Saxony

I

Introduction

Saxony (German, Sachsen), historical region in north-west Europe, which in ancient times was inhabited by the Germanic Saxons. The Saxons first appear in history in the 2nd century ad. In 772 Charlemagne invaded their land, imposing Christianity on them. His descendants created the powerful duchy of Saxony in Saxon territory during the 9th century.

II

Early History

German king Henry I (the Fowler) added extensive areas to the duchy in 919. In 962 Henry's son Otto I was crowned Holy Roman emperor. In 1180 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I dissolved the duchy of Saxony in retaliation against its defiant duke, Henry the Lion. At its height, the duchy had extended westward almost to the Rhine and as far east as the Oder. The ducal possessions were distributed among various princes and bishops; the part later known as Saxe-Wittenberg was granted the electoral privilege in 1356 and became known as Electoral Saxony. In 1423 Electoral Saxony, with the electoral privilege, was conferred on Frederick I, margrave of Meissen.

Frederick established his family as the ruling House of Saxony and brought to his new realm vast holdings in central Germany. In 1485 the family possessions were divided, the part known as Saxe-Wittenberg retaining the electoral privileges. This changed in 1547, when Maurice, Duke of Saxony, supported Holy Roman Emperor Charles V against the confederation of Protestant German princes known as the Schmalkaldic League. The emperor then transferred to Maurice the electoral privilege and most of the electoral domains. In 1552, however, Maurice broke with Charles V, forcing him to withdraw from Germany. The expanded electorate of Saxony, with Dresden as its capital, subsequently became a Protestant stronghold.

In the 17th and 18th centuries Saxony was directly involved in the religious and territorial struggles ravaging Europe. During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648) its allegiance wavered. In the next century Saxony became party to the War of Austrian Succession (1740-1748) when Elector Frederick Augustus II, who was also king of Poland as Augustus III, laid claim to the throne of Austria. At the start of the Seven Years' War in 1756, Saxony was invaded by the Prussians.

III

19th Century

In 1806, Napoleon I, emperor of France, following his victory at Jena in Saxon territory, forced Saxony to join the Confederation of the Rhine. Elector Frederick Augustus III then joined Napoleon as an ally and was permitted by the French emperor to proclaim himself, as Frederick Augustus I, the first king of Saxony. After the downfall of Napoleon, however, the kingdom was partitioned at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. Prussia acquired more than half of the territory. The now attenuated kingdom was allied with Austria against Prussia in the Seven Weeks' War of 1866. The victorious Prussians levied a heavy cash indemnity and forced Saxony to join the North German Confederation. In 1871 it became one of the constituent kingdoms of the German Empire.

IV

20th Century

In 1918, two days before the German surrender in World War I, an uprising forced the abdication of the Saxon king, and a republic was proclaimed; it subsequently became one of the founding states of the German Republic. After Germany's defeat in World War II, the state of Saxony became part of the German Democratic Republic (East Germany).

After German unification in 1990, the states of Saxony and Saxony-Anhalt were created. Saxony, in east central Germany, occupies basically the same area as the former kingdom. It is bordered by Bavaria, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt, Brandenburg, Poland, and the Czech Republic. Saxony-Anhalt, in central Germany, is bordered by Saxony, Thuringia, Lower Saxony, and Brandenburg.