,000 inhabitants in Saxony. The cities had a closed settlement core and usually an external fortification. The market square , a town hall and a princely residence building were among the basic forms of urban planning structures. These formed the basis of the urban architecture , on which the buildings of the often representative town houses were based .

Pirna 1753

Approximately exact figures for the individual cities can be reconstructed via the tax register. Around the year 1550 Leipzig and Freiberg had around 7500, Zwickau 7000, Dresden 6500, Annaberg 5500, Chemnitz 4000 and Marienberg 4000 inhabitants. 95 so-called cities had fewer than 100 inhabitants and around 50 cities had more than 1,000 inhabitants. These figures show how small-town the urban landscape of Saxony was. The effects of the cities on their surrounding areas were not yet very large. Transport and relationships between cities were far less pronounced than during the industrialization period.

In 1805 there were 20 cities with more than 5000 inhabitants in Saxony. The largest cities in the Electorate of Saxony around 1800 were firstly Dresden with 55,181 inhabitants, secondly Leipzig with 30,796 inhabitants. Chemnitz follows in third place with 10,835 inhabitants. These numbers are not very high in comparison to Western European cities such as Flanders , Holland or England . With the exception of Dresden and Leipzig, around 1800 there were only small towns in the Electorate of Saxony. Nevertheless, there has been a demonstrable growth in the urban landscape of Saxony, because at the time of the Reformation only five cities in Saxony had larger than 5000 inhabitants.

education

→ Main article : Educational history of Saxony

In the course of taking over church administration in the 1540s after the introduction of the Reformation, the emerging state was assigned a new field of activity, education , which had previously been the competence of the church. Three Saxon princely schools emerged from secularized monastery property to prepare for the newly founded universities. The school authorities Pforta , Grimma and Meißen were formed, which served to maintain the three state and princely schools. In 1498 the Zwickau Council School Library was founded, the first public academic library in Saxony.

Grimma St Augustine

University of Wittenberg in the 17th century

The first area-wide visitation to implement the Reformation in Electoral Saxony took place from 1528 to 1531. As part of these examinations, the sexton and pastor in the parishes also took stock of the lessons . A comprehensive Saxon school plan within the emerging Saxon church ordinance was concluded in 1580 in the Electoral Saxon church and school ordinance . This regulated the establishment of urban Latin schools and rural sexton schoolswhich encouraged both boys and girls to read, write, and sing hymns. As a result, the number of classrooms and school locations increased in Saxony within a few decades. In the 16th century, Saxony's cities had a high density of around 100 schools. Around 1600 there were only a few parishes that did not have their own sextonry. The visitors also encouraged the formation of girls' schools. The provisions of this order remained decisive until the end of the 19th century and ensured that the level of education was raised and previous reforms in church, universities and schools were completed.

For another 300 years the schools that were created in this way were the parishes and cities or private educational institutions. Comprehensive educational institutions for the third class that went beyond the level of simple country schools were lacking in the Electorate of Saxony. An increase in the level of education to the general public with the formation of state educational institutions did not take place until the 19th century at the time of the kingdom. The first two universities in the Electorate were the Leucorea in Wittenberg in 1502 and the University of Leipzig, founded in 1409. In 1764 the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts and the Leipzig Academy of Graphics and Book Art were founded . In 1765 theTechnical University Bergakademie Freiberg founded.

In the first half of the 18th century took place in the course of education , the formation of academies of science in many European countries. In Saxony it didn't exist until 1846, more than a hundred years later.

Health and welfare

Pen to the Holy Spirit in Zahna

A comprehensive, centrally organized health system and social services did not yet exist in the Electorate of Saxony. Since the Middle Ages, caring for the poor and the sick has essentially been a task of church institutions. Benefits for the poor or the sick fell to the family or the guilds for guild members. With the Reformation, caring for the poor also became a communal task. There were three large hospitals in Dresden that were responsible for health care. These were the Maternihospital , the Bartholomäus Hospital and the Jakobshospital . In Leipzig there was the Jacobshospital , the Johannishospital and theHospital St. Georg . In the country there were also poor and elderly care institutions, which were supported by the church but also financed by princely pensions, such as the Hospital of the Holy Spirit in Zahna . Other cities in Saxony also had hospitals, such as the Heilig-Geist-Hospital in Görlitz .

In the reform movement of Pietism , the Moravian Brethren acquired more far-reaching importance. The Protestant Free Churches increasingly came up with a not inconsiderable share for the population in need of care. By developing social entrepreneurship , they were able to generate the funds themselves. The most important pioneer in the field was its founder Nikolaus Graf von Zinzendorf (1700–1760).

The basic level of medical and social services remained generally low in the 18th century and the level of training of health workers was poor. It was not until November 18, 1748 that the Collegium medico-chirurgicum was founded in Saxony as the first medical training center in Dresden, based on the example of other countries.

Culture

The Saxon leaders of the early modern period attached great importance to appropriate consideration of cultural concerns. This basic attitude favored a strong differentiation of society and an increase in the civilizational level of the population. Over time, it is a big city and sophisticated embossed developed educated middle class in several Saxon cities. The functional elites in Saxony at the time formed and led society. By forming international networksthey found connection to the elite of the pioneering societies in the west, took over important innovations from them and implemented them in Saxony. The social structures changed constantly and remained open to cultural innovations. This enabled Saxon society to keep pace with western developments throughout the early modern period and not fall behind.

Promoting civilization

Title page Telemann's opera “Germanicus” (premiered in Brühl at the Michaelismesse 1704), libretto by Christine Dorothea Lachs

During the Renaissance, a regional form of Renaissance architecture called the Saxon Renaissance developed . The Cranachhöfe in Wittenberg were, at the same time as Albrecht Dürer in Nuremberg, a place of cultural creation that, like the Nuremberg painter, gained national importance. The Saxon court painter Anton Raphael Mengs was a pioneer of classicism and was considered the greatest painter of his time.

Saxony experienced a flourishing of civilization in the 18th century. In Dresden and Leipzig, but also in the smaller official and mansions, very fine manners developed in the Baroque era. This also radiated internationally. Numerous representative buildings in Dresden, but also in the entire state, met the need for representation of the Saxon electors. The Dresden court became known throughout Europe for its opulent court parties. The age went down in history as the Augustan age. The Baroque Dresden was materially from Matthew Daniel Pöppelmann designed, in addition to numerous homes, church buildings as the Epiphany Church , the Zwinger ,Pillnitz Castle (1720) and the Moritzburg Hunting Lodge (1723–33) created. In Dresden a unique ensemble of cultural forms and goods was created, which were brought together in the Dresden State Art Collections .

The regional commitment and the formation of cultural life differed in a high culture formation and a broad culture . Through Johann Sebastian Bach's work, Leipzig became a city of music and thus a place of high Saxon culture, carried and developed by the bourgeoisie. Georg Philipp Telemann directed the Oper am Brühl , the second civil choir in Germany. In the Ore Mountains, significant handicrafts developed in the artistic and creative area, which are more likely to be assigned to the broad culture. The Schwibbogen from the Erzgebirge or the Nutcrackerare such cultural products. Other forms of culture of daily life from this period are the development of certain goods and forms of food in the various regions. The development of the Dresden Christstollen , for example, goes back to a political event, prompted by the Dresdner Butterbrief .

Art collections

Porcelain collection in the Dresden Zwinger

Bubbling inventive spirit in the Electorate, made possible by a humanistic-civilizational design of society by the Elector
Vacuum Pump by Jacob Leupold from 1709 in the Mathematisch-Physikalischer Salon in Dresden

The art collections of the electors were used to accumulate and disseminate technical knowledge . The Kunstkammer , created by Elector August around 1560 , was the second of its kind north of the Alps after Vienna . The collection was designed primarily for technical education. Three quarters of all exhibits were tools. It was possible to borrow tools, instruments and books.

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  The Prince's Cosmos in the long gallery

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  Universe of globes in the New Hall in the Zwingerwall

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  Enlightenment instruments in the former ballroom

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  The passage of time in the arch gallery

research

The high level of culture in Saxony meant that innovations in technical and social life could arise and that repeatedly gave individual impulses for improvements in all social fields. Porcelain was invented by Johann Friedrich Böttger . The first daily newspaper in the world, Die Einkommenden Zeitung , was published in Leipzig by Timotheus Ritzsch from 1650 , Adam Ries wrote arithmetic books and developed mathematics. Gottfried Silbermann built famous organs in Saxony. The oldest technical university in the world is the Bergakademie in Freiberg, founded in 1765 by the Saxon General Mining Commissioner Friedrich Anton von Heynitz. The homeopathy was 1796 Samuel Hahnemann developed. Also important were the mineralogist Georgius Agricola , who is considered the founder of modern geology and mining, and the philosopher, mathematician and experimenter Ehrenfried Walter von Tschirnhaus , whose work promoted the development of laboratory research methods, materials research, foundries and metallurgy and optical device construction . Other inventors were the mechanic and master craftsman Jacob Leupold , the court mechanic and model master Andreas Gärtner and the hydraulic engineer and chief miner Martin Planer .

Political history

The period from 1180 to 1356 marked the institutionalization process of the Saxon electorate. In addition to the formation of the Courland, the gender classification was also subject to fluctuations and was by no means guaranteed. The written granting of the cure rights from 1356 to the extinction of the Askanians in 1423 formed the next development step towards what the Electorate of Saxony should one day become. With the assumption of the electoral dignity, the Wettins gained connection to the highest imperial politics and thus formed a larger territorial complex, which they held together in the empire until 1806.

Beginning of the institutionalization of the electorate in the early 13th century

Area of ​​the Ascanian Duchy of Saxony, created in 1180 around the year 1235 (highlighted in green), consisting of parts of the former Duchy of Saxony around Wittenberg and Lauenburg and the Hadelner area

From the end of the 12th century to the middle of the 13th century, a narrower circle of special royal voters (electors) had formed, who succeeded in excluding others from being eligible to vote. At the beginning of the institutionalization process, the electoral college consisted of only four princes, two secular and two clerical. The Duke of Saxony was, along with the Count Palatine, one of two secular princes who were allowed to claim the right to vote. This circle was expanded in the 13th century to include the three Rhenish archbishops of Mainz , Trier and Cologne as well as the Count Palatine near Rhine , the Duke of Saxony, the Margrave of Brandenburg and the King of Bohemia .

The allocation of the spa rights to individual territories took place in the early 13th century and was consolidated from then on.

Transformation of the Duchy of Saxony (1180-1260)

The consolidation process of the electoral dignity took place at the same time as the formation of the Saxon duchy. The Duchy of Saxony, which emerged from the Saxon people , has experienced a continuous and multiple transformation process since the end of the 12th century. The Saxon ducal dignity remained, but the territory that defined the Duchy of Saxony was constantly changing and only found temporary stabilization with the formation of the Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg after around one hundred years. This territory no longer has any cover with the eponymous predecessor, both population-based and territorial.

The actual tribal duchy of Saxony (also known as the Old Saxony) roughly corresponded to today's territory of Lower Saxony . But in 1180 the powerful Saxon prince, Duke Heinrich the Lion, was ousted and his duchy was divided: the western part of the country was subordinated to the Archbishop of Cologne as the Duchy of Westphalia . The Ascanians were enfeoffed with the eastern part of the country, which continued to be called Saxony . Bernhard III.became the first Saxon duke. However, this did not succeed in building extensive territorial rule over the area of ​​the old Duchy of Saxony assigned to him, so that the new Ascanian Duchy of Saxony was only formed by the title and some imperial fiefs (Lauenburg, Wittenberg). As Duke of Saxony, Bernhard III belonged. one of the most distinguished princes of the empire and in this dignity he was one of the most important royal electors in 1198 and 1208.

He was followed by Albrecht I. After his death in 1260, his sons Johann I and Albrecht II divided his land according to the principles of the Ascan family, which only introduced primogeniture in 1727 . The Duchy of Saxony was then divided into the Duchies of Saxony-Wittenberg and Saxony-Lauenburg. Initially, both brothers ruled together, but after the acquisition of the Burggrafschaft Magdeburg in 1269, it was finally divided into two duchies of Saxony-Lauenburg under the rule of Johann I and Saxony-Wittenbergproven under the reign of Albrecht II. The separation was formalized in 1296. The latter duchy succeeded in permanently claiming the electoral dignity for itself. As a result of these divisions, the name Saxony crossed the old cultural border of the Elbe-Saale line in the course of the historical change of name .

Saxony-Wittenberg becomes Electoral Saxony (1260–1423)

Saxony-Wittenberg line (dukes and from 1355 electors of Saxony)
Albrecht II.	1260-1298	Son of Albrecht I.
Rudolf I.	1298-1356	Son of the predecessor
Rudolf II.	1356-1370	Son of the predecessor
Wenceslaus I.	1370-1388	Brother of the predecessor
Rudolf III.	1388-1419	Son of the predecessor
Albrecht III.	1419-1422	Brother of the predecessor

The Wittenberg Ascanians Albrecht I , Albrecht II and Rudolf I ruled for a very long time as dukes of Saxony, secured the continuation of the dynasty with several sons and asserted themselves as heirs to the Saxon electorate. The electors mainly took care of external conflicts with other territorial rulers and promoted the development of the still sparsely populated area. In 1290 this duchy was expanded to include the Burggrafschaft Magdeburg and the Grafschaft Brehna . There was still further area expansion. The Duchy of Wittenberg in association with the County of Brehna formed Saxony-Wittenberg . This was roughly the same as todayDistrict of Wittenberg , the district of Elbe-Elster , Bad Belzig and Wiesenburg / Mark .

The electoral dignity was not institutionally regulated until 1356. Customary law had reached a quasi-legal status, which was additionally documented in the Golden Bull . As a result, Rudolf I, as Duke of Saxony-Wittenberg, was granted permanent electoral dignity by Emperor Charles IV . The indivisibility of the territory was also established. As a result, Saxony-Wittenberg secured the previously exercised right to elect a king and many other privileges, which made the dukes rise to the rank of the highest-ranking princes in the empire. The duchy on the middle Elbe and the city of Wittenbergthus experienced a gain in importance, because Saxony-Wittenberg had finally risen to one of the seven German electoral principalities. In terms of size, however, it remained a rather insignificant territory in the empire. The area was around 4500 to 5000 km². There were no major urban centers. The strategic location along the middle course of the Elbe made the area interesting.

The Saxon electors also held the office of Arch Marshal of the Holy Roman Empire.

The Ascanians of Sachsen-Lauenburg then finally lost all claimed rights of claim of the vote, which were transferred to Sachsen-Wittenberg alone. This also included the right to carry a sword in the Reichstag .

Renewal of the electorate

Coat of arms of the Reichsmarschalles of the Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire around 1400: The then (Ascanian) Electorate of Saxony, the Margraviate of Meissen and the Landgraviate of Thuringia became the heartland of the modern (now Wettin) Electorate of Saxony in 1423

The Ascanian house of Saxony-Wittenberg was hit by an astonishing number of accidents after 1400. In November 1422 Albrecht III died. , Elector and Duke of Saxony-Wittenberg from the Ascanian family, without descendants entitled to inheritance.

The German king withdrew the duchy as a completed imperial fief. This happened on the basis of the provisions of the Golden Bull of 1356. After that, when a Kurhaus became extinct, the land was to be reassigned by the king with the voting vote. Saxony-Wittenberg had little power, but as an electorate it was endowed with a high rank. Therefore, the replacement of the Saxony-Wittenberg area was also in great demand.

As a result, both the Lauenburg Ascanians under Duke Erich V and the Meissnian Wettins in the person of Friedrich I. claimed Saxony-Wittenberg and the electoral dignity associated with it. As part of the German medieval eastern settlements east of the Saale and Elbe, the Wettins had come to larger territorial complexes in their margravial positions, which bordered on the south and east of Saxony-Wittenberg.

Frederick I's claim was based on his involvement in imperial affairs in the fight against the Bohemian Hussites . In 1423 King Sigismund announced the political legacy of Albrecht III. as a completed imperial fiefto the Wettin margraves of Meißen and granted them the electorate of Saxony, with which the electoral dignity passed to them. As a result, the Margraviate of Meissen became part of the Electorate of Saxony and lost its status as an independent principality. The transition took place with the further binding of the electoral dignity to Wittenberg. This means that whoever owned Wittenberg also held the title of elector and the electoral vote of the arch marshal. Electoral Saxony remained limited to the area of ​​Saxony-Wittenberg. The former duchy was incorporated as a spa district into the dominion of the Wettins and was able to maintain a quasi-dominant position in the state of Wettin until 1548.

The Wettins, expanding their holdings of Landsberg and Brehna , had already been Margraves of Lusatia in 1089 and Margraves of Meißen in 1125 and were now able to gain a strategically important area in the north of their territories with Saxony-Wittenberg. This enabled them to have traffic connections to important northern German cities such as Magdeburg and a stronger integration into the central Elbeland up to the Harz foreland , which at that time was already densely populated and provided important economic impetus. Access to the Elbe made it possible to participate in trading activities with the Hanseatic Leaguewhich had incorporated several cities along the river into the network. The former colonial land between Saale and Elbe found connection to the old settlements in the west through this empire-political upgrading, almost at the same time as the re- electoral state of Brandenburg by the Hohenzollern . From then on, the Wettins rose to become a hegemonic power in Central Germany. Politically, the Wettins proved to be committed administrators of the empire in the future and formed a coherent territorial complex, primarily through purchases in the 15th century.

The name "Saxony" gradually migrated from the area around Wittenberg, which later became the Kurkreis, to all Wettin areas on the upper Elbe.

Among the Wettins from 1423

The political development in the Electorate of Saxony was influenced by three events between 1423 and 1485: the Altenburg partition , the Saxon fratricidal war and the Altenburg prince robbery . In the newly created Electorate of Saxony, the aristocracy, clergy and cities developed and distinguished themselves into influential classes that took a growing part in politics and administration. From 1485 Saxony was again separated into an Ernestine and an Albertine part of the country.

Formation of the territorial complex in the late Middle Ages

Johann Christian Reinhart: The Saxon Prince Robbery . Oil on laid paper, 1785.

Ruling Electors: Frederick I , 1423-1428 Frederick II , 1428-1464

On January 6, 1423, the Meissnian Margrave Frederick IV. Was provisionally and on August 1, 1425 formally enfeoffed in Budapest by the later Emperor Sigismund with the Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg ; as Friedrich I he was now Duke and Elector of the Empire . He prevailed against several competitors. A trial by Duke Erich V of Sachsen-Lauenburg against this decision at the Council of Basel was unsuccessful.

Around 1430, during the Hussite Wars, the Hussites invaded Saxony, which led to the destruction of cities. Elector Friedrich II had already concluded a separate peace with them on August 23, 1432 for two years, but it was not until 1436 that the acts of war ended everywhere. The former power center of the Wettins, Meißen with its Albrechtsburg castle , gradually lost its political importance. Since representation and residence also gained in importance in the early phase of the Renaissance , the Wettins created Dresden in the Elbe basina new residence at the end of the 15th century. It became the permanent abode of the elector, his councilors and administrative officials. There was a warmer microclimate there, which made it possible to grow wine , and an attractive environment close to the Elbe Sandstone Mountains.

The elector's increased expenses for equipping and maintaining the army, or for his own court, could no longer be covered by his own rulers alone. The solution was to levy new types of taxes. However, this also required the approval of the stands. The meeting of the estates organized under Friedrich II in 1438 is considered the first state parliament in Saxony . The estates of Saxony were given the right to come together for innovations in taxation even without being convened by the ruler. As a result, parliaments took place more and more frequently and formed the Wettin corporate state, which existed until the 19th century.

As is customary in other German houses, the Wettins regularly divided their possessions among sons and brothers, which often led to tensions within the family. After the death of Frederick IV. Landgrave of Thuringia, in 1440, came on a wettinischen escheat the land county Thuringia back to the electorate. Disagreements between his nephews, Elector Friedrich II. And Wilhelm III. initially led to the division of Altenburg . In the Altenburg division in 1445, Wilhelm III. the Thuringian and Franconian part, Friedrich the eastern part of the electorate. The mines remained common property.

Despite the power of Halle in 1445, the conflict escalated because Friedrich chose Thuringia in Leipzig on September 26, 1445 and not Meissen. Then the Saxon fratricidal war broke outout. After five years of war, the same state as in 1446 was finally achieved, but large parts of the country were devastated. The war finally ended with the Peace of Pforta on January 27, 1451. The treaty confirmed the division of Altenburg, which temporarily divided the Wettin sphere of influence into an eastern and a western part. The western part of Saxony, which had been ruled by a branch line of the Wettins since 1382, fell after the death of its last representative, Duke Wilhelm III. of Saxony, back to the Wettin main line in 1482, restoring the unity of the country. As a result of the war, the prince robbery Ernst and Albrechts zu Altenburg occurred in 1455 .

The agreement reached in 1459 between Elector Friedrich II and Georg von Podiebrad , King of Bohemia, in the Eger main settlement , which resulted in an inheritance and a clear demarcation between the Kingdom of Bohemia and Saxony, was of great importance for the development of the country .

Beginning of the joint rule of Ernst and Albrecht

Depiction of historical mining on the Annaberg mountain altar from 1522

Polish traders on the Leipziger Brühl, in the background a "white elephant" (covered wagon)

Ruling Electors: Ernst , 1464-1486 Albrecht (as Duke), 1464–1485

When Elector Friedrich II died in Leipzig on September 7, 1464, the eldest son Ernst took over at the age of 23. This began an almost twenty-year period of joint government with Duke Albrecht . Both ruled in unison at first, favored by a long-lasting economic upswing that began and increasing urban development in the country. The agreement of all political actions and decisions was secured by holding the two families together in the Dresden Palace. From 1471 both had a new French-style castle built on the Burgberg in Meißen. In their policy, the brothers pursued a further settlement with Bohemia and provided the empire with active military aid against the Ottoman Empireand against Burgundy .

During the time of the joint rule of Ernst and Albrecht, extensive silver finds were found in the Ore Mountains , which stimulated a sustainable economic upswing with the so-called Second Big Mountain Scream. Since the 1470s, the focus of silver mining has shifted from Freiberg to the central and western Ore Mountains. The lavish princely dividends from mining enabled the Saxon princes to have a broad domestic and foreign policy agenda. The existing financial strength was reinvested in the purchase of dominions within the Wettin dominion and in the expansion of the territory to the north and east.

Leipzig became an important economic center of the Holy Roman Empire after the emperor gave it the right to hold annual fairs three times a year . At these imperial fairs , the electors were able to convert the silver finds into cash, thus had full household coffers and began a brisk construction activity. Due to the imperial granted market and stacking rights of the city of Leipzig , the traffic frequency on the Via Regia Lusatiae Superioris , the most important traffic route between Western and Eastern Europe, which crossed the Via Imperii in Leipzig . Leipzig thus became a major continental trading center for all of Europe. From theFree imperial city of Nuremberg , which was an important economic center in Europe at that time, more than 90 merchants and their families moved to Leipzig between 1470 and 1650. The trading network expanded as a result and encompassed all of Europe, dealers from all over Europe from then on offered their goods in Leipzig. Leipzig became a hub for all parts of Europe. The customs revenue along the route benefited the electoral treasury. In 1480 the printer Konrad Kachelofen from Nuremberg settled in Leipzig and established the Leipzig tradition of printing with his printing press.

The state organization was expanded based on the state order of 1384. The state order of 1482 regulated the maintenance of the peace, the legal and social conditions in the state and partially standardized public life. In 1483 the Elector Ernst and his brother Duke Albrecht set up a court with a permanent seat in Leipzig as the Oberhofgericht . It was occupied by nobles and commoners. It was the first independent authority in Electoral Saxony, detached from the prince and court. An effective local and central administration secured the rule of the electors. Internal security was also restored after robber baronism in Germany had led to unrest and insecurity. The feudwas removed, the streets secured against robbery and an efficient legal system established. Compared to the other German states, Saxony became a state that was culturally, economically and state-advanced at that time.

Map of the Wettin lands after the division of Leipzig

Recess of the Leipzig division (copy from the Thuringian State Archives)

The western part of Saxony, which had been ruled by a branch line of the Wettins since 1382, fell after the death of its last representative, Duke Wilhelm III. of Saxony , in 1482 back to the Wettin main line under Elector Ernst . In his hands there was now a territorial complex that was also important on a European scale. This made Saxony next to HabsburgSphere of power to the second power in the Holy Roman Empire. The Wettiner family network had expanded. There were Wettin family members as clerical dignitaries from Magdeburg, Halberstadt and Mainz. Other entitlements existed for the Lower Rhine duchies of Jülich and Berg, Quedlinburg and Erfurt. The dynastic inheritance and family policy indicated further expansion efforts. However, this favorable family position could not be maintained.

Renewed division of the country

The tensions, which had their origin in the family relationships, increased between the two brothers and escalated from 1480 when Albrecht gave up the common court and moved with his family and his court to Torgau in the Hartenfels Castle. On August 26, 1485, the two Wettins in Leipzig agreed to divide their property, which was carried out on November 11, 1485. As a younger Albrecht could choose his own part of the country, while Ernst determined the division. It went down in the history of Saxony as the main division of Leipziga. The majority of the territories were now governed separately. The division of Leipzig, which was not originally intended to be permanent, weakened the previously very powerful position of the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire. The amicable relationship between Albert and Ernst, which ensured a close connection between the two parts of the country, turned into an open confrontation between the two ruling houses after a few decades.

Ernestiner - Electorate of Saxony

Albertiner - Duchy of Saxony (1485–1547)

Flyer commemorating the 100th anniversary of the publication of Martin Luther's theses in 1517 With his residence in Torgau, Ernst had the focus in the north and had the prestigious spa district in the north. Its controlled territory consisted of 14 other exclaves in addition to the main complex . The Ernestines retained the title of elector, which could be transferred to all male members of the family. In the Ernestine Electorate, Frederick the Wise founded the University of Wittenberg , which was the starting point for the ecclesiastical Reformation . In 1505, Elector Friedrich called the painter Lucas Cranach the Elder to his court in Wittenberg. He worked in Wittenberg for decades and created lasting works that carried the Reformation period from Wittenberg into the world. Elector Friedrich expanded the district of Kursachsen as a territory and expanded the castles in Torgau and Wittenberg, among others, into representative residences. From the posting of the theses in Wittenberg in 1517 to the end of the Schmalkaldic War, the Kurkreis and the Ernestine possessions of Saxony were the focus of world public opinion, as the first phase of the Reformation was anchored here, which spread worldwide. The Ernestine Elector Friedrich the Wise (1486–1525) protected Martin Luther . As a result, however, the Ernestines also came into conflict with their Albertine cousins, who initially remained loyal to the imperial-Catholic side in the erupting religious wars. The Ernestine side was committed to the Reformation across the empire, with the Schmalkaldic League they formed a counterweight to the imperial-Catholic side and openly challenged them.

A / : Friedrich the Elder Wise; R / : Johann and Georg. The dimensions of the thaler were 41 mm in diameter. The big pieces of money from this time stand for the great importance of the money economy around 1500 Albrecht resided as Duke of Saxony in Dresden and had the focus in the east. He had the strategically better territorial complex because it consisted of only two main territories and had four other exclaves. The two largest Saxon cities Leipzig and Dresden were in this ruling complex. Financial development: Due to the large number of silver finds in the Ore Mountains, a coin reform followed in 1500, the Leipzig coinage system , which brought about the introduction of the Klappmünzentaler as the common currency of both parts of the country. This favored an expansion of the money economy , which contributed to sustained economic growth. The Saxon coin separation led from 1530 to also economically separate development of both territories. Likewise , a form of equity participation arose in mining with the Kux , a preliminary stage of the share. Labor and capital began to separate. This accelerated the circulation of money and resulted in faster exchange of goods. Society in Saxony, supported by the urban bourgeoisie, got used to monetary thinking. In the Albertine camp, Dresden was expanded as a residence . The Saxon renaissance , which was pushed on by the princely side , was also shaped in the Albertine part of the country. The Albertine Duke George the Bearded (1500–1539) fought Martin Luther and refused to take open action against the emperor. Only after George's death was the Reformation introduced in the Albertine part of the country.

The events of the Peasants' War of 1525 only touched Saxon territories at the edge of the Vogtland and the Ore Mountains. The pressure on the peasantry was lower in Saxony than in the south-western regions of the empire. This is explained by the strong sovereign position and administration, which imposed restrictions on arbitrary forms of the wealthy nobility.

Rise of the Albertines to the Protestant protective power in the empire

Battle of Mühlberg in 1547 and capture of Elector Johann Friedrich of Saxony. Painting from 1630, German Historical Museum Berlin

Area changes after 1547 as a result of the Schmalkaldic War

In the battle of Muhlberg in the Schmalkaldic War of the Albertine Duke Maurice defeated of Saxony (1547-1553) as an ally of Emperor Charles V. his cousin, the Ernestine Elector Johann Friedrich von Sachsen-Wittenberg . After the defeat, the Wittenberg surrender of the Ernestine took place on May 19, 1547 . On June 4, 1547, the Albertine Moritz was enfeoffed by Emperor Charles V in the field camp in front of Wittenberg, at the Augsburg Reichstag on February 24, 1548 the solemn enfeoffment with the Duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg followed.

The Ernestine line lost half of its property and only retained the offices of Weimar , Jena , Saalfeld , Weida , Gotha , Eisenach and Coburg . However, the offices of Dornburg , Camburg and Roßla came in 1547, the offices of Sachsenburg , Altenburg , Herbsleben and Eisenberg through the Naumburg Treaty in 1554 to the Ernestine Saxony. The remaining Ernestine duchyAs a result of inheritance divisions, divided into different lines, the Ernestine duchies . In 1572 the continual fragmentation of the Ernestine possessions into numerous small states began. Two main Ernestine lines emerged in 1640: The House of Saxe-Weimar and the House of Saxe-Gotha . While the former had only a few branch lines, which were eventually united to form Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, the House of Saxe-Gotha had a large number of branch lines that mostly ruled over their own country. The last three of these duchies, like Sachsen-Weimar-Eisenach, became part of the Free State of Thuringia after 1918 .

The Albertine territories largely became the traditional bearers of today's Saxony. Saxony once again became the second most important German state in the Holy Roman Empire after the Habsburg states, with the ability to have a decisive say in imperial politics. Electoral Saxony now formed a closed Upper Saxon-Thuringian territorial state along the middle course of the Elbe , which, however, did not have a closed territorial structure. Elector Moritz and his successor, his brother August, were anxious to fill in the gaps . The cities and councils that were acquired from Dresden for the Albertine line paid homage to the new Prince Moritz. Melchior von Ossa took part in the Kurkreisthe homage to the new Elector Moritz. On July 13, 1547, a state parliament was convened in Leipzig for two weeks, in which the estates of the old and new territorial area, counts and lords , knights and cities came together and formed a state representative .

Contrary to the emperor's promises, Moritz did not receive all of the Ernestine territories. Moritz succeeded in clearing the way for the recognition of the new faith in the empire. "Since then, the Electorate of Saxony has been the most important protective power of the Protestant faith in the stately and denominationally fragmented German Empire." On July 9, 1553, the Elector, who was only 32 years old, died of the consequences of a war injury sustained in the battle of Sievershausen . After the conclusion of the Augsburg Religious Peace in 1555, Saxony was firmly on the Habsburg side. Elector August saw himself as the leader of the Lutheran imperial estates , in whose interests the status quo achieved between Protestants and Catholics was to be preserved.

After an attack on the diocese of Würzburg by Wilhelm von Grumbach on his own behalf, the latter fled via Lorraine to Weimar and found refuge with the Ernestine Duke Johann Friedrich the Middle, with whom he allied. The duke continued to claim the electoral dignity that had been revoked from his father. On the Imperial Deputation Day in Worms in 1565, Emperor Ferdinand I entrusted the Saxon elector with the enforcement of the imperial ban on Grumbach. After the imperial ban against the Ernestine Duke was pronounced in 1566, Elector August began military action. At the head of an army of 5,489 riders and 31 FähnleinHe began the siege of Gotha on December 24th, 1566 . The city capitulated on April 13, 1567. Duke Johann Friedrich the Middle surrendered to his Albertine relative. The successful execution of the Reichsacht strengthened Electoral Saxony's position in the Reich. After the Grumbach feud , the Albertine electoral dignity and the Naumburg Treaty were never again questioned by the Ernestines.

Land expansion

The Dresden residential palace in 1550. In 1556, the former state capital Freiberg was relocated to the immediate vicinity of the palace . The close proximity of the mint to the prince's seat shows the importance of this institution and also the elector's need for control.

Ruling Electors: Moritz , 1547–1553 August , 1553-1586 Christian I. , 1586–1591 Christian II , 1591-1611

Comprehensive administrative reforms followed after the incorporation of the new territories into the Albertine domination, which rearranged the newly created territorial complex. Ludwig Fachs was an important advisor to the elector on these issues . Moritz “divided his territory into five administrative districts. They were each headed by a captain who was responsible for general and military security as well as for the financial affairs in his district. ” From then on, the court councilor formed the central highest administrative authority, followed by the middle instance, the district administration , represented by the chief officers. The lowest state administrative level or agents of the elector formed the offices, represented by theBailiffs . Thus, shortly after the end of the Middle Ages, a functioning body of authorities emerged in Europe, which is comparable to today's administrative structure. In addition to the administration, the judiciary was also reformed and on December 22, 1548, the Court of Justice regulations were issued. In 1550 the court in Wittenberg was restored. Circular letters to the cities and offices asked them to record all incomes and income relationships and send them to the Councilor. That was the beginning of the official inheritance books , a comprehensive nationwide cadastre for orderly financial management. The writing of the exercise of power by Barthel Lauterbach was decisivepromoted. Further specialist authorities have been set up in the areas of church and justice, mining and coinage . In 1547 the new electoral state had two universities ( Leipzig and Wittenberg), each with a law faculty and, in addition to the two court courts, also two lay judges . An effectively functioning territorial state emerged.

Stolpen: Electoral coat of arms (1673) above the entrance of the former electoral office

In 1559 the Protestant dioceses of Meißen , Merseburg and Naumburg and in 1596 the Vogtland became part of the Electorate of Saxony. This territorial consolidation made it possible for the sovereign to continue expanding the country . The electorate earned 865,000 guilders a year in average state income. This profit came mainly from the mountain shelves and not from coinageearned. The Wettins had the sole silver monopoly. The cash supply was high, but the national debt amounted to 2,400,000 guilders. Administrative reforms and an active economic policy in the second half of the 16th century were successful. According to Michael Richter , Saxony "became the richest German state of the time on the basis of its trade, industry and mining."

After the establishment of the Dresden mint in 1556 for better control, Elector August (1553–1586) ordered the closure of all state mints . In 1586 the first Saxon state survey was carried out under the direction of Matthias Oeder . In 1572, the Electoral Saxon Constitutions followed , which consisted of civil, state, feudal and inheritance law as well as contract law. With this, Elector August created for the first time a compilation of applicable law based on Roman law , after contradicting judgments by various courts had increasingly led to complaints.

Second Reformation

Calvinist storm 1592, arrest of Gundermann , Krell , Pierius and other Calvinists

Despite the Augsburg Religious Peace of 1555, the anchoring of the Reformation had to be actively pursued. In the 1560s and 1570s, a movement originating from Zwingli and Calvin to ward off the Counter-Reformation after the Council of Trent in 1564 began to spread across Europe. The Calvinist movement reached Electoral Saxony in the second half of the 1580s. When Elector Christian I took office by taking over the presidency of the Privy Council on January 24, 1581, the attempt to introduce the Second Reformation in Electoral Saxony began. Nikolaus Krell, Hofrat in the Dresden government since 1580, and Andreas Paull , member of the Privy Council, were the co-determining political forces and represented the Reformed party at the Dresden court, which soon prevailed against the Lutheran Orthodox Party. The new church order was implemented nationwide. With the death of Christian I after a serious illness on September 24, 1591, the attempt to introduce a reformed church system in Saxony ended abruptly. Since the successor Christian II was only eight years old, there was a guardianship government under Friedrich Wilhelm von Sachsen-Weimarused from 1591 to 1601. The Calvinist currents were violently fought from then on in Saxony, Calvinist supporters were removed from all offices and the houses of wealthy Calvinists were stormed and set on fire. After the persecution of the Calvinists, especially by Elector August's personal physician Caspar Peucer (1525–1602) and his secret councilor Georg Cracau , the concord formula drawn up in Torgau in 1577 was the last confession of the Lutheran church , which was ultimately included in the concord book, an all-encompassing body of canon law. The visitation was an electoral instrument for the implementation of the Reformation and the order of religious life in Electoral Saxony . To this end, individual visitors traveled to the individual church locations. The first area-wide visitation in Electoral Saxony took place from 1528 to 1531. The theologian Jakob Andreae (1528–1590) was the general organizer. His goals were based in particular on the implementation of the concord formula and the realignment of the management staff as a result of the waves of persecution of 1574.

The growing differences between Reformed and Orthodox Lutheranism reinforced the influence of the Counter-Reformation that was pursued by the emperor again. Electoral Saxony tried to mediate between the parties in the Reich. Nevertheless, in 1608 the Regensburg Reichstag was demolished by the reformed imperial estates and then the forces were further polarized. In 1608 the Union was founded as an alliance of the evangelical imperial estates and in 1609 the amalgamation of the catholic imperial estates to the league followed. During this time of polarization, the Jülich-Klevian succession dispute took place. Electoral Saxony asserted hereditary claims to the area from the emperor and received the contract from him. Despite the electoral enfeoffment with the Lower Rhine territories, Brandenburg and the Elector Palatinate-Neuburg occupied the duchies, which left Saxony empty. On the Elector's Day in Nuremberg in October 1611, the young Elector Johann Georg I, who had headed the affairs of state as Elector since 1611, brought charges in the Jülisch-Clevischen inheritance matter. Since the emperor died in 1612, the imperial vicariate re-entered after 93 years . The Saxon elector exercised it from May 1613 until the election of Matthias as the new emperor at the Electoral Congress in Frankfurt am Main.

Thirty Years' War

Central Europe on the eve of the Thirty Years War. Electorate of Saxony (without the Lausitz)


Governing Elector: Johann Georg I , 1611–1656

The siege of Bautzen by Johann Georg I of Saxony in September 1620

The outbreak of the Bohemian uprising, initiated by the second lintel in Prague , ended the long period of peace. The elector Johann Georg I sided with the emperor in 1618. In doing so, on the advice of his government, he continued the Saxon imperial policy that had been in effect for decades. Its aim was to preserve the status quo achieved in the Augsburg religious peace. In 1618 Dresden was aware that the Bohemian unrest could trigger a nationwide war. Initially, Johann Georg tried to mediate between the Bohemian estates and the emperor together with the Elector of Mainz. After the death of Emperor Matthiasin March 1619 the situation came to a head. When the Bohemian estates deposed their already crowned successor Ferdinand II in the same year and elected Elector Friedrich V of the Palatinate as their king, Johann Georg gave up his wait-and-see attitude and declared himself ready to take part in the war against Bohemia. It was agreed with Ferdinand II that Saxony should recapture the two neighboring Bohemian states of Upper and Lower Lusatia for the emperor. Formally, Johann Georg was commissioned by the Emperor to execute the Reich against the Bohemian rebels.

In September 1620 the Saxon troops marched into the two Lausitzes. The two margravate could be occupied without major resistance. Because the emperor could not reimburse the Saxon elector for the war costs as agreed, he had to give Johann Georg the two Lausitzes as pledge in 1623.

In the period that followed, Saxony's relations with the emperor deteriorated more and more, partly because the imperial troops under Albrecht von Wallenstein hardly respected Saxony's neutrality . Albrecht von Wallenstein led several pillaging troops into Lusatia. Also ruthlessly practiced recatholizationin Silesia and Bohemia displeased the Saxon elector without being able to do anything about it. In 1631 Johann Georg I finally saw himself compelled to join the Swedes in the war against the emperor. The decisive factor for this radical change in Saxon politics was the military situation, because the Swedish king's troops were already on Saxon territory at that time. Electoral Saxony was mainly affected in its western part. The Battle of Breitenfeld took place near Leipzig in 1631 and the Battle of Lützen in the following yearinstead of. Saxony was militarily active on the side of the Protestant countries and during the battles as an ally of the Swedes. Leipzig was besieged several times during the war, its population fell from 17,000 to 14,000, while the other urban centers, especially Dresden / Meißen, were spared. Chemnitz was badly damaged by the war, Freiberg lost its importance. On the other hand, many smaller towns and villages fell victim to massive looting, especially after General Wallenstein had given his Field Marshal Heinrich von Holk a so-called diversion order, with the execution of which primarily the Croatian light cavalrywas commissioned. From August to December 1632 the Croatian horsemen attacked numerous places (including Dippoldiswalde , Stolpen , Hinterhermsdorf , Saupsdorf , Neukirchen , Reichenbach , Oelsnitz , Penig and Gnandstein ), robbed them, mistreated and killed the inhabitants and left a trail of destruction.

In 1635, Saxony made the Peace of Prague with the emperor and, with the traditional recession, finally came into the possession of the Lusatia. This increased the country's area by around 13,000 km² and almost reached its final limits. The devastation of the country by the Thirty Years' War continued, however, because the fighting against the Swedes continued in central Germany for more than ten years. Electoral Saxony withdrew from direct combat operations for the time being with the armistice of Kötzschenbroda in 1645 and finally with the peace of Eilenburg in 1646.

After the Peace of Westphalia was concluded on October 23, 1648, the Swedish troops had reluctantly left Electoral Saxony. The last Swedes left Leipzig only after payment of the fixed contributions of 276,600 Reichstaler on June 30, 1650. Life increasingly normalized after the recruited mercenaries were released.

The Peace of Eilenburg , which was signed in the Eilenburg town hall in 1646, marked the end of the war for the Electorate of Saxony

Early baroque

Ruling Electors: Johann Georg II. , 1656–1680 Johann Georg III. , 1680-1691 Johann Georg IV. , 1691–1694

The Holy Roman Empire 1648

As a result of the war, the Saxon population was weakened primarily indirectly through epidemics and economic losses as a result of the stagnation of trade, but troop movements and war garrisons also caused a not inconsiderable proportion of losses in the urban and village population. According to Karlheinz Blaschke , the population in Saxony is said to have been reduced by around half due to the war. Other authors point out that this cut may very well apply in individual regions, but cannot be applied to the entire population. However, the losses were largely mitigated by religious refugees, of whom around 150,000 came to Saxony from Bohemia and Silesia. After the complete devastation of Magdeburgits importance as a metropolis in the east of the Holy Roman Empire passed on to the up-and-coming Berlin as well as the cities of Leipzig and Dresden in the Electorate of Saxony.

When Johann Georg II succeeded his father in 1656 at the age of 43, Electoral Saxony was still suffering from the economic consequences of the Thirty Years' War. Only in the reign of Johann Georg III. From 1680 the consequences of the war and war damage as well as the social neglect could be overcome. The repopulation of village farms and municipal household chores was the most difficult. A first sign of the upswing was the increasing tax revenue. Mining, metallurgy, craft, trade and transport recovered slowly but steadily. The mining of silver in the Erzgebirge was no longer dominated by iron, tin, cobalt, bismuth, lead, copper and serpentine. New huts and hammers were built. In 1668 theErzgebirge sheet metal company and in 1659 the Saxon blue color works with headquarters in Leipzig. In addition, the first manufactories were founded at the end of the 17th century as a new form of production that was able to meet the increased demand for textile products in particular better and faster than the manual production method. The Saxon estates had regained their influence during the war due to the high demand for money from the princely treasury. In the second half of the 17th century, the electors had to convene the state parliament far more frequently than was the case at the beginning of that century, and in 1661 the estates were even able to enforce their right of self-assembly.

Saxony had the previous peak reached its territorial expansion, mainly through the 1635 of Bohemia devolved Lusatias . Johann Georg I used the peace to regulate the situation in the country. A new regulation related to the division of the country to his four sons in his will of July 20, 1652. He thus defied the paternal order issued by Albrecht in 1499 , which was supposed to prevent an inheritance from being divided. The will of Johann Georg I , opened on October 8, 1656, provided for smaller parts of Electoral Saxony to be bequeathed to his three sons August, Christian and Moritz and then to be given a secondary education in Electoral Saxonyset up as independent duchies. The duchies of Saxony-Zeitz, Saxony-Merseburg and Saxony-Weißenfels emerged, but fell back to Electoral Saxony in 1718, 1738 and 1746 respectively. During this time, the electoral state was economically, financially and politically weakened by the divisions, even if, from a cultural point of view, new centers with palace buildings, cultural institutions and scientific institutions emerged in Weißenfels , Zeitz and Merseburg . The development of the absolutist way of government, which was also growing in course matters, was hampered by the secondary lines striving for independence.

In the European state system of the late 17th century, medium- sized states such as Saxony, as so-called threshold powers, could hope for advancement into the ranks of the great powers between 1648 and 1763 . In terms of foreign policy, Electoral Saxony, like other states, therefore pursued the goal of promoting its own advancement in a state system determined by competitive struggle. In terms of foreign policy, Saxony remained at the side of the Austrian imperial family until the end of the 17th century. With the death of Emperor Ferdinand III. on April 2, 1657, the imperial vicariate entered, which was carried out by Johann Georg II and exercised for more than a year. On the Electoral Dayin Frankfurt am Main he and the Brandenburg elector pushed through the election of the Habsburg Leopold as German king and prevented an election of Louis XIV of France as German king. A few years later, Saxony became involved in the Second Northern War . In 1664, Saxon troops fought against the Turks in Hungary on the side of the Habsburgs in the Turkish War of 1663/1664 . In the same year Saxony became a member of the Rhenish Alliance for a limited period of four years and allowed French advertisements and troop passes in its area. In 1683, Elector Johann Georg III took part. personally with the Saxon Army at theBattle of the Kahlenberg , which ended the second Turkish siege of Vienna and ensured the liberation of Vienna.

Augustan age

→ Main article : Augustan era (Electorate of Saxony)

The Golden Rider in Dresden . Under the rule of Friedrich August I the Strong , Elector of Saxony, the Electorate experienced a period of great economic, infrastructural and cultural prosperity. He established absolutism in Saxony , but his dreams of great power failed.

His life resembled the symbol of an oversized wine barrel that he himself had built on the Königstein Fortress . To do this, he had all wines in Saxony confiscated so that the barrel could be filled. Symbol for the Elector's personal shadow side

Around 1700 the Age of Enlightenment followed , which stimulated intellectual growth in the population across Europe at all levels of society and promoted education and culture as well as trade and economy. The absolutism prevailed on the continent, only England , Holland and some territories Empire withdrew from the centralization trend. Under these conditions, which were very favorable for Saxony and the ruling family, Friedrich August I (the Strong) took over the electorate in 1694. He shaped the epoch in a contemporary way, so that his time in Saxony went down in history as the Augustan age.

The time stands for the heyday of the Saxon state, in which it was able to develop its highest position of power, cultural achievement and economic strength and this radiated throughout Europe.

The era began in 1694 with August the Strong's coronation as Elector of Saxony and ended in 1763 with the Peace of Hubertusburg.

Absolutism and Saxony's glamor

Bernardo Bellotto : View of Dresden (detail), moat with bridge between Wilschem Tor and the model post mile column (without coat of arms) by Matthäus Daniel Pöppelmann , around 1750

Meeting of the Epiphany : Friedrich I in Prussia (center), August II (the Strong), Elector of Saxony and temporarily King of Poland (left), Friedrich IV of Denmark (right)
Painting by Samuel Theodor Gericke, to be seen in Caputh Castle

On April 27, 1694, the prince, who had hardly appeared until then, took over the affairs of state of the Electorate of Saxony as Elector Friedrich August I. During his reign, festivals, baroque splendor, art and patronage as well as lavish splendor and opulence shaped the character of this time. The pompous pomp of this time should take into account the growing European political importance. Court life ranged from ballet performances, Italian and French comedy and opera performances, court balls , banquets , and masked ballssuch as a Turkish masquerade in the Turkish Palace, sleigh rides, hunts and water hunts on the Elbe, ladies' parties with “ring races”, a knight's game on horses and shooting festivals , the inauguration of the kennel with a festival of the four elements , sea battles on the waters near Moritzburg Castle , Fireworks, revue-like elevators, Mercury festivals with improvised fairs.

In addition to the court, the hustle and bustle also included the residents of the residence and the surrounding area as spectators or participants. Purveyors to the court and wage laborers benefited from the electoral orders. Saxon society diversified and continued to develop through the development of an upper-class culture. Overall, the courtly baroque festival culture became an integral part of Augustan government policy. The most important events of this period were the first carnival in the reign of August 1695, the festivities on the occasion of his royal coronation in 1697, and the carnival of 1709 in the presence of King Frederick IV of Denmarkin Dresden, the festivals of 1719 on the occasion of the marriage of Prince Elector Friedrich August to Maria Josepha von Habsburg , the festival of 1727 on the occasion of the convalescence of August II, the festival of 1728 on the occasion of the visit of Friedrich Wilhelm I in Prussia and the Zeithainer pleasure camp of 1730. During a year at August's court, 50 to 60 days were firmly planned festive days. The other days at court were used for political work, planning, administration and government. During the first loss-making years of the Great Northern War, the festivities were less. Even during the presence of the Spanish King Charles III. 1703 or Queen Maria Anna of Portugal There were hardly any celebrations in 1708.

The luxurious life at court exceeded the economic capacity of the country and was ultimately financed at the expense of military strength. The financial problems led to the abandonment of important positions in Central Germany. In addition to Kurhannover , the excessive demands of Electoral Saxony favored the rise of Brandenburg-Prussia to become the second major German and Protestant supremacy in the empire. In connection with court life, a system of mistresses, which can be understood as a kind of court office, was also maintained at the Saxon and Polish courts, which is typical of the time. Important mistresses of August were Aurora von Königsmarck and Ursula Katharina von Altenbockum . The most distinguished mistress at the Saxon court was thatCountess Cosel . After the long-standing and influential mistress fell out of favor with August the Strong, she was brought to Stolpen fortress in 1716 .

Economic boom

The economy and trade and with it the Leipzig trade fairs flourished. In particular, the cloth and silk trade, as well as the book trade, as well as the money and banking transactions, flourished again. In 1710 Meißner porcelain was offered for sale for the first time at the fair and received international attention.

Structurally, Dresden in August continued to develop into what is now known as " Florence on the Elbe ". The Zwinger , the Taschenbergpalais , the Pleasure Palace Pillnitz were built , the Moritzburg hunting lodge was converted and the new Augustus Bridge was built . The domed miracle of the Protestant Frauenkirche by George Bähr and the Catholic Court Church , the construction of which the Italian Gaetano Chiaveri began in 1738, five years after the elector's death, were added to the new church buildings .

From 1721, the state-wide construction of the Saxon post-mile pillars , which are still a visible sign of the electoral era in many cities, and improved road traffic considerably. In order to establish an absolutism based on the French model, he pushed back the influence of the long-established nobility by setting up a central control point for executive powers with the help of a secret cabinet with specialist departments created in 1706 and gradually making it the highest central authority in competition with the Secret Council . A real absolutism never came about, however, as with the insurmountable contradictions between the absolute claim to power of the elector, the assertiveness of the Saxon nobility and the ambitiousBourgeoisie became visible. In August, a functioning upper computation chamber was introduced, which effectively coordinated the tax system. There was a transparent arithmetic system so that all expenses could be made and checked effectively and transparently. This enabled the national debt to be limited despite high spending. At the death of August II it was only five million Reichstaler, which in view of the tax and financial power of Saxony was not a problem.

Many individual areas of daily life were regulated by individual legislation. This concerned, for example, the import and export of grain in 1695, the salt system in 1699, the exchange law in 1699, the postal system in 1700, the road system in 1702, the establishment of a new shock tax register in 1705 and the introduction of the Dresden jug size as a binding national size, and in 1709 the supply of miners Accident and illness, 1710 the promotion of fruit growing.

In addition to the electors, two ministers largely determined Saxon politics until 1763. These were under August II Jakob Heinrich von Flemming and under his son August III. Heinrich von Brühl , who collected art himself and had the Brühl terrace built . Since August III. had no political ambitions, he left the day-to-day political affairs to his prime minister. By 1738, Alexander Joseph von Sulkowski had also gained great influence on Saxon politics until he was overthrown by his rival Brühl. From 1738 to 1740 Wackerbarth-Salmour hadpower was shared with Brühl until the elector gave him the sole decisive ministerial position from 1740 and was appointed prime minister in 1746 . Brühl headed the 4500 strong administrative apparatus of Saxony and held the cabinet chairmanship. Under Brühl, the forms of mismanagement in the Saxon financial system increased, housekeeping became disordered and caused defaults, postponements and the risk of insolvency.

Despite his daring political adventures with changeable outcomes, the Elector and Polish King Augustus the Strong, who died in 1733, had great merits in promoting Saxon culture and art at the highest European level and in promoting social and economic development in Saxony and Poland. The heyday of Saxony ended with the death of August, and warlike upheavals with northern Prussia followed soon thereafter.

Personal union with Poland

→ Main article : Saxony-Poland

Election in 1697

Personal union Saxony-Poland, each outlined in green and white

Peace Room in Altranstädt Palace

Siege of Danzig by Saxon-Russian troops

View of Warsaw with the castle in the middle ( Canaletto , around 1770)

After the death of the Polish King John III. Sobieski also took part in the would-be political tug-of-war, which was now beginning, for the vacant royal throne of the Polish elected monarchy , which was also open to foreign applicants. Several candidates from the European nobility applied for it. August won the free election with Habsburg support, military pressure and bribes.

The political calculation for the formation of a dynastically founded personal union with the electoral monarchy of Poland-Lithuania was based on the contemporary aspirations for independence of German territorial princes. Saxony's rulers, like the other more powerful imperial princes, wanted to evade the central grasp of the Roman emperor and to upgrade their own dynastic rank in the European state system. Another typical example of the time of the increasing independence of the territorial princes from the Holy Roman Emperor is the royal coronation of Frederick III in 1701 . of Brandenburg in the Prussian Königsberg. There were two more German princely houses besides the Habsburg dynasty that had the dignity of kingship. In 1715, the Elector of Electorate of Hanover became the third German prince in possession of a foreign royal crown, that of England.

With August's election as King of Poland in 1697 on the electoral field in Wola , he gave the Electorate of Saxony, located in the center of Europe, a north-eastern orientation. The growing importance of the New Polish King August in foreign policy resulted in secret negotiations with Denmark and Russia and directed against Sweden. The agreements resulted in a Northern European war. August's power politics failed due to early defeats in the Great Northern War (1700–1721). The Saxon invasion of Livonia in 1700turned into a military fiasco. There followed a civil war in the Lithuanian part of the republic between two warring aristocratic factions. Several warring confederations also formed in central Poland. From 1706 to 1707 the Swedish enemy occupied Electoral Saxony with 23,000 men and forced August the Strong to temporarily renounce his Polish crown in the Peace of Altranstadt . The occupation of Saxony by Swedish troops from 1706 to 1707 cost Saxony 35 million Reichstaler.

After the Swedes withdrew from Poland after 1709, August returned to the possession of the Polish royal crown, but could no longer enforce his claim to Swedish Livonia and fell back to the rank of junior partner to Russia.

Domestically, August could not assert himself in Poland. Aristocratic confederations hindered his reform work. The political influence of Russia also proved to be an obstacle to the modernization of Poland. This was followed by major domestic political unrest in Poland from 1715 onwards, which was formed against August by the Tarnogród Confederation , which was supported by Russia , and culminated in the Silent Sejm of 1717 . After Saxon troops had to leave Poland, the Russian troops withdrew from Poland in 1719 . The Thorner Blood Court of 1724 caused a pan-European sensation about intolerant and retrograde Poland. The Polish Crown Armyhas been drastically reduced in size. The Polish company of their sovereign also tied up high economic strength. Huge sums of bribes flowed from the Saxon state treasury to the Polish aristocracy and church dignitaries in Poland (around 39 million thalers during the reign of August) in order to keep them inclined. To finance the claims, King August II sold some Saxon lands and inheritance claims. The change of denomination of Augustus the Strong in the course of the Polish royal election in 1697 endangered the Protestant Directory in the Reichstag in particular.

After August's death, the controversy over the Polish succession to the throne began, which culminated in the Polish Succession War, which Saxony won with the help of a 20,000-strong army under Peter von Lacy . Stanislaus I. Leszczyński , who was legally elected on September 12, 1733, had to flee Warsaw on September 22, 1733. Elector Friedrich August II / August III. was instead on October 5, 1733 as Polish King August III. elected and diplomatically recognized.

Since Prussia occupied Silesia by Habsburg in 1740, the Saxon hope of creating a common land bridge between the two parts of the country was dashed. This gave the politically pursued Saxon concept of a joint development of both countries a turning point that could not be restored. During the Seven Years' War, August III ruled. and Prime Minister Brühl exclusively from Warsaw, since Saxony was militarily held by Prussia.

After the Peace of Hubertusburg in 1763, Saxony ended its position as a European power. The two representatives of Electoral Saxon politics in the second third of the 18th century, Brühl and August III. died in 1763. There was no further Saxon royal coronation in Poland due to the low foreign policy potential. The dynastic union of Saxony-Poland actually ended with the Russian-Prussian alliance of April 11, 1764. The House of Wettin officially renounced the Polish crown in October 1765. The union, which lasted from 1697 to 1764 with two brief interruptions, was effective did not have a lasting effect on the real institutions of both countries because they were governed separately. Nevertheless, Saxon officials influenced the eastern partner in many ways.

Elector Friedrich August III rejected a new offer from the Polish royal crown . in 1791. At this point, Saxony was no longer able to play in the concert of the great powers.

Prussian-Saxon dualism

→ Main article : Prussian-Saxon relations

From 1740 to 1763, Silesia was the most important European area of ​​conflict. The diplomatic and military struggle for Silesia between Prussia, Austria and Saxony ultimately led to the destruction of all Saxon great power ambitions and the rise of Prussia to the first league of European great powers. Saxony was even interested in the fate of Silesia because this province was suitable for creating a direct land bridge to the Polish part of the Union. Saxony's strategic situation made it a sought-after ally. However, the central geographical location in the center and a comparatively low military power were synonymous with a considerable threat to their own security.

In the north of Saxony, the Prussian army was expanded, especially under Friedrich Wilhelm I and Friedrich II , so that Brandenburg-Prussia, as a military state, far exceeded Saxony's forces. The Prussian army strength reached 195,000 soldiers at the death of Frederick II. It was the third largest army in Europe at the time. The contemporary saying that Prussia is not a country that has an army, but an army that has created a country in which it is, as it were, only quartered, comes, according to Christopher Clark, from Georg Heinrich von Berenhorst , an adjutant of Frederick II .

Both German states had extensive relations. Friedrich Wilhelm I was a guest at the Zeithain pleasure camp and eagerly noted the strength of the Saxon regiments. After Frederick the Great came to power, the old Prussian state came into its heyday and developed increasing pressure on its southern neighbor. Saxony symbolically stood for “ glamor and glamor ”, while Prussia followed the path of fame and honor , also postulated as “ Gloria ”. Both German states had a similarly antagonistic relationship as Athens and Sparta in ancient Greece. Saxony sought soft methods of exercising power over culture and civilization, Prussia chose weapons as a means. The more bellicose means of Prussia led to the expansion of the northern "Sparta". Saxony's foreign policy reacted too hesitantly and with sufficient neutrality to the ambitions of Prussia. The reference to Habsburg took place as benevolent neutrality without contractual obligations, so that Saxony did not succeed in any lasting alliance successes in terms of foreign policy in this threatened situation.

Hohenfriedeberg: Attack by the Prussian Grenadier Guard Battalion , June 4, 1745, historical painting by Carl Röchling (1855–1920)

In the Silesian Wars from 1740 to 1763, the rising Prussia succeeded in eliminating Saxony and replacing it as the leading Protestant power in the Holy Roman Empire. After Prussia had triggered the First Silesian War by invading Silesia in 1740 , Saxony joined the Habsburgs' enemies . It hoped to gain a land bridge to Poland over Habsburg Silesia, which Prussia also had ambitions for. Saxon troops played a key role in the storming of Prague on November 26, 1741. Saxony was left empty-handed in the haggling over possible territorial gains. This led to a change in politics and an alignment of Saxony with Habsburg. in theSecond Silesian War , the Saxon Army fought on the side of the Habsburgs. The Battle of Hohenfriedberg on June 3, 1745 was the beginning of a series of defeats that followed the invasion of Saxony by Prussian troops in November 1745. On December 15, 1745, at the gates of Dresden, in the battle of Kesselsdorf, the decisive Saxon defeat occurred . Two days later the Dresden Residence had to open its doors and Friedrich II moved into Dresden for the first time. The surrender of Saxony was followed by negotiations with Prussia and Austria in Dresden. Saxony had to pay a million Reichstaler war compensation and suffered a considerable loss of political reputation in Europe.

The ruins of the Kreuzkirche in Dresden, seen from the east, by Canaletto , 1765

The defeat spurred Prime Minister Brühl to step up his anti-Prussian policy. Electoral Saxony endeavored to influence the power constellation in Europe so that a successful military struggle against Frederick II was possible. This served both the dynastic Saxon-Bavarian double wedding of 1747 and the intention after the Renversement des alliances to join a mutual agreement between Austria and France in the Grand Alliance . Frederick II anticipated Saxony joining the Great Alliance and, through his open aggression against Saxony, triggered the Europe-wide Seven Years' Warout. On August 26, 1756, the Prussian army crossed the border with about 70,000 men in three columns. On August 29, 1756, the Prussian envoy in Dresden, Hans Dietrich Freiherr von Malzahn, did not bring the Saxon elector a declaration of war, but only a letter of explanation. Brühl and the Saxon generals hesitated and made several offers of neutrality. Prussian troops occupied Dresden and enclosed the Saxon army at Stolpen . An Austrian attempt at relief failed on October 14, 1756. On October 16, 1756, the army surrendered at Pirnain Prussian captivity. The Saxon units, 17,000 strong without officers, were forcibly incorporated into the Prussian army, but many of them deserted again. Saxon corps were reorganized and fought on the side of France and Austria. From then on, Prussia occupied Saxony, placed it under Prussian military administration, and held the possession of Saxony as the highest strategic directive in all subsequent military campaigns between 1757 and 1763. Saxony secured Prussia the material basis for continuing its war. The bombardment of Dresden during the siege of July 1760 destroyed over 400 houses, public buildings and palaces, including the Kreuzkirche and the Gewandhaus. Retaliation and looting by the Prussians were the order of the day. Already in 1761 there was a general exhaustion of the warring parties, which increased further in the course of 1762.

In order to end the war for Saxony, Thomas von Fritsch was appointed the Saxon negotiator. The location of the peace negotiations was the plundered second Saxon residence Hubertusburg. The choice of the place of the peace talks by Frederick II once again showed the destructive power of the Prussian military apparatus and had a similar lasting effect on the Saxons as the one-sided negotiations between the German Empire and the defeated France in the Armistice of Compiègne on the French in 1940. Hubertusburg Castlestood for a significant turning point in the history of Saxony. At that time it stood for the baroque splendor of the electorate and its decline. The effects on Saxony were devastating because, as the central scene of battles and troop movements, it had to accept destruction and civilian casualties. During the war, 90,000 Saxons died as a result of the fighting. To avoid forced recruitment, many Saxons left their country during the war years. Counterfeiting led to economic losses from which the Leipzig trade fair and the Saxon state credit suffered.

Rétablissement

→ Main article : Rétablissement (Electoral Saxony)

Stable paper money from 1772: Saxon "1 Taler note"

Figure decorations above the main portal of the Dresden Art Academy

Electorate of Saxony (dark blue) around 1806

Geographical expansion of the Kingdom of Saxony around 1807 shortly after the end of the Fourth Coalition War (light green) compared to today's Free State of Saxony (dark green)

Due to the previous Seven Years' War and the debt policy for which Heinrich von Brühl was responsible, the Electorate was on the verge of national bankruptcy after the Peace of Hubertusburg in 1763 . The national debt had reached 49 million thalers, about ten times the national income of that year. With his restoration commission, Thomas von Fritsch placed the systematic reduction of national debt at the center of a Saxon reconstruction program called Rétablissementwore. With a comprehensive reform program, Saxony not only achieved a budget surplus again in 1774, but also economic growth that had lasted for at least twenty years and was previously unknown, which not only went far beyond the repair of war damage, but also one of the most important and successful development achievements in German history represents.

As early as August 1762, the Restoration Commission took action with the express support of Crown Prince Friedrich Christian , who had returned to Dresden in January 1762. It was assigned a commercial deputation, which either prepared the work of the restoration commission or formulated measures for its implementation. The restoration commission included personalities from the bourgeoisie with political and administrative experience, many of whom were active in Leipzig, but the nobility also set constructive accents. By November 1763 she had compiled a cameralistic in 34 reportsProgram to repair the war damage and reform the state. Even before he took office, Elector Friedrich Christian, who ruled for only nine weeks, began to implement the measures and initiate their further development. They were continued after his early death on the part of the guardianship regent Franz Xaver of Saxony , after reaching maturity in 1768 by Elector Friedrich August III.

As a first measure, the state estates met on August 7, 1763, but they had not met in the previous years under Brühl. They accepted the burden of debt and, for their part, made further proposals for state reform. The estates set up a tax credit fund that they managed themselves, and the debt repayment plan was made public. This and the melting down of the “bad money” in circulation were an expression of a policy of monetary stability. The military budget was also significantly restricted, which meant the rejection of political great power ambitions. The Saxon court also limited itself, the extravagance at parties and productions was a thing of the past.

In 1764 the Leipzig Economic Society was founded and a professorship for camera studies was established at the University of Leipzig . This was followed by the first drawing school at the Meissen porcelain factory , the art academy in Dresden and, in 1774, the first veterinary school . The Freiberg Mining Academy was founded in 1765 .

The army had to be scaled down considerably. Nevertheless, Regent Franz Xaver managed to bring the army back to the height of 30,000 men in the short term.

Considerable investments were made in building roads and bridges, in particular to strengthen Leipzig as a trading location. With the road construction mandate of 1781, which remained valid for Saxon state roads until 1934, Saxony became a model for other countries.

As a result of the reform activities, a new worldview and new world conceptions arose which were based on the criteria of economic-rational efficiency. The persistent reform work of the administrative elite pushed for a reshaping of the administrative system, which was supposed to resolve the close dynastic relationship and instead serve society. The emerging classical economicswas raised to the rank of a leading science for the state. This also had an impact on the administration and continued in the area of ​​simple rural and urban schools. Leipzig trading capital opened the eyes of entrepreneurs to foreign markets. With all the far-reaching work of the reformers, the beginnings of the successful industrialization history of Saxony were laid in the early 19th century.

However, Saxony's foreign policy lost its orientation after the War of the Bavarian Succession (1778/79), after which Saxony did not participate in the "Länderschacher" and only ended an ongoing dispute over the area around Glaucha. This brought the treasury seven million guilders for further state investments. From 1791, Elector Friedrich August III. changing coalitions, which continued after the elevation to the kingdom in 1806. In 1805, the Electorate of Saxony had a size of 716 square miles, which corresponds to about 39,425 square kilometers.

When the Fourth Coalition War broke out in 1806, the Electorate of Saxony was allied with Prussia. Saxon soldiers fought against the Napoleonic armies in the Battle of Jena . After the defeat, the electorate was occupied and 10,000 Bavarian soldiers and a French city commander moved into Dresden . On December 11, 1806, Saxony concluded the Peace of Posen with France , which made it dependent on France. Electoral Saxony was awarded some Prussian territories and joined the Rhine Confederationat and was obliged to provide troop contingents for the French wars of aggression. Elector Friedrich August III. von Sachsen received the title of king, was henceforth allowed to call himself King Friedrich August I of Saxony and ruled the Kingdom of Saxony after the end of the Holy Roman Empire .

Further development as a kingdom

→ Main article : Kingdom of Saxony

New social forces emerged as a result of the French Revolution . The demands for more civil rights to have a say, for a real constitution with a constructive separation of powers, show that at the turn of the 19th century the princely state and its class institutions were no longer up to date. The upgrading of the elector to king on December 20, 1806 could not hide this. Due to the alliance with Napoleon , Saxony came under pressure again from Prussia and the Austrian Empire during the Wars of Liberation . At the Congress of Vienna in 1815 it had to give up more than half of its territory and almost half of its population, including the important spa district.

Economic history

Old trading exchange in Leipzig. The building served as a meeting place for merchants. It borders directly on the old town hall . It is several times smaller compared to this one. This symbolically marks the relationship of the influence between the free financial market and the regulations of public administration in Saxony in the 17th century. Comparable trading metropolises of this time had significantly larger meeting places.

National economy

The electorate was an agricultural state with a strong commercial character. The majority of the working population worked in agriculture. In the secondary sector - typical of the time - forms of production in the publishing and manufacturing sectors dominated . The marriage of the electorate is marked by the time of early capitalism , a transition phase from feudalism to capitalism, in which traditional economic elements continued to exist with simultaneous increasing penetration of a market-oriented economic structure. In the 18th century, money and private property began to gain in importance over property. Restrictions, e.g. B. the free gainful employment, freedom of trade and the like, which came from the time of the Middle Ages and limited economic life, but continued into the 19th century. At the end of the period as the Electorate, Saxony became a pioneering region in the industrialization process in Germany. The first phase of industrialization in Saxony from 1800 to 1830 mainly reached the Ore Mountains and the Vogtland, while other Saxon areas only to a limited extent - such as the area around Chemnitzand parts of the Schönburg recession - or not at all participated in this development.

The city of Leipzig with its trade fair system was the economic motor . From here an international sales market could be generated, which had a favorable effect on domestic production. The upper bourgeoisie as the engine of economic development was particularly active in Leipzig. Despite the favorable economic development in Saxony since the end of the Middle Ages, the economic dynamism never reached the status of western regions such as Holland or southern Germany .

Individual branches of industry

Agriculture

Although mining shaped the Saxon economy, agriculture was the largest branch of the economy at the beginning of the early modern period. Two thirds of the population lived in village structures. Despite the start of commercial secondary production, farmers made up the largest proportion of the population around the middle of the 16th century . The widespread commercial secondary employment of many rural residents in the home work promoted the intensification of agriculture . Since the middle of the 18th century, the widespread farm and livestock farming brought the estate economy, but also many farms for the cultivation of fodder plants , for stable feeding and artificial fertilizationthe floors. Around 1800, the cultivation of clover , led by Johann Christian Schubart , and the associated year-round stable feeding had established itself in Saxon agriculture. Esparsette and alfalfa were also grown. After 1770 the fodder beet was planted in Saxony. The potato cultivation verzwölffachte from 1755 to 1800. Since the 1760s, were tobacco , madder , hemp and rapeseed grown. The animal populations increased over time due to the increase in animal feed cultivation. In 1763 there were 300 Spanish merino sheepintroduced in Saxony. The sheep grew from then significantly and expanded to 1800 to 900,000 Merino sheep, a total of 1.5 million sheep from. Conventional grain cultivation also doubled between 1750 and 1800.

Commerce and early industrialization

Since the early modern era, Saxony had a strongly developed secondary sector compared to other imperial territories . Initially still cautious, a new form of production prevailed until 1800, which, in addition to the handicrafts organized in guilds, mainly produced for export , the manufacture . Due to the development of its productive forces ( production factors in the narrower sense), especially in textile production in the Vogtland and the Ore Mountains, Saxony became a leading German state in the industrialization process in the 19th century.

Six factories were established in Saxony in the 16th century. From 1600 to 1644 another five were added. A further 17 were founded between 1645 and 1697, 36 between 1698 and 1756, and a further 148 between 1763 and 1800. Most of these foundations were made through citizens' capital. Well-known entrepreneurs were Johann Gottlieb Immanuel Breitkopf , who developed the printing of banknotes, and Johann Daniel Crafft with his textile manufacture in Ostra near Dresden.

Development of the manufactory foundations in Saxony

Annual period	1500-1599	1600-1644	1645-1697	1698-1756	1763-1800
Number of manufactories founded	6th	5	17th	36	148

If you add the mines, Electoral Saxony was at the end of the 18th century, especially between Zwickau and Freiberg, the most densely populated area of ​​the empire with factories. The factories did not dominate quantitatively, because the guild handicrafts as well as the domestic publishing work made up the bulk of the commercial production. Due to the spread of manufactories, however, the beginning of the transition into the factory age could already be recorded around 1800 .

Meißner porcelain , the most famous manufacture of the Electorate of Saxony

Leipziger Messe , Saxony's most important trading center

Around 1800 there were a number of smaller industrial landscapes in Saxony on the threshold of industrialization . In the east, southern Upper Lusatia with Bohemia and Silesia formed a focus in Central European linen production. The linen production developed into an export hit, the deliveries of which went to almost all European countries, later also overseas. A second industrial landscape was created in Chemnitz and its immediate vicinity. The cotton industry predominated, producing stockings, gloves, hats, etc. The Ore Mountains developed as the third commercial region from the connection of various small commercial regions. There was a branched mining metal extraction( Cobalt , tin , iron, silver) and processing ( tinplate , nails, spoons, etc.). Since 1463 bismuth (for the letters of the newly invented letterpress ) was promoted. The importance of mining as an economic mainstay decreased in the second half of the 16th century. The decline in silver production in the mining districts after 1550 was one of the most important reasons for the closure of all state mints and their relocation to a single mint in Dresden. There was also blue color production , straw weaving , toy production and lace making in the Ore Mountains. The Vogtland was an important export trade landscape. There was a significant production of fine cotton clothing and cotton embroidery . There, the breakthrough of the pre-industrial textile industry took to the industrial economy . With this, the textile industrial locations also became locations for mechanical engineering in the decades that followed after 1806.

The development of the textile industry as a second economic focus was mainly brought about by the inheritance law in force in Saxony since 1628 . The farm was therefore only passed on to the next generation as a whole and was not divided among the descendants. Land was a scarce commodity in the commercial regions. With the growth of the population, people were forced into activities other than purely rural activities, such as textile production, which was organized as publishing work . The resulting qualification of a large number of homeworkers for industrial activities led to the formation of an industrial reserve army , which in the industrializationcould be mobilized in the 19th century. An industrial pioneer who established the first Saxon machine spinning mill at the end of the Electorate was Gottlob Friedrich Thomas .

Around 1800 the wool industry employed 25,000 people and processed domestic goods for 516,000 Reichstaler and foreign goods for 47,000 Reichstaler. The silk manufacture was relatively insignificant and around 1800 had 350 employees working on 200 chairs. Around 1800, Kursachsen had four arms factories, the most important of which with 300 employees was located in Suhl . In 1800 paper production extended to 82 paper mills with 226 employees, but could only cover a third of domestic demand. The important Meißen porcelain factory employed around 700 people around 1800.

trade

Hustle and bustle at the Leipzig market around 1800

Saxony was one of the most important exporters of linen in the empire, alongside Bohemia and Silesia

The products of the trade had to be sold through the trade . Through the business acumen of the Leipzig merchants one was export-oriented sales via the central trading center in Leipzig possible. This led to the rise of Saxony to an economic center of European standing. In the trade sector, citizens of Leipzig dominated above all. The Leipzig trade fairs were the continental sales market for Saxon products from local manufacturers and at the same time a trading center . This led to an accumulation of trading capital in Leipzig . In the 16th century, the Leipzig merchants invested their capital primarily inKuxe for individual silver mines that were opened in the Annaberg-Buchholz and Freiberg area.

Johann Gottfried Hunger, an electoral finance secretary, estimated the volume of commercial transactions in the course of a trade fair year at twelve million Reichstaler sales for 1790 . The annual trade fair trade for this year was valued at around 18 million Reichstaler. Eight million of them were based on measurement businesses in Saxony; two out of three trade transactions in Saxony were therefore carried out during a Leipzig trade fair.

In the 18th century the Leipziger Messe was still a pure goods fair and only later developed into a sample fair . Financial transactions have hardly taken place at trade fairs since the 17th century. Banks did not emerge in Saxony on a larger scale until the 19th century. In this area, Leipzig lagged behind in development compared to western trading metropolises. A better-known Leipzig financial institution in the 18th century was the trading and banking house Frege & Comp. in Leipzig (1739–1816), founded by Christian Gottlob Frege . In the 18th century the merchants went to a permanent commission tradeand replaced the trade fair trade. Ultimately, there was no permanent exchange of its own . Leipzig as a trading location lived primarily through its merchant bankers .

The good foreign trade connections promoted the formation of active entrepreneurship , in this way obtained usable trading capital and led to investments. These location factors favored the " take off " in the production area at the beginning of the 19th century, the basis of which was the commercial diversification triggered by population pressure and the introduction of agricultural innovations that was necessary with it.

trade balance

In 1800, Saxony exported woolen goods for 400,000 Reichstaler , linen for 3,500,000 Reichstaler, unprocessed wool for 300,000 Reichstaler, metal goods for 1,500,000 Reichstaler (silver, tin and sheet metal), and porcelain for 163,000 Reichstaler. Cotton (300,000 Reichstaler), silk, flax and hemp, sugar, coffee, tea, tobacco (308,000 Reichstaler), copper (200,000 Reichstaler), salt (160,000 Reichstaler), spices and fashion goods were imported. A total of 1768 goods to the value of 5,600,000 Reichstalers were imported and goods to the value of 6,350,000 Reichstalers were exported, with a trade surplus of around 750,000 Reichstalers.

State and administrative organization

→ Main article : Administrative history of Saxony

overview

The circles in the 18th century after Georg Christophe Kilian

The time of the electorate includes the change of epoch of the late medieval territorial rule for early modern corporative - absolutist state, which was held together by a centralized administration. A written division of powers into the judiciary , legislative and executive branchesonly came about as a result of the state reforms of the Kingdom of Saxony in the 19th century. In the year of the dissolution of the electorate in 1806, the old medieval class institutions still existed formally, but a modern and orderly administrative structure had established itself and thus enabled government-oriented action. The absolutist efforts of the electors, which reached their peak in Saxony under Augustus the Strong, never succeeded in controlling the other class or administrative corrective forces.

The most important institution was the person of the sovereign, followed by the state estates and the state government of the Electorate of Saxony in the form of the secret council as the administrative body.

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  Governing in the Electorate: 43-page Guild Act of January 8, 1780

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  Mandate for the General Guild Articles for artists, professionalists and craftsmen in the local area

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  Rule in the Electorate: 8-page law against unauthorized trumpet-blowing of July 23, 1711

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  Renewed mandate again the unauthorized blowing of trumpets and army drumming

Imperial institutions and offices

Electoral Saxony was a member of the Holy Roman Empire. As such, the Electorate of Saxony belonged to the Upper Saxon Empire . This determined the common defense organization of the member states in the event of an attack by a foreign power. But it also had the task of maintaining the peace .

The second important imperial body was the Reichstag . The elector was represented in the electoral college at the Reichstag. The Elector's Day was another body that met irregularly on which the Saxon Elector represented his vote.

With the electoral dignity, the Wettins also owned the Reichserzmarschallamt . The imperial vicariate for the imperial territories under Saxon law and the district supreme office of the Upper Saxon imperial circle were connected to this imperial office. The Saxon Elector exercised the governorship several times. In memory of such interregnum phases, he had so-called vicariate coins minted. In the absence of the king, the Reichserzmarschall was in command of the Reichsarmee . He carried the main flag of the Holy Roman Empire and carried the coronation sword in front of the emperor and the coronation ceremonies .

Prince and court

→ Main article : List of electors, dukes and kings of Saxony

Hartenfels Castle in Torgau on a painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder. J. , 1544

Albrechtsburg in Meissen

The elector was the sovereign . As imperial prince, he ruled his territory as imperial immediacy under feudal and constitutional law . The electoral dignity was bestowed by the emperor, since 1356 it was hereditary. The Saxon Elector was the President of the Corpus Evangelicorum . The Wettins formed the ruling family of the Saxon electors from 1423 until the electorate was converted into a kingdom. From 1356 to 1806 there were five Ascanian and 18 Wettin Saxon electors. The seat of the elector, his residence , were Wittenberg, Torgau, Meißen and Dresden over time.

Like all German princes of medium-sized territorial states, the elector was in a tense relationship with the empire, with class traditions and their effects on their own domain and with external powers. Internally, due to the lack of a state constitution , the elector formed the executive , legislative and judicial branches. It had a central administrative system for its governance. The sovereign was bound by the resolutions of the estates in the state parliament. For his personal needs, he had the income from the chamber goods and regalia at his disposal, while he was dependent on the approval of the estates to cover direct government expenditure.

There were a number of court institutions for the electoral office-related matters: House marshal's office, court building office, Oberhofjägermeisteramt, Oberhofmarschallamt , Oberkammerherrendepartement, Oberstallamt, master of ceremonies.

Parliament

→ Main article : Saxon State Parliament

The state parliament was the legislative organ in the early modern corporate state. The transition from the feudal system to the corporate state took place in Electoral Saxony in 1438, when the first state parliament met. Due to the increasing need for cash of the electors, the estates in the electorate had already been able to expand their position by acquiring rights ( municipal law , market law , jurisdiction ). At the state parliament in Leipzig , the state estates were formally amalgamated to form a body in which the prelates and counts, Knights and representatives of the cities of all countries subordinate to the Wettins obtained the right to meet for joint consultation.

Thus the monarchical power of the electors was restricted by a collective right of the estates to have a say, with which Electoral Saxony was at the forefront of the history of German estates in terms of time. From then on, the stalls came in 1440 in Grimma , 1445 in Weißensee , 1446 in Leipzig, 1451 in Grimma, 1454 in Leipzig, 1458 in Grimma, 1466 in Oschatz / Meißenand 1469 in Leipzig together. "Each time the privileges of the estates, their right to meet and their required approval for new tax levies were confirmed by the sovereign." Between 1485 and 1525 the estates met a total of 30 times. Due to the high state income from the silver mining, the sovereign refrained from convening the estates in the middle of the 16th century to approve new taxes . In the 17th century the estates usually met every six years or when a new elector took over in the state parliament.

Until well into the 19th century, the territories of the electors had different constitutional character. In the various territories that did not belong to the spa and hereditary lands, each had its own rural organization.

The representative bodies in the Electorate of Saxony were: Erzgebirge District Deputation 1495–1882, Principality of Görlitz 1784–1949, State Main Deputation 1756–1762, State Estates of the Prussian Upper Lusatia 1425–1940, State States of the Saxon Upper Lusatia 1347–1942, State Parliament 1546–1859, State Parliament 1546–1859 , Knighthood of the Delitzsch district 1682–1864, status of the Erzgebirge district 15th century - 1929, status of the spa district 1731–1812, status of the Leipzig district 1660–1901, status of the Meißner district 1495–1945, status of the Vogtland district 1583–1918 , Vogtland District Deputation 1763–1820.

Through the spread of the state bureaucracy and the enforcement of official rule , the state rule developed into a state state . The electors understood it since 1500, through ongoing institutionalizationto push back the role of the state parliaments and the estates. The stands were embedded, interlocked and surrounded by the Saxon system of authorities, with the central administration absorbing the various interests and acting as a melting pot. The class structures persisted. The conflict was not carried out between sovereigns and estates, but at the lower level of office. The estates tried to evade this, at least in the 16th century. Nevertheless, the power of the estates in Saxony was never broken and they reserved a certain influence on government policy.

Estates

The Saxon estates were the political representatives of the social estates in the Saxon state parliament (from which the third estate was excluded in the 18th century). Electoral Saxony was one of the states within the empire in which the estates held a relatively strong position. The state estates formed the state parliament.

Nobility, clergy and non-official (rural) cities were formed in the state parliament. There were several landscapes in Saxony, i.e. their own estates , as the electorate was composed of the two Lausitzes in addition to the hereditary and Kurlanden, i.e. the former margraviate of Meißen and the duchy of Saxony-Wittenberg.

Noble

Mansfeld Castle is owned by the von Mansfeld family, a family of electoral Saxon nobility

The nobility was largely incorporated into the rulership of the country. In addition to the high nobility , there was the lower nobility . The first curia of the state parliament comprised the counts and lords as well as the canons of Wurzen . This also included the representatives of the two universities of Leipzig and Wittenberg. The votes of the count families of Hohnstein , Mansfeld , Stolberg and Schwarzburg, as well as the lords of Schönburg , who were dependent on the Elector, were of greater importance . Equally important were the princely representatives of theSecondary principalities . They represented the aristocratic upper class in Saxony as well as the large landowners who owned 1,000 to 10,000 hectares. These included around 30 families, for example the von Arnim , Carlowitz , Friesen , Lüttichau , Nostitz , Trützschler , Zehmen and a few others.

The majority of the electoral estate owners belonged to the lower nobility. The average size of their estates was between 50 and 300 hectares. They were concentrated in the Meißner, Leipziger and Kurkreis as well as in the Lausitz.

Regional church

→ Main article : Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony

The Old superintendent of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony in electoral residence of Torgau , where in 1530 the Torgau Articles by electoral Saxon experts were completed

The Wittenberg Castle Church , where, according to a popular report by Philipp Melanchthon, the Reformation by Martin Luther took its starting point in 1517

Saxony was the birthplace of the Reformation . From here the ideas of renewal of the Christian faith were spread. Saxony itself got caught up in the religious conflicts of the 16th and 17th centuries. The force of conflict in the question of faith was largely guided by the contemporary idea that only the confessional unity of the state guarantees political stability. Most European princes followed this principle in the age of the Reformation and required their subjects either to profess the official national religion or to emigrate.

After the death of Elector Frederick the Wise on May 5, 1525, the Ernestine Electoral Saxony was formally declared Protestant . However, the establishment of an independent Evangelical Lutheran regional church took place in 1527 under Elector Johann the Constant . He also became a regional bishop ( summus episcopus ). The Catholic church property was confiscated by the Saxon Elector and given different provisions. In 1527/1528 a visitation order and a church order for Electoral Saxons were created by Martin Luther andPhilipp Melanchthon wrote. The creation of a church ordinance became a systematic procedure in Protestant countries and the document completed for Electoral Saxony was considered a model. Orthodox Lutheranism has dominated in Electoral Saxony since 1539 .

It was only with the introduction of the Reformation in 1539 in the Albertine duchy ruled by Henry the Pious that Saxony became Lutheran as a whole . However, it was initiated in his offices in Freiberg and Wolkenstein as early as 1537. From 1539 onwards, Elector Johann Friedrich I established new consistory to regulate the administration of church property. Finally he managed to consolidate the newly emerged church system. Thus, Elector Moritz received at the Wittenberg surrender in 1547 (from the electoral dignityand significant territorial gains aside) an already fortified, legally and structurally well organized regional church for administration.

The Saxon sovereign had become head of the Saxon regional church. The Tennstedt inspection and the Pforta inspection were established as spiritual supervisory authorities . At the junction 16./17. In the 19th century, violent disputes developed between followers of Lutheran Orthodoxy and Calvinists . Finally, Calvinism was put down by Saxon state authorities. In 1635, with Upper Lusatia, Catholic-dominated areas were added. The Protestant dominance did not change after Elector August the Strong in 1697 for his Polish application to become a king of Catholicismconverted. With the religious insurance decree of September 29, 1697, the Saxon estates certified the supremacy of the Lutheran denomination and took great care that the electorate was not gradually recatholicized despite the Catholic ruling house. But more and more churches were established and allowed for the Catholic minority, for example the Catholic Court Church in Dresden.

The Thorner Blutgericht 1724 in the Saxon junior partner Poland-Lithuania caused widespread outrage and led to the further consolidation of Lutheran orthodoxy within the Saxon electoral state. In 1736 the Count of Zinzendorf was banished from the Electorate of Saxony, as his Moravian Brethren had become too independent of Lutheran orthodoxy and was viewed as a threat to the unified regional church.

The Protestants in Electoral Saxony were divided into followers of Lutheran Orthodoxy and contemporary Protestant piety movements such as Pietism with its center in Halle . The differentiation of the Protestant currents meant that Pietists and representatives of religious tolerance in particular helped shape political and social reform action in Electoral Saxony after the Seven Years' War .

Unofficial cities

The council was the predominant governing body of the cities. Larger cities, which had a council constitution and thus their own jurisdiction , were rural and therefore free of office. They were thus directly subordinate to the sovereigns . This entitled the cities to participate in the state parliaments. Unofficial cities formed their own stand. The council was composed of several councilors elected from the councilors, with the mayor , in some cases a city ​​judge at the head. The most important city council was the city ​​council of Leipzigwho even owned and administered his own offices in the surrounding area and thus also took on sovereign tasks.

Cities belonging to the office continued to be subordinate to the respective office. Smaller towns remained under the administration of a sovereign city ​​judge (Schultheißen) and a college of lay judges. Some vassal cities fell under the domination of neighboring estates . Cities could acquire their own patrimonial jurisdiction through purchase, lease, or pledging of inheritance or higher jurisdiction .

executive

Replica of a Saxon bailiff in the office in Mildenstein Castle of the Leisnig office . Bureaucratic governance became the norm in Saxony as early as the 16th century. The many official books shown are an expression of the importance of the record keeping.

An executive that was detached from the sovereign had existed in Saxony since 1500. This marked the beginning of the Saxon authorities , which now established itself nationwide as a new form of state power. It replaced the medieval feudal system . The feudal medieval exercise of rule was based on personal oaths of loyalty. This newly emerging administrative system made it possible to establish permanent institutional structures in Saxony, which also survived the death of officials. The personal arbitrariness of the feudal people could be contained and the influence of the sovereign could be extended to other regions. This was due to legalization , bureaucratization ,Writing , cameralistics , professionalization and differentiation of society through the creation of official titles and hierarchization have become possible. The early modern state in Saxony was shaped precisely by this transformation process.

In Saxony there was a tripartite instance , consisting of the top , middle and lower levels of the state authorities. Cities had their own local self-government under certain conditions .

Supreme state authorities

→ See: List of the Saxon authorities

The oldest seal of the Leipzig Higher Court, around 1500

The highest body of the state authorities was the Saxon state government , which developed from the court chancellery in 1547. It was a legally independent institution that was responsible for all branches of the state administration, detached from the person of the ruler with the chancellor at its head . Members of this authority were the court councilors .

The electorate formed national authorities at an early stage, which in the 16th century achieved a nationwide administration. The urge of the early modern state for standardization, the elimination of special interests and the subordination of all subjects to the idea of ​​the one state led to a strong expansion of the central authorities. There were general authorities, commissions and embassies, district and administrative authorities, offices that primarily took on territorial executive tasks. There were special authorities in the justice sector, in the financial sector, there was a mountain and hut administration, authorities in the field of culture and teaching, an administration in the health and welfare sector and a military administration. The bureaucratically organized early modern administrative organization formed in this way was fundamental in its structureDepartments of a modern state government, such as that of today's Free State of Saxony, are not unlike.

The two Lausitzes, incorporated in 1635, which were only formally subordinate to the Elector and the Privy Council and had formed their own authorities, are detached from this listed administrative structure.

Medium state authorities

→ Main article : List of the districts and other areas of Electoral Saxony

The Amtshaus Seyda of the Amt Seyda from 1605. Many places of the former Saxon office seats have received the large-scale Saxon office houses to this day. The official building of Seyda was created from the building materials of the former Castle Sydow , on the bottom of which it stands. This is a symbol of the sovereign cultural change that took place around 1600, which led away from defensive and defensive attitudes towards rational administration.

Amtshaus Schweinitz the Office Schweinitz 1600

Because the control of the country became too extensive through the visitations of the control commissions of the entire Ernestine electorate, it was decided in 1527 to divide the country into four districts. This created the Kurkreis , Meißnischer Kreis , Thuringian District and Franconian District . The Meißnian district was divided into an upper and a lower one, just as the Thuringian district was divided into the Saale area and the rest. After the battle of Mühlberg the once Ernestine electorate of Saxony became part of the Naumburg Treatya new division of Saxony decided. A new division of the entire electorate into seven districts took place. Subsequent divisions of inheritance changed the geographical allocation of the offices and, due to the lack of descendants, fell back to the Saxons. Newly acquired possessions such as parts of the territory of the Archbishopric of Magdeburg in 1635 expanded the existing administrative structures.

Since the 16th century, the electorate was grouped into seven electoral Saxon districts with a total of 144 offices, which existed until the formation of the Kingdom of Saxony in 1816: Erzgebirgischer Kreis , Kurkreis , Leipziger Kreis , Meißnischer Kreis , Neustädtischer Kreis , Thüringer Kreis , Vogtlandischer Kreis

In addition, the Margraviates of Upper and Lower Lusatia had their own administrative structures; Likewise, the abbey areas ( Meißen , Merseburg , Naumburg-Zeitz , Wurzen ) and principalities ( Querfurt and the Harz counties of Mansfeld and Stolberg ) that had fallen to Saxony were not "circled".

The districts were not administrative districts, but tax districts and areas that made up the urban and knightly district and country estates. The state did not begin to develop the districts into intermediate authorities until 1764 .

Lower state authorities

The lowest level of the administrative organs in the electorate were the offices. They have existed since the Middle Ages . They were smaller districts that were also called bailiwicks or foster care. In addition to the offices there were spiritual possessions and the territories of knightly landlords . In the middle between these the offices of the elector were interspersed like islands.

The Kurkreis according to Schreiber

In order to secure the income and organize it more tightly, from 1506 official inheritance books were gradually created for the individual offices. All sovereign possessions, rights and income were recorded in them and gave the elector and his councilors an overview of the offices. The office was originally headed by a Vogt (Vocatus) belonging to the knighthood. Since the end of the 15th century, the title of bailiff (also captain) became common. In addition to the bailiff, there has also been a locker , who was responsible for economic and financial administration, in individual offices since the 15th century . If necessary, he represented the bailiff, and sometimes he was the head of an office.

He had received the bailiwick by way of a "free, pure appointment". An impeachment was possible at any time. Since the 14th century, the transfer had been made for financial reasons, and an office could either be given as a pledge for a larger sum of money or to pay off an older debt . In this way, bourgeoisie finally came into the administration of an office. The duration of the award was often set at the pledge . In the case of special merits, an office could also be transferred as property.

Administrative division of Saxony in the 18th century

With the officials at the head, the offices were the executive organs of the Elector in Saxony. They acted on behalf of and in place of the sovereign. The bailiffs were administrative, financial and judicial officials for their respective areas, had military functions and police powers. You were under the various authorities of the Office, in the cities, the mayors who wore sometimes the title of a judge, in the villages, the mayor . These were appointed and confirmed by the bailiff and were in turn responsible for the administrative, judicial and police tasks assigned to them. Where knights as landlords had acquired full, that is, also the high level of jurisdiction , they stepped at their rear seatersin the place of the bailiff. Their subjects were also deprived of their financial jurisdiction and military power. And here the bailiff no longer mediated between the landlord and the sovereign central authority, but the nobles were in direct contact with her. They were called writers. They received the necessary written communications directly from the electoral chancellery. Those who had not obtained full jurisdiction, that is, who remained in the administrative area of ​​the bailiff, were the official occupants. Correspondence with them went from the head office through the offices. People in writing could not only be nobles, but also cities. Sometimes officials also performed certain services, for example as electoral councilors or as envoys. As a result, there was a close connection between the central administration and the administration of offices, often not only in terms of person but also of salary .

In order to monitor the local officials, written accounts were requested at regular intervals. For this purpose, accounting commissions were appointed to "listen" to the bill. Members of the control commissions were mainly the highest court officials and sovereign councilors. They were therefore immediate superiors of the bailiffs, who were also obliged to report all defects and infirmities in their districts to them. Wherever there were differences between subjects and offices, the councilors had to represent the interests of the elector and protect his rights. If necessary, they had to provide advice to the officials in such disputes.

Judiciary

Criminal justice

The possession of the jurisdiction formed the basis for the exercise of official powers by the respective rulers. In Saxony, criminal jurisdiction was developed in a decentralized manner, distributed among the rulers. The jurisdiction in Saxony was based on three levels around 1500: there were the offices, the cities with patrimonial jurisdiction and the feudal small landlords. The first cities were given jurisdiction in the 13th century. This dignity was initially awarded on a lease basis and then finally awarded.

For 1600 the number of court administrators, city and district judges and castles in Saxony with at least lower jurisdiction is estimated at 2000. The University of Leipzig founded a law faculty in 1409, so that in addition to higher jurisdiction , cities and authorities had the opportunity to fill the individual positions with suitable candidates. The city ​​judges had graduated from law faculties as early as the 15th century and, through their high qualifications, helped enforce Roman law.

A distinction was made between lower and upper jurisdiction. With the higher jurisdiction was connected the right to own punishment of crimes that went beyond the lower jurisdiction. The types of proceedings at that time included property and violent crimes, but also sorcery and witchcraft. A total of 614 witchcraft and witchcraft trials negotiated in front of public authorities were found in Saxony, 200 of which were punishable by the death penalty.

State law

In the medieval understanding of the empire, all legal disputes could be brought before the Roman-German emperor as the highest judge of the empire or a court appointed by him. In 1423 the electorate succeeded in gaining the Privilegum de non evocando from the king and thus a position legally exempt from the empire .

Up to this point, the Saxon court was bound to the elector and, depending on requirements, was mobile in the country. In 1483 the Elector Ernst and his brother Duke Albrecht set up a court with a permanent seat in Leipzig as the upper court in Leipzig . It was occupied by nobles and commoners. It was the first independent authority in Electoral Saxony, detached from the prince and court. The Oberhofgericht in Leipzig was founded as an all-Saxon court, but after the Leipzig division of the Wettin countries from 1485 to 1493 and from 1547 it was only responsible for the Albertine countries including the subsidiary lines. This did not apply to the Kurkreis, for which the court court of Wittenberg in 1529 was established.

The Constitutio Criminalis Carolina of 1532 was no longer valid in Saxony. In the period that followed, it became necessary to adapt the Saxon legal systems to the imperial law. With the founding of the universities of Leipzig (1409) and Wittenberg (1502), faculties of law were created at the same time , which safeguarded teaching in civil , criminal and church law . The law faculties of Leipzig and Wittenberg developed with the significant contribution of Leonhard Badehorn , Johannes Reiffschneider , Jacob Thoming (1524 to 1576), Matthäus Wesenbeck andMichael Teuber and a new state law on behalf of Elector August . In 1572 the Electoral Saxon constitutions then became law. All questions relating to civil and criminal law as well as the course of the process were regulated again

politics

Title page of Thomas Hobbes ' Leviathan . You can see the sovereign who rules over the country, cities and their inhabitants. Symbol for a general early modern conception of the state and order

Politics is divided into individual policy fields . Social policy hardly played a role in the early modern state and was rather limited to the containment of internal legal uncertainty. The most important policy field was the financial policy with the coin policy, as they gave the sovereign the opportunity to act. The external security , so the Army, was the second most important policy area . As a contemporary “ Leviathan ”, the sovereigns saw their duty, the subjects of the state of natureto liberate and to ensure a higher order. This policy area comes into play through "internal security". External relations have been constantly maintained since 1700 and have thus become a separate political field with its own structures. In association with financial policy, something like domestic policy was formed . This involved the social forces, ensured that the territory was recorded and enclosed and the electoral statutes were enforced. In the 18th century the transport sector became more important and was upgraded. In the context of mercantilism, a state economic policy with an integrated trade policy was also formed in Saxonyfrom the approaches of revenue-based cameralism .

Foreign policy

→ Main article : Electoral Saxon foreign policy

Zeithainer Lustlager , painting by Johann Alexander Thiele 1730. In neighboring Prussia, the army was the most important estate. In Saxony, the elector organized a baroque pleasure camp, had a 1.8-tonne giant stollen baked and comedies performed. The military was of little importance in Saxony's society compared to its neighbor in the north.

The foreign policy of this time included the family affairs of the ruling houses in addition to the state policy. These were marriage policy and inheritance claims . Domestic policy and state policy can not be separated in the time before the constitution, even in Saxony.

In the 16th and 17th centuries, Saxony represented an imperial policy loyal to the emperor and saw itself as the protective power of the Protestant principalities in the Holy Roman Empire. The most important competitor of the Wettins in the dispute over power and reputation in the empire were the Hohenzollern , whose possessions bordered those of the Wettins in the north and south. The relations with Brandenburg designed to the 17th century increasingly difficult. Ultimately, Prussia prevailed. In the 18th century, Electoral Saxony sought to pursue a neutral policy so as not to be drawn into the German dualism between Prussia and Austria. This approach failed completely.

The guidelines electoral foreign policy within the Privy Council by a Unit for foreign policy drawn up. In 1706, August the Strong also introduced the Secret Cabinet as a body to which three business areas were subordinate. This also included the foreign affairs division. While the secret council was determined by the nobility , the institution created in 1706 was an authority tailored to the elector himself, but remained in influence below the secret council, as the ministers only had advisory powers, in contrast to the commanding powers of the Secret Council, which was henceforth called the "Secret Council".

In the 17th century, Electoral Saxony had direct relationships with some imperial princes. However , no representatives and missions were maintained at courts of European standing - except at the Viennese court . Around 1700 August expanded the diplomatic network of Electoral Saxony throughout Europe, so that Saxon envoys were permanently represented in almost all European countries (see category: List (Saxon envoys) ).

External security

→ Main article : Saxon Army

Regimental structure of the Saxon army from June 20, 1717
Branch of service	Regiments	Regimental names
Guard	two	Chevaliers-Garde, Garde du Corps
Cuirassiers	four	Royal Prince, Prince Alexander, Pflugk, warriors
dragoon	six	Baudissin, Unruh, Bielke, Birkholz, Klingenberg
Hussars	a	no proper name
infantry	nine	First Guard, Second Guard, Royal Prince, Weissenfels, Diemar, Fietzner, Pflugk, Droßky, Marschall
artillery		House artillery, field artillery, artillery battalion
Special troops		a company of pontoners , a company of miners

Elector of Saxon Colonel of the Ornate Cuirassiers at the Zeithain camp

Saxony had a standing army since 1682 . The Saxon Army initially had a strength of 10,000 men. In 1717 the army consisted of the arms of the cavalry (guards, cuirassiers, dragoons, hussars), infantry , artillery and special troops. The cavalry had 13 cavalry regiments , the infantry consisted of nine infantry regiments . Together there were about 30,000 men. The equipment, army organization and training standards corresponded to the organizational and technical status of the respective time. Saxony had thus compared to other Central Powershave a high level of defense. Compared to the Prussian Army , which consisted of 54,000 men in 1719 and expanded rapidly, the possibilities of the Saxon Army were limited. Any further militarization was rejected by the estates and the ruling family. After 1763 the state reduced its army strength. In 1778 this was still 23,400 men.

Military operations took place in the Great Northern War , War of the Polish Succession , First Silesian War , Second Silesian War , Seven Years War , in the War of Bavarian Succession and in the War of the Fourth Coalition . The number of military victories was few, but the number of defeats large.

Due to the army's moderate military successes in the wars, the Saxon leaders recognized “that the historical mission of Saxony is not based on the development of military strength and participation in the race for power, but on the development of its internal powers and the production of Achievements in the areas of economy, science and culture. ”Thus the army was repeatedly limited in growth and construction and an arms race, for example with Prussia, was initially prevented.

Internal security

The breeding and orphanage (Georgenhaus; left) in front of the Outer Grimmaic Gate in Leipzig

There was no police force to uphold legality in the modern sense. There was a jurisdiction for this , which lay with the authorities and the cities. Landlords also had the right of jurisdiction. The relevant legal code for criminal prosecution in Saxony was the Codex Augusteus, which came into force in 1572. The fourth section of the book deals with corporal punishment. At the end of the Middle Ages, gangs were a common phenomenon on the country roads in Saxony. There were frequent complaints from citizens about the legal uncertainty on the country roads.

Prison sentences played only a subordinate role in Saxony at the beginning of the 18th century. Prison sentences belonged to the category of corporal punishment , as they were not aimed at rehabilitation . Prisons were mostly housed in the towers of fortresses or castles or in the town hall. They were primarily used as a place of custody to prevent the suspect from being withdrawn until he was sentenced to corporal punishment . In the early modern period they served as remand prisons and as interrogation and torture sites.

The penitentiary sentence was one of the most widespread punishments in the second half of the 18th century, so it had finally established itself in Saxony. The corporal and honor penalties did not lead to a reduction in delinquency , but increased the number of people who wandered the country begging and stealing without a permanent residence or job. The change was made possible by the Enlightenment , the punishments now aligned with motives for improvement.

Towards the end of the 17th and the beginning of the 18th century, a renewed wave of breeding and workhouses was founded throughout the empire as a means of combating social hardship and maintaining public security .

In the 17th century the cities also founded their own breeding establishments to counteract the commonwealth. They acted as compulsory facilities similar to prisons. The Leipzig penitentiary was founded in 1660 as an institution "for insane people, to tame dissolute people and feed poor orphans" . The number of inmates rose from 13 (1701) to 88 (1799), but remained far behind the numbers of the state penitentiaries. The Dresden breeding and orphanage was also founded in the 17th century. Custodians were initially children in need of supervision and discipline, but then also adults, primarily beggarsand work shy, not criminal offenders. The average number was 60 to 80 offspring.

The three large penitentiaries in Saxony (in the penitentiary Waldheim , Torgau and the penitentiary in Zwickau ) were state owned; they were subordinate to an electoral commission. The number of inmates fluctuated very strongly throughout the 18th century, but increased overall. They were mostly housed in large dormitories, some of which were also used during the day. There were no cells for each prisoner.

The most famous state prison in Saxony was the Königstein Fortress . Mainly state prisoners, i.e. political prisoners , were housed there. On Rochlitz Castle and in the Fronfeste in Oschatz are torture chambers of that time remained. The connection between the courtroom and the dungeon can be seen at Stolpen Castle .

Coinage

→ Main article : Saxon coin history

The electors had had the unlimited coin shelf since 1356 . The German coinage was therefore fragmented. So there were repeated attempts to make coin regulations across the empire.

Elector August had the state main mint in Freiberg closed in 1556, the Annaberg mint in 1558 and the Schneeberg and Leipzig mints in 1571. The mint in Zwickau had been closed since 1534 and that in Buchholz since 1553. The Dresden mint became the central mint for the entire electorate.

The Elector joined the Imperial Coin Order of 1559 in August 1571. During the Kipper and Wipper period from 1620 to 1623, so-called Kipper coins were minted in the Kipper münzstätten under Elector Johann Georg I (1611–1656) . This was followed by a return to minting according to the Imperial Coin Order.

With the treaties of Zinna in 1667 and Leipzig in 1668, Saxony left the imperial and coinage system . In doing so, Saxony suspended the order of the Upper Saxon Empire.

Fiscal affairs

In 1556, Elector August moved the state main mint from Freiberg (formed) to Dresden

Elector Friedrich Christian , convention special thaler 1763, with legend X EINE FEINE MARCK, Mint Dresden

The development of the financial administration in Saxony made the organized collection of cash possible , through which a modern state with permanent institutions and fixed expenditure and income positions could emerge. In contrast to the political constitution of the electorate, which remained feudal until 1806, the material foundations were already oriented towards the modern monetary economy . A financial system that was also modern for later times developed in a class-based, premodern state in Saxony.

The fiscalization process began with the electors after 1450 and accelerated around 1470. The Leipzig citizen Jakob Blasbalg , who died in 1490, founded the unified financial fund of the Albertine Duchy of Saxony. His fellow citizen Hans Leimbach was the elector Frederick the Wise's confidante in financial matters and founded the state central treasury of the Ernestine Electorate of Saxony. Since the 16th century, Saxony was for the most part no longer based on feudal income (including domain income) reliant. Instead, the Saxon financial system relied on regular income that was secured on the basis of an orderly cash system and a nationwide network of financial structures. This high degree of sovereign penetration based on the ordered structures of the state differentiated the financial system of the electorate from the financial structures of a less differentiated feudal state.

Organizationally, the financial administration was now divided into several central authorities . From 1586 the Secret Chamber of Commerce was responsible for the state's income , expenditure and assets . The assets of the state were its offices, chamber goods , forests , rafting , mining and metallurgy and the mint. Since 1570, the senior tax committee has developed to administer taxes . 1706, the introduction of the followed Generalakziskollegiums general for the excise duty , theGeneral consumption excise was responsible. In 1782 the financial administration was centralized through the formation of the Secret Finance College .

The state income structure of the household at the end of the 15th century was differentiated into several types of income. As an example for a budget year of this time, the largest item of income was borrowing , with a 23 percent share of the total budget . Direct taxes were still demanded irregularly, but they already accounted for 13 percent of the total budget. Indirect taxes accounted for 7.5 percent. Other types of income were: urban annual pensions (5 percent), Erzgebirge silver mining (13 percent), the traditional income from regalia and domains accounted for 32 percent, and other taxes (cloth, court and protection money, Leipzig gold coin) (4 percent).

In particular, the personal union with Poland since 1697 led to an enormous increase in Saxon financial needs during the Augustan era (1694–1763) . The state was therefore constantly trying to find new sources of money, to modernize its financial, monetary and debt policy and to adapt it to the increased demands of a European middle power. This led to the establishment of the first state bank in Germany with its seat in Leipzig in 1698, the deposit bank . The bank was liquidated again six years later. The establishment of a state lottery followed in 1715.

However, government spending in the first half of the 18th century was significantly higher than revenue, so the debt ratio rose steadily. The payments of salaries and settlement of the bills were becoming more and more disorderly. When August the Strong died in 1733, the public budget had a debt of five million thalers. This rose during the so-called Brühl mismanagement to 27 million thalers by 1750 and under August III. to 45 million thalers. This resembled a de facto national bankruptcy , and Saxony also had to make war contributions of several million Reichstaler. This was followed by systematic debt reduction in the following decades.

The largest expenditure items of the state budget of 1773 were the army expenditures with 28.5 percent of the expenditures, followed by the interest costs with 27.5 percent share of the budget. The debt burden fell again significantly until 1804. In 1804 the Saxon state received 12 million Reichstaler and spent 11.5 million guilders (1778: 6,634,153 Reichstaler) in the same period. In spite of this surplus, the national debt amounted to 27 million Reichstaler (1798: 21,961,941 Reichstaler, 1764: 41,028,424 Reichstaler), which is significantly more than double the annual state revenue. In that year, however, the debts were paid off by two million Reichstaler.

Economic policy

In the 16th century, agriculture and forestry were the focus of Saxon economic policy . Melchior von Ossa wrote his “Political Testament” in 1556 on behalf of Elector August . It was published 50 years after his death in excerpts and in full by Christian Thomasius in 1717 and is considered the first fundamental work of German cameralism . The promotion of the chamber goods formed the cornerstone of the Elector's agricultural policy . By expanding the chamber goods and expanding the model innsthe elector gave an example of rational agriculture and thus sparked a spillover effect on other farms. Elector August went down in economic history as the first German economist. His economic thinking was limited to the supply function and the production of important goods for consumption.

"The Wettin coin dispute in the 16th century signaled the beginning of reflection on macroeconomic interrelationships and in coin policy, state economic policy first became directly economic ."

In the 18th century, the development of the factors of production increased the importance of the entire economic life. According to the prevailing view of mercantilism, the state saw the management of the economy as its own task. Cameralists in the Saxon service such as Julius Bernhard von Rohr , Johann Georg von Leib and Paul Jacob Marperger propagated the mercantilist economic concept.

As early as 1703 and 1708, August the Strong had appointed a board of commerce , which was unsuccessful as a result of the Great Northern War . In April 1735, Friedrich August II set up the commercial deputation with its own chancellery to improve trade and promote manufactories. Their work was primarily of a guiding and reporting nature. Efforts have been made to reform the guild constitutions since the beginning of the 17th century, but there were indecisive attempts to counter the excesses of the guild regulations and the guild constitutions. The second phase of Saxon economic policy ended in the legendary “ Brühl's mismanagement".

“The proposals of the Restoration Commission in the Rétablissement ushered in a new phase of state economic policy that was only partially mercantilist” and into which the ideas of the Western European political and economic teachings of the 18th century flowed. "The focus was on restoring and modernizing agriculture and promoting [of] manufactories ... such as wool and cloth production or iron and steel production."

By rescript of February 11, 1764, the commercial deputation was converted into the " Landes-Ökonomie-, Manufaktur- und Kommerziendeputation ". Her area of ​​responsibility was expanded to include all economic matters. However, it still had no decision-making powers, but was able to advise and suggest economic measures. In building up the Saxon economy in the decades before the industrial revolution, it initiated important developments.

Transportation

Figurine with conductor and single wheel for determining distance in the permanent exhibition on the Saxon post mile pillars in the Eastern Ore Mountains Museum at Lauenstein Castle

Formerly a Chursächsische post wagon, unsprung

→ Main article : Transport history of the Electorate of Saxony

The Electorate of Saxony was an important traffic hub between all directions. The Via Imperii as well as the Via Regia crossed Saxony. Both were central trade routes in Europe.

Arch bridge in Falkenberg from 1567

The road system in the electorate was in a bad state in keeping with the times. Apart from princely instructions to improve the roads, there was no suitable official substructure that could coordinate and monitor the implementation. Many orders failed mainly due to the lack of funding. The local churches should have paid for them alone. Fixed state budgets for road construction came about much later.

Infrastructural innovations came with the registration of the state roads in a cadastre from 1691 to 1694. The first general road construction mandate from 1706 aimed to standardize the construction technology and laid down the road width. In 1713 the second Saxon land surveying was started under the direction of Adam Friedrich Zürner . The first Saxon state survey took place between 1586 and 1633. The miles sheets of Saxony are the result of the Saxon topographical survey , which was carried out with interruptions between 1780 and 1825.

In the “General Instructions to the Road Commission” of January 25, 1765, it was possible to bring about a turning point in road construction. With the road construction mandate of April 28, 1781, the organization and the technical construction were regulated. The condition of the roads improved towards the end of the 18th century, when more Chausseestrassen were built in Saxony than with a solid base and the backwardness in road construction was gradually overcome. Until then, repairs had not been made systematically.

As a centralized princely state, Saxony was able to coordinate postal organization, land surveying , cartography and road construction better than specifically organized states. The result was a Saxon postal service organized nationwide . Similar to other territories, it existed from the 16th century and was constantly expanded and improved.

The Saxon signposts along the main roads, which were built at regular intervals, became a model for other territories . The post mile pillars were erected nationwide in the 1720s and indicated the road network for drivers and travelers along the way. When bridge existed in Saxony early centrally official monitoring and control. Many of these bridges are still in use today.

Culture of remembrance

Keystone: The coat of arms of the Electorate of Saxony on Eisenhardt Castle in Bad Belzig , Brandenburg

To this day, numerous buildings and monuments in Saxony and the neighboring countries of Thuringia and Brandenburg are reminiscent of the Electorate (see list of cultural monuments in Saxony ). Numerous coats of arms can be found above historical archways, on towers, castles and palaces. Historic post mile pillars adorn the marketplaces of many small towns. The Saxon rulers had built up a comprehensive system of residences and administrative buildings. The castles that have been preserved, but also official halls and town halls, are still dominant buildings in many rural areas. The same applies to the bridges that are often still intact, some of which are open to traffic. The buildings of Dresden's old town and the flair of Florence on the Elbe testify to the former splendor of the Elbe city under the electors.

Renaissance festivals such as the Luther Festival in Wittenberg and other historical re-enactments tie in with the electoral era in a folkloric manner. Examples are the historically based festivals and events at Königstein Fortress , Saxony's most important fortress.

Numerous exhibitions and museums in Saxony are dedicated to the time of the Elector. In the Dresden armory there has been a permanent exhibition since 2017 on the topic: “On the way to electoral power” in the east wing and “Electoral cloakroom”. The Reformation anniversary in 2017 focuses on 500 years of the Reformation, which was essential for the development of the electorate. The visitor magnet Luther 1517 shows the society 500 years ago in Lutherstadt Wittenberg in a 360 ° panorama by Yadegar Asisi. The opening took place in October 2016. A comparable 360 ​​° panorama already showed Dresden in August. The panoramas conveyed the urban living environment in what was then Saxony to a broad audience in a spatial perspective.

A large body of literature deals with all topics relating to the history of this state. The state of research is comprehensive and up-to-date. The archives of the offices have been preserved and offer an insight into the historical documents, which enables comprehensive evaluations and analyzes of any questions.

In relation to the early history of the electorate, extensive excavations took place in Wittenberg. In 2009 the grave of Elector Rudolf II was rediscovered. Remnants of Wittenberg Castle, the core and oldest setting in Saxon history, were also found in 2005.

Researches

Title page of the 47th volume of the HZ, Dresden 1926

Several renowned institutions in Saxony deal with historical topics from the time of the electorate. The Institute for Saxon History and Folklore e. V. (ISGV) is a research institute based in Dresden, which has been in existence since 1997 and which undertakes research into Saxony from a regional historical and folkloric perspective. This institution handles long-term regional and folklore projects such as the “Saxon Biography” or the “Life History Archive for Saxony” and offers specialist conferences.

The TU Dresden maintains a chair for Saxon national history. Thematically, the focus of the Dresden Chair for Saxon State History is on research into the period between 1770 and 1830. Other important subject areas are the history of the Enlightenment in Central Germany as well as educational history, class research and the history of the state parliament, nobility research and consumer history, company history as well as the history of knowledge and knowledge transfer in the transnational Comparison.

The Saxon State Library - Dresden State and University Library and the Dresden Main State Archive preserve and oversee central collections on the history of Saxony and Central Germany.

The New Archive for Saxon History (NASG for short) is an annual German-language specialist journal for Saxon regional history.

See also

• List of personalities in Electoral Saxony
• History of Saxony

literature

• Lorenz Friedrich Beck : Rule and territory of the dukes of Saxony-Wittenberg (1212-1422) (= library of Brandenburg and Prussian history. Volume 6). Verlag für Berlin-Brandenburg, Potsdam 2000, ISBN 3-932981-63-4 .
• Karlheinz Blaschke : Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002.
• Karl Czok : August the Strong and Electoral Saxony. 2nd Edition. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1988, and CH Beck, Munich 1988, ISBN 3-406-32984-5 .
• Dresden History Association (ed.): Saxony between 1763 and 1813 (= Dresdner Hefte . No. 114). Sandstein, Dresden 2013, ISBN 978-3-944019-03-1 .
• Reiner Groß : The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, ISBN 978-3-17-018946-1 .
• Reiner Groß (ed.): Landtag in Saxony 1438-1831. Contributions to the scientific colloquium organized by the Chair of Regional History of Saxony at the Chemnitz University of Technology on February 25, 2000. Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz 2000.
• Katrin Keller: Small towns in Saxony. Changes in the urban landscape between the Thirty Years' War and industrialization. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2001, ISBN 3-412-11300-X .
• Frank-Lothar Kroll (Ed.): The rulers of Saxony. Margraves, electors, kings 1089–1918. CH Beck, Munich 2007, ISBN 978-3-406-54773-7 .
• Nina Krüger: sovereign and estates in Electoral Saxony at the estates meetings of the second half of the 17th century. Lang, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin / Bern [u. a.] 2007, ISBN 978-3-631-54598-0 .
• Hans-Walter Krumwiede : On the development of the sovereign church regiment in Electoral Saxony and Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel (= studies on the church history of Lower Saxony. Volume 16). Vandenhoeck and Ruprecht, Göttingen 1967.
• Heinrich Kühne : The Ascanians. Drei Kastanien Verlag, Wittenberg 1999, ISBN 3-933028-14-0 .
• Heiner Lück : The court constitution of the Electorate of Saxony 1423–1550 (= research on German legal history. Volume 17). Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 1997, ISBN 3-412-12296-3 .
• Frank Müller: Electoral Saxony and the Bohemian uprising 1618–1622. Aschendorff, Münster 1997, ISBN 3-402-05674-7 .
• Marcus von Salisch: Loyal deserters: The Electoral Saxon military and the Seven Years' War (= military-historical studies. Volume 41). Oldenbourg, Munich 2008, ISBN 3-486-84852-6 .
• Uwe Schirmer : Saxon State Finances (1456–1656). Structures - constitution - functional elites (= sources and research on Saxon history. Volume 28). Steiner, Stuttgart 2006, ISBN 3-515-08955-1 .
• Alexander Schunka: Guests who stay. Immigrants in Electoral Saxony and Upper Lusatia in the 17th and early 18th centuries (= pluralization & authority. Volume 7). Lit-Verlag, Hamburg 2006 ISBN 3-8258-9374-X
• Jochen Vötsch: Electoral Saxony, the Reich and Central Germany at the beginning of the 18th century. Lang, Frankfurt am Main / Berlin / Bern / Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-631-50685-6 .
• Manfred Wilde : The sorcery and witch trials in Saxony. Böhlau, Cologne / Weimar / Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-412-10602-X .

Movies

• Direction Guido Knopp and Peter Arens, authors Jan Peter and Yury Winterberg: The Germans II., Part 6 , August the Strong and Love , ZDF Enterprises GmbH, Gruppe 5 Filmproduktion GmbH, Cologne 2010, ISBN 978-3-8312-9952- 2 .
• Sachsens Glanz and Preussens Gloria , a six-part television production by the GDR from 1985 and 1987.
• August the Strong, adventure, historical film, 84 minutes, ZDF TV film, BRD 1984, Link
• Countess Cosel - The Rise and Fall of a Mistress , German TV film from 2005 with Julia Reinecke , Julia-Maria Köhler and Silvia Riegler as title heroines (Director: Dirk Otto )
• Luther films

Web links

Wikisource: Electorate of Saxony  - Sources and full texts

• archiv.sachsen.de Archives of the Electorate of Saxony
• saebi.isgv.de Saxon biographies
• codex.isgv.de Diplomaticus Saxoniae (Regiae)
• digital.slub-dresden.de with digitalists from the magazine "New Archive for Saxon State History"

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 59.
2. ↑ ^{a b} Georg Hassel : Statistical outline of the entire European and the most distinguished non-European states, with regard to their development, size, population, financial and military constitution. Issue 1. Verlag des Geographisches Institut, Weimar 1823, p. 69.
3. ↑ Dieter Albrecht : Maximilian I of Bavaria 1573-1651. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1998, p. 4.
4. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke : Population history from Saxony to the industrial revolution. Böhlau, Weimar 1967, p. 106. Blaschke assumes for 1630 a population “for Saxony” of 920,000 inhabitants and for 1650 of “one such” of 535,000. Presumably Blaschke understands "Saxony" here in the sense of the narrower research area described above.
5. ↑ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 59.
6. ↑ Georg Hassel: Statistical outline of all European states with regard to their size, population, cultural conditions, action, financial and military constitution and their non-European possessions. Issue 2. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1805, p. 23 ( digitized version ).
7. ^ Robert Wuttke : Saxon folklore. Leipzig 1903. Reprint Frankfurt / Main 1981, p. 173 ff.
   The work of Karlheinz Blaschke: Population history from Saxony to the industrial revolution. Böhlau, Weimar 1967, on the other hand, only examines the population development in the 26 rural districts of the Kingdom of Saxony plus the 3 formerly Prussian rural districts of Rest of Silesia between 1300 and 1846 that became part of Saxony after 1945 , but provides almost no figures on the total population of the Saxon Kingdom according to the respective historical area ( except: 1683: 1,300,000 inhabitants; 1755: 1,695,000; 1792: 1,893,000; see Karlheinz Blaschke: Population history from Saxony to the industrial revolution.Böhlau, Weimar 1967, p. 18. 43); for the years 1630, 1645 and 1720 see Alexander Schunka: Guests who stay. Immigrants in Electoral Saxony and Upper Lusatia in the 17th and early 18th centuries. Lit Verlag, Münster 2006, p. 154.
8. ^ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Electoral Saxony. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 80.
9. ↑ Georg Hassel: Statistical outline of all European states with regard to their size, population, cultural conditions, action, financial and military constitution and their non-European possessions. Issue 2. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1805, p. 23 ( digitized version ).
10. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke : The Electoral Saxon Politics and Leipzig in the 18th Century. In: Wolfgang Martens (Ed.): Leipzig. Enlightenment and middle-class (= Wolfenbütteler studies for enlightenment. Volume 17). Lambert Schneider, Heidelberg 1990, pp. 23-38, here p. 37.
11. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, p. 465–476, here: p. 465 (German first edition: Finanzwesen und Staatsräson in Kursachsen at the beginning of the modern era. In: Der Staat. Volume 25, number 3, 1986, pp. 373–383) .
12. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Saxony in the Age of the Reformation (= writings of the Association for Reformation History . Number 185, year 75/76). Mohn, Gütersloh 1970, p. 69.
13. ↑ Georg Hassel: Statistical outline of all European states with regard to their size, population, cultural conditions, action, financial and military constitution and their non-European possessions. Booklet 2. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1805, p. 29 ( digitized version ).
14. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, p. 29–62, here: p. 47 f. (First edition: The expansion of the state in Saxony and the expansion of its spatial administrative districts. In: Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte. Volume 91, 1954, pp. 74-109).
15. ↑ Torsten Schmidt: Constitutional, European, international and administrative questions of spatial planning of the school system presented in the school network planning in Saxon school law. BWV Verlag, Berlin 2016, p. 355 f.
16. ↑ Helmar Junghans : The Electoral Saxon Church and School Regulations from 1580 - Instrument of the “Lutheran” denomination? In: Helmar Junghans (Ed.): The Saxon Electors during the Religious Peace from 1555 to 1618. Symposium on the occasion of the conclusion of the edition “Political Correspondence of Duke and Elector Moritz von Sachsen” from September 15 to 18, 2005 in Leipzig (= sources and research on Saxon history. Volume 31). Steiner, Stuttgart 2007, pp. 209–238, here: p. 236.
17. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, pp. 29–62, here: p. 48 (first print: The expansion of the state in Saxony and the expansion of its administrative districts. In: Blätter für deutsche Landesgeschichte. Volume 91, 1954, pp. 74–109 ).
18. ↑ On the hospitals in Dresden in particular, see Alexandra-Kathrin Stanislaw-Kemenah: Spitäler in Dresden. On the change of an institution (13th to 16th centuries) (= writings on Saxon history and folklore. Volume 24). Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2008, ISBN 978-3-86583-163-7 .
19. ^ Dietrich Meyer : Zinzendorf and Herrnhut. In: Martin Brecht , Klaus Deppermann (eds.): History of Pietism. Volume 2: Pietism in the 18th century. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1995, pp. 5–106, here: pp. 8–57; extended and independent edition: Dietrich Meyer: Zinzendorf und die Herrnhuter Brüdergemeine, 1700–2000. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2000 ( digitized version ).
20. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl , Wolfhard Weber : Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, ISBN 978-3-8309-5587-0 , p. 128.
21. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 127.
22. ^ André Thieme: 1423 - The transfer of the Saxon electoral dignity to the Wettins. In: Reinhardt Eigenwill (Ed.): Caesuras in Saxon history. Sax-Verlag, Beucha 2010 pp. 42–67, here: p. 47.
23. ^ Matthias Springer : The Saxons. Kohlhammer, Stuttgart 2004, ISBN 3-17-016588-7 , pp. 13-16.
24. ↑ Reiner Groß : The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, p. 70.
25. ^ André Thieme: 1423 - The transfer of the Saxon electoral dignity to the Wettins. In: Reinhardt Eigenwill (Ed.): Caesuras in Saxon history. Sax-Verlag, Beucha 2010 pp. 42–67, here: p. 48.
26. ^ André Thieme: 1423 - The transfer of the Saxon electoral dignity to the Wettins. In: Reinhardt Eigenwill (Ed.): Caesuras in Saxon history. Sax-Verlag, Beucha 2010 pp. 42–67, here: p. 49.
27. ^ Mathias Tullner : History of Saxony-Anhalt. CH Beck, Munich 2008, p. 28.
28. ^ Mathias Tullner: History of Saxony-Anhalt. CH Beck, Munich 2008, p. 13.
29. ^ Enno Bünz : The Electors of Saxony to the Partition of Leipzig 1423–1485. In: Frank-Lothar Kroll (ed.): The rulers of Saxony. Margraves, electors, kings 1089–1918. CH Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 39–54, here: p. 41.
30. ^ Mathias Tullner: History of Saxony-Anhalt. CH Beck, Munich 2008, p. 30.
31. ^ Enno Bünz: The Electors of Saxony to the Partition of Leipzig 1423–1485. In: Frank-Lothar Kroll (ed.): The rulers of Saxony. Margraves, electors, kings 1089–1918. CH Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 39–54, here: p. 41.
32. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony, Edition Leipzig, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Civic Education Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter II. The Albertine Duchy of Saxony 1458 to 1547. From the division of Leipzig to the Schmalkaldic War (pp. 13-29), p 27
33. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony, Edition Leipzig, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Civic Education Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter II. The Albertine Duchy of Saxony 1458 to 1547. From the division of Leipzig to the Schmalkaldic War (pp. 13-29), p 28
34. ↑ Heiko Jadatz: Saxony rule contra Wittenberg Reformation. In: Thoughts. Journal of the Saxon Academy of Sciences in Leipzig. Issue 4, 2010, pp. 121–132, here p. 124 ( online ).
35. ^ Swen Steinberg: Leipzig merchants. A group biographical look at the economic actors of the via regia. In: Winfried Müller , Swen Steinberg: People on the move. Via regia and its actors. Volume of essays on the 3rd Saxon State Exhibition. Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2011, pp. 32–39.
36. ↑ Uwe Schirmer : The Ernestine Electors until they lost their electoral dignity: 1485–1547. In: Frank-Lothar Kroll (ed.): The rulers of Saxony. Margraves, electors, kings 1089–1918. CH Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 55–75, here: p. 60.
37. ↑ Michael Richter : The formation of the Free State of Saxony. Peaceful revolution, federalization, German unity 1989/90 (= writings of the Hannah Arendt Institute. Volume 24). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, p. 32.
38. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, pp. 323-335, especially: p. 327 on the modalities (first edition : Die Lepiziger Teilung der Wettinischen Lander from 1485. In: Sächsische Heimatblätter. Volume 31, 1985, pp. 276-280).
39. ↑ Reiner Groß: The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, p. 84.
40. ^ Enno Bünz: The Electors of Saxony to the Partition of Leipzig 1423–1485. In: Frank-Lothar Kroll (ed.): The rulers of Saxony. Margraves, electors, kings 1089–1918. CH Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 39–54, here: pp. 54 f.
41. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, p. 465–476, here: p. 467 (German first edition: Finanzwesen und Staatsräson in Kursachsen at the beginning of modern times. In: Der Staat. Volume 25, number 3, 1986, pp. 373–383) .
42. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Saxony in the Age of the Reformation (= writings of the Association for Reformation History. Number 185, year 75/76). Mohn, Gütersloh 1970, p. 65.
43. ↑ Reiner Groß: The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, pp. 121-124.
44. ↑ Reiner Groß: The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, p. 121.
45. ^ Lars-Arne Dannenberg , Matthias Donath : Landscape and history between the Elbe and Elster . In: Working Group Cities with Historic Town Centers of the State of Brandenburg (Ed.): Reformation between Elbe and Elster. Brandenburgische Universitätsdruckerei, Potsdam 2016, p. 5 ( PDF ).
46. ↑ Rudolf Kötschke: The state administration reform in the Electorate of Saxony under Elector Moritz 1547/48. In: Journal of the Association for Thuringian History and Archeology. New series Volume 34, 1940, pp. 191–217, here: p. 197 ( digitized version ).
47. ^ Sächsisches Staatsarchiv (Hrsg.): The mining administration is created on archiv.sachsen.de . Retrieved September 6, 2017.
48. ↑ Reiner Groß: The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, p. 122.
49. ↑ Gerhard Buchda , Heiner Lück : Kursächsische Konstitutionen. In: Albrecht Cordes et al. (Hrsg.): Concise dictionary on German legal history . 2nd Edition. 18. Delivery. Erich Schmidt, Berlin 2013, col. 354–361, here col. 354.
50. ↑ Reiner Groß: The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, p. 123.
51. ↑ Michael Richter: The formation of the Free State of Saxony. Peaceful revolution, federalization, German unity 1989/90 (= writings of the Hannah Arendt Institute. Volume 24). Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2004, p. 33.
52. ↑ Martina Schattkowsky : The Saxon Constitutions of 1572. A body of law between peasant protection and compromise of power. In: Winfried Müller , Martina Schattkowsky, Dirk Syndram (eds.): Elector August von Sachsen. A post-Reformation "Prince of Peace" between territory and empire. Contributions to the scientific conference from July 9 to 11, 2015 in Torgau and Dresden. Sandstein Verlag, Dresden 2017, ISBN 978-3-95498-302-5 , pp. 110–121.
53. ^ Günther Franz : The Thirty Years War and the German People. Studies on population and agricultural history. 4th, revised and enlarged edition. Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart 1979, p. 17.
54. ^ Michael Weise: Mobility, speed and violence - the Croatian riders in Brandenburg and Saxony. In: Matthias Asche , Marco Kollenberg, Antje Zeiger (eds.): Half of Europe in Brandenburg. The Thirty Years War and its Consequences. Lukas Verlag, Berlin 2020, pp. 80–94, here: pp. 87f.
55. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Population history from Saxony to the industrial revolution. Böhlau, Weimar 1967, p. 96.
56. ^ About Günther Franz: The Thirty Years War and the German People. Studies on population and agricultural history. 4th, revised and enlarged edition. Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart 1979, p. 17 f.
57. ^ Günther Franz: The Thirty Years War and the German People. Studies on population and agricultural history. 4th, revised and enlarged edition. Lucius & Lucius, Stuttgart 1979, p. 17.
58. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony , Edition Leipzig, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Civic Education Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter IV Electoral Saxony 1648 to 1694. From the will of Johann Georg I to the death of Johann Georg IV (p. 101–122), P. 104f
59. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony , Edition Leipzig, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Civic Education Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter IV Electoral Saxony 1648 to 1694. From the will of Johann Georg I to the death of Johann Georg IV (p. 101–122), P. 108f
60. ↑ René Hanke: Brühl and the Renversement des alliances: The anti-Prussian foreign policy of the Dresden court 1744–1756, (= Historia profana et ecclesiastica. History and Church History between Middle Ages and Modernity; Vol. 15), Münster / Hamburg / Berlin / London: LIT 2006, ISBN 978-3-8258-9455-9 , Introduction, p. 1
61. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony , Edition Leipzig, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Civic Education Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter IV Electoral Saxony 1648 to 1694. From the will of Johann Georg I to the death of Johann Georg IV (p. 101–122) , p 109
62. ↑ Josef Matzerath : The so-called Augustan age in Saxony. In: Uwe John, Josef Matzerath (ed.): Regional history as a challenge and program. Karlheinz Blaschke on his 70th birthday (= sources and research on Saxon history. Volume 15). Steiner, Stuttgart 1997, pp. 443-458.
63. ^ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 208.
64. ↑ Athlete, Patron and Bonvivant , in: Die Zeit 1994, issue 18
65. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg (pp. 123–159 ), P. 135
66. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg (pp. 123–159 ), P. 136
67. ↑ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 263.
68. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg (pp. 123–159 ), P. 134
69. ↑ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 209.
70. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg (pp. 123–159 ), P. 148
71. ↑ Werner Plumpe : A historical lesson of national debt and financial policy - the rétablissement of 1763 in Saxony. In: Otto Depenheuer (Hrsg.): Staatssanierung durch Expropriation? Legitimation and limits of state access to the assets of its citizens. Springer-Verlag, Berlin 2014, pp. 7–21, here p. 14.
72. ↑ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 200.
73. ↑ Reiner Gross : Geschichte Sachsens , Dresden / Leipzig, Edition Leipzig, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg, special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education , p. 156
74. ↑ František Stellner: final results of the Seven Years War in Europe. In: Prague Papers on History of International Relations. Volume 4, 2000, pp. 85-98, here: p. 92 ( PDF ; 7.36 MB).
75. ↑ René Hanke: Brühl and the Renversement des alliances: The anti-Prussian foreign policy of the Dresden court 1744–1756, (= Historia profana et ecclesiastica. History and Church History between Middle Ages and Modernity; Vol. 15), Münster / Hamburg / Berlin / London: LIT 2006, ISBN 978-3-8258-9455-9 , Introduction, p. 4
76. ↑ Volker Ullrich: The double Prussia. Brilliantly told, fair in the judgment: Christopher Clark's masterpiece about the Hohenzollern state. (Review of the book . Prussia rise and fall of 1600-1947. Christopher Clark) In: The time No 8/2007 of 15 February 2007. Online at zeit.de . Retrieved September 5, 2017.
77. ↑ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 273.
78. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony , special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg (pp. 123–159 ), P. 150f
79. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony , special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg (pp. 123–159 ), P. 152
80. ↑ Maltzan, Hans Dietrich von , brief overview at deutsche-biographie.de
81. ↑ Marcus von Salisch: Treue Deserteure: The Electoral Saxon Military and the Seven Years' War, foreword (pp. 7–8), R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2009, p. 7.
82. ↑ Reiner Gross : History of Saxony , special edition of the Saxon State Center for Political Education, Edition Leipzig, Dresden / Leipzig 2012, Chapter V. The Augustan Age 1694 to 1763. From Friedrich August I's entry into government to the Peace of Hubertusburg (pp. 123–159 ), P. 153
83. ↑ Marcus von Salisch: Treue Deserteure: The Electoral Saxon Military and the Seven Years War, Chapter VI: End of the War and New Approaches to Rebuilding the Army (pp. 271–286), R. Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2009, p. 274.
84. ↑ František Stellner: final results of the Seven Years War in Europe. In: Prague Papers on History of International Relations. Volume 4, 2000, pp. 85-98, here: p. 86, 91 ( PDF ; 7.36 MB).
85. ↑ Frank Metasch: Modern forms of government money creation - The successful introduction of paper money in Saxony in 1772. In: Dresdner Historical Society (ed.): Sachsen 1763-1813 (= Dresdner books . # 114.). Sandstein, Dresden 2013, pp. 72–80, here: p. 74. 77.
86. ^ Winfried Müller: The Saxon Rétablissement after 1763 - Aims and Limits of a State Reform. In: Dresdner Geschichtsverein (ed.): Saxony between 1763 and 1813 (= Dresdner Hefte. No. 114). Sandstein, Dresden 2013, pp. 14–24, here: pp. 15. 17–19; Jörg Feldkamp: Like a phoenix from the ashes - The new sciences and the beginning of the industrial revolution in Saxony. In: Dresdner Geschichtsverein (ed.): Saxony between 1763 and 1813 (= Dresdner Hefte. No. 114). Sandstein, Dresden 2013, pp. 54–63.
87. ^ Winfried Müller: The Saxon Rétablissement after 1763 - Aims and Limits of a State Reform. In: Dresdner Geschichtsverein (ed.): Saxony between 1763 and 1813 (= Dresdner Hefte. No. 114). Sandstein, Dresden 2013, pp. 14–24, here: pp. 18–20.
88. ^ Winfried Müller: The Saxon Rétablissement after 1763 - Aims and Limits of a State Reform. In: Dresdner Geschichtsverein (ed.): Saxony between 1763 and 1813 (= Dresdner Hefte. No. 114). Sandstein, Dresden 2013, pp. 14–24, here: p. 21.
89. ↑ Marcus von Salisch: Treue Deserteure: The Electoral Saxon Military and the Seven Years' War (= Military History Studies. Volume 41). Oldenbourg, Munich 2008, p. 283.
90. ↑ On the road construction mandate from 1781 see Frauke Gränitz: Landverkehrswege as factors in the development of the cultural landscape and the road system in the Electorate of Saxony from 1648 to 1800. The example road train Leipzig - Deutscheinsiedel. Dissertation TU Chemnitz, Chemnitz 2007, pp. 192–208 and passim ( online ).
91. ^ Thomas Nicklas : Approaches to reform under the sign of the economy: Kursachsens Rétablissement. In: Eberhard Laux, Karl Teppe (ed.): The modern state and its administration. Contributions to the history of development since 1700 (= Nassau Talks of the Freiherr vom Stein Society. Volume 5). Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 1998, p. 96.
92. ^ Johannes Burkhart: The Hubertusburg Peace - a Saxon Defeat? In: Dresdner Geschichtsverein (ed.): Saxony between 1763 and 1813 (= Dresdner Hefte. No. 114). Sandstein, Dresden 2013, pp. 4–13.
93. ↑ Georg Hassel: Statistical outline of all European states with regard to their size, population, cultural conditions, action, financial and military constitution and their non-European possessions. Booklet 2. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1805, p. 22 ( digitized version ).
94. ↑ A list of the parts of the country and population that had to be ceded to Prussia is provided by Johann Ludwig Klüber: Acts of the Vienna Congress in the years 1814 and 1815. Volume 7, Issue 25. Palm, Erlangen 1817, pp. 139–140 ( digitized version ); see also Josef Matzerath: Nobility trial at the modern age. Saxon nobility 1763–1866. Declaration of a traditional social formation (= quarterly for social and economic history. Supplement 183). Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, p. 28 f .; Winfried Müller: "Saxony would be most useful" - the calculation of Frederick II and his successors. In: Dresdner Geschichtsverein (Ed.):Saxony and Prussia - history of a dualism (= Dresdner Hefte . No. 111). Dresden 2012, ISBN 978-3-944019-00-0 , pp. 4–16, here: p. 15.
95. ↑ Volker title: "What should the state for us?" Discussions of Saxon entrepreneurs about the tasks and competencies of state influence on economic activity in the 19th century. In: Ulrich Heß, Petra Listewnik, Michael Schäfer (eds.): Economy and the state in Saxony's industrialization 1750–1930 (= contributions to the economic history of Saxony. Volume 3). Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2003, p. 139.
96. ↑ Hartmut Zwahr: On the emergence and typology of Saxon entrepreneurs in the time of the breakthrough of the industrial economy. In: Ulrich Heß, Michael Schäfer (ed.): Entrepreneurs in Saxony: Rise - Crisis - Fall - New Beginning. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 1998, pp. 21–30, here: pp. 22–24.
97. ↑ Volker title: "What should the state for us?" Discussions of Saxon entrepreneurs about the tasks and competencies of state influence on economic activity in the 19th century. In: Ulrich Heß, Petra Listewnik, Michael Schäfer (eds.): Economy and State in Sachsens Industrialisierung 1750-1930 (= (Contributions to the economic history of Saxony. Volume 3). Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2003, p. 139.
98. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 122.
99. ^ Wolfram Fischer: Economy and Society in the Age of Industrialization: Essays - Studies - Lectures. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1972, p. 468 ( digitized version ).
100. ^ Günter Bayerl: Periphery as fate and chance: Studies on the recent history of Niederlausitz. Waxmann Verlag, 2011, p. 203.
101. ^ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Electoral Saxony. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 132.
102. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 128.
103. ↑ Hartmut Zwahr : On the emergence and typology of Saxon entrepreneurs in the time of the breakthrough of the industrial economy. In: Ulrich Heß, Michael Schäfer (ed.): Entrepreneurs in Saxony: Rise - Crisis - Fall - New Beginning. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 1998, pp. 21–30, here: pp. 22–24.
104. ^ Wolfram Fischer: Economy and Society in the Age of Industrialization: Essays - Studies - Lectures. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1972, p. 467 f.
105. ↑ Georg Hassel: Statistical outline of all European states with regard to their size, population, cultural conditions, action, financial and military constitution and their non-European possessions. Booklet 2. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1805, p. 26 ( digitized version ).
106. ^ Franz Mathis: The German economy in the 16th century (= Encyclopedia of German History. Volume 11). Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 1992, p. 30.
107. ^ Johann Gottfried Hunger: Memories of the financial history of Saxony or revised history of the taxes in the Chursächsischen states. Weygand, Leipzig 1790, p. 187 ( digitized version ).
108. ^ Johann Gottfried Hunger: Memories of the financial history of Saxony or revised history of the taxes in the Chursächsischen states. Weygand, Leipzig 1790, p. 187.190.
109. ^ Johann Gottfried Hunger: Memories of the financial history of Saxony or revised history of the taxes in the Chursächsischen states. Weygand, Leipzig 1790, p. 187 f.
110. ↑ Danny Weber: "... the greatest merchant of the whole Holy Roman Empire ..." The business of the trading and banking house Frege & Comp. in Leipzig (1739-1815 / 16). Speech on the occasion of the awarding of the Horst Springer Prize 2007. Digital Library of the Friedrich Ebert Foundation 2007, p. 4 ( PDF ).
111. ^ Wolfram Fischer: Economy and Society in the Age of Industrialization: Essays - Studies - Lectures. Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 1972, pp. 469-471.
112. ↑ Georg Hassel: Statistical outline of all European states with regard to their size, population, cultural conditions, action, financial and military constitution and their non-European possessions. Issue 2. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1805, p. 27 ( digitized version ).
113. ^ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Kursachsen , Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 18 f.
114. ^ Rudolf Boch : State and Economy in the 19th Century (= Encyclopedia of German History. Volume 70). Oldenbourg Verlag, Munich 2004, p. 1.
115. ↑ Rudolf Forberger : Tschirnhaus and the Saxon manufacturing system. In: Eduard Winter (Ed.): EW von Tschirnhaus and the early enlightenment in Central and Eastern Europe (= sources and studies on the history of Eastern Europe. Volume 7). Akademie-Verlag, Berlin 1960, p. 216.
116. ↑ Reiner Groß: The Wettins. Kohlhammer Verlag, Stuttgart 2007, p. 76.
117. ↑ Uwe Schirmer: The Ernestine Electors until they lost their electoral dignity: 1485–1547. In: Frank-Lothar Kroll (ed.): The rulers of Saxony. Margraves, electors, kings 1089–1918. CH Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 55-75, here: pp. 61 f.
118. ^ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Electoral Saxony. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 19.
119. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, p. 465–476, here: p. 466 (German first edition: Finanzwesen und Staatsräson in Kursachsen at the beginning of modern times. In: Der Staat. Volume 25, number 3, 1986, pp. 373–383) .
120. ↑ Uwe Schirmer: The Ernestine Electors until they lost their electoral dignity: 1485–1547. In: Frank-Lothar Kroll (ed.): The rulers of Saxony. Margraves, electors, kings 1089–1918. CH Beck, Munich 2007, pp. 55–75, here: p. 62.
121. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, p. 29–62, here: p. 39 (first print: The expansion of the state in Saxony and the expansion of its spatial administrative districts. In: Blätter für Deutschen Landesgeschichte. Volume 91, 1954, pp. 74–109 ).
122. ↑ Marcus von Salisch: Treue Deserteure: The Electoral Saxon Military and the Seven Years' War (= Military History Studies. Volume 41). Oldenbourg, Munich 2008, p. 284 Note 63.
123. ^ Karl Czok: August the Strong and Electoral Saxony. Koehler & Amelang, Leipzig 1987, p. 80 f.
124. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, p. 349–364, here: p. 350 f. (First published by the state government of Saxony. In: Staatliche Archivverwaltung (Hrsg.): Research from Central German Archives. On the 60th birthday of Hellmut Kretzschmar (= series of publications by the Staatliche Archivverwaltung. Volume 3). Rütten & Loening, Berlin 1953, p. 270– 284).
125. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, p. 29–62, here: p. 43 (first edition: The expansion of the state in Saxony and the expansion of its administrative districts. In: Blätter für Deutschen Landesgeschichte. Volume 91, 1954, pp. 74–109 ).
126. ↑ List follows the tabs on the left on the SStA website. Saxon State Archives (Ed.): Authorities and institutions of the hereditary lands on archiv.sachsen.de . Retrieved September 6, 2017.
127. ↑ Josef Matzerath: Nobility trial at the modern age. Saxon nobility 1763–1866. Declaration of a traditional social formation (= quarterly for social and economic history. Supplement 183). Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, p. 27.
128. ↑ Josef Matzerath: Nobility trial at the modern age. Saxon nobility 1763–1866. Declaration of a traditional social formation (= quarterly for social and economic history. Supplement 183). Franz Steiner Verlag, Stuttgart 2006, p. 28.
129. ↑ Manfred Wilde: The sorcery and witch trials in Kursachsen, Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-412-10602-X , chapter: Jurisdiction and quantity (pp. 142–192), p. 143
130. ↑ Manfred Wilde: The sorcery and witch trials in Kursachsen, Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 2003, ISBN 3-412-10602-X , chapter: Jurisdiction and quantity (pp. 142–192), pp. 144f
131. ↑ Rex Rexheuser: Staff Unions of Saxony-Poland 1697-1763 and Hanover-England 1714-1837: A Comparison. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2005, p. 138.
132. ↑ Marcus von Salisch: Treue Deserteure: The Electoral Saxon Military and the Seven Years' War (= Military History Studies. Volume 41). Oldenbourg, Munich 2008, p. 284.
133. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Saxony between the reforms 1763 to 1831. In: Uwe Schirmer (Hrsg.): Saxony 1763-1832. Between rétablissement and bourgeois reforms (= writings of the Rudolf Kötzschke Society. Volume 3). Sax-Verlag, Beucha 1996, pp. 9-23, here: p. 22.
134. ↑ For further literature see Erich Viehöfer: To the development of the penal system in Saxony in the 18th century. In: Behind bars. Three centuries of penal execution in Saxony. Accompanying volume to the exhibition of the Saxon State Ministry of Justice, the Dresden City Museum and the Ludwigsburg Prison Museum in the Dresden City Museum from July 16 to October 15, 1998. Dresden 1998, pp. 3-19 ( PDF with its own page number).
135. ↑ Heinz Fengler: "Introduction". In: 700 years of coinage in Berlin , Berlin 1976, p. 20.
136. ^ Joachim Krüger: Between the Empire and Sweden. The sovereign coinage in the Duchy of Pomerania and in Swedish Pomerania in the early modern period (approx. 1580–1715) , LIT Verlag, Münster 2006, p. 209. ISBN 3-8258-9768-0
137. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: The Electoral Saxon Politics and Leipzig in the 18th Century. In: Wolfgang Martens (Ed.): Leipzig. Enlightenment and middle-class (= Wolfenbütteler studies for enlightenment. Volume 17). Lambert Schneider, Heidelberg 1990, pp. 23-38, here p. 31 f.
138. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Finance and reasons of state at the beginning of the modern age. In: Aldo De Maddalena, Hermann Kellenbenz (ed.): Finances and reasons of state in Italy and Germany in the early modern period (= writings of the Italian-German Historical Institute in Trient. Volume 4). Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 1992, p. 179.
139. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, pp. 63–112, here: p. 70 (first print: administrative history for city and district archivists in the area of ​​the former state of Saxony. Distributed as working material for city and district archives. Dresden 1962).
140. ↑ Uwe Schirmer: The financial income of Albrechts des Beherzten, 1485–1500. In: André Thieme (ed.): Duke Albrecht der Beherzte (1443–1500). A Saxon prince in the empire and in Europe. Böhlau, Köln / Weimar 2002, pp. 143–176, here p. 175 f.
141. ^ René Hanke: Brühl and the Renversement des alliances. The anti-Prussian foreign policy of the Dresden court 1744–1756 (= Historia profana et ecclesiastica. Volume 15). Lit, Münster et al. 2006, ISBN 978-3-8258-9455-9 , p. 22.
142. ↑ Marcus von Salisch: Treue Deserteure: The Electoral Saxon Military and the Seven Years' War (= Military History Studies. Volume 41). Oldenbourg, Munich 2008, p. 284, note 64.
143. ↑ Georg Hassel: Statistical outline of all European states with regard to their size, population, cultural conditions, action, financial and military constitution and their non-European possessions. Issue 2. Vieweg, Braunschweig 1805, p. 27 ( digitized version ).
144. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 122.
145. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 129.
146. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 130.
147. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 127.
148. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 130.
149. ^ Karlheinz Blaschke: Contributions to the constitutional and administrative history of Saxony. On the occasion of his 75th birthday, edited by Uwe Schirmer and André Thieme. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Leipzig 2002, pp. 63–112, here: p. 71 (first edition: Administrative history for city and district archivists in the area of ​​the former state of Saxony. Widely used as working material for city and district archives. Dresden 1962).
150. ^ Karin Zachmann: Kursächsischer Merkantilismus. State economic policy with a production-centered approach. In: Günter Bayerl, Wolfhard Weber: Social history of technology. Ulrich Troitzsch on his 60th birthday. Waxmann Verlag, Münster 1998, p. 129.
151. ↑ Wolfgang Behringer : The timetable of the world. Notes on the beginnings of the European transport revolution. In: Hans-Liudger Dienel , Helmuth Trischler (ed.): History of the future of traffic. Traffic concepts from the early modern era to the 21st century (= contributions to historical traffic research. Volume 1). Campus, Frankfurt a. M. 1997, pp. 40-57, here: p. 49.
152. ↑ See: Website of the Königstein Fortress
153. ↑ Panorama Luther 1517 on the website of the tourist information office of Lutherstadt Wittenberg. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
154. ↑ Grave of Elector Rudolf II discovered in Lutherstadt Wittenberg
155. ↑ State Office for Monument Preservation and Archeology Saxony-Anhalt: Castle of the Ascanian dukes rediscovered in Wittenberg (PDF), undated press release from 2005. Accessed on September 5, 2017.
156. ^ Homepage of the Dresden Chair for Saxon State History at the TU Dresden