125-505: Waldheim Prison is a 308-year-old federal prison in Saxony , Germany . As of April 2016, the Waldheim penal institution held 373 men (aged 21–80) out of a capacity of almost 400. The Saxon Minister of Justice , Sebastian Gemkow , described the focus as "humane enforcement". Originally an old castle, the Waldheim penitentiary opened on 3 April 1716. Founded by Augustus II
250-543: A Bohemian exclave until 1809. Eastern parts were also ruled by Poland between 1002 and 1032, by the Duchy of Jawor , the southwesternmost duchy of fragmented Piast -ruled Poland, from 1319 to 1346, and by Hungary from 1469 to 1490, and Pechern (Upper Sorbian: Pěchč ) was part of the Duchy of Żagań , one of the Lower Silesian duchies formed in the course of the medieval fragmentation of Poland, remaining under
375-526: A ceremony was held to celebrate the building's 300th anniversary, the oldest German prison still in use. Saxony Saxony , officially the Free State of Saxony , is a landlocked state of Germany , bordering the states of Brandenburg , Saxony-Anhalt , Thuringia , and Bavaria , as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic . Its capital is Dresden , and its largest city
500-831: A coalition of Austria, France and Russia against Prussia. Frederick II of Prussia chose to attack preemptively and invaded Saxony in August 1756, precipitating the Third Silesian War (part of the Seven Years' War ). The Prussians quickly defeated Saxony and incorporated the Saxon army into the Prussian Army . At the end of the Seven Years' War, Saxony recovered its independence in the 1763 Treaty of Hubertusburg . In 1806, French Emperor Napoleon abolished
625-567: A collateral line of the Wettins since 1382, reverted to the main Wettin line after the death in 1482 of its last representative, Duke William III of Saxony. The unity of the country was then restored. Of great importance for the development of the country was the agreement reached in 1459 between Elector Frederick II and George of Poděbrady , King of Bohemia, in the Treaty of Eger . It brought about
750-521: A collateral line of the family. The duchies of Saxe-Zeitz, Saxe-Merseburg and Saxe-Weissenfels that were created reverted to Electoral Saxony in 1718, 1738 and 1746 respectively. In John George's time, the partitions weakened the electoral state economically, financially and politically, even though from a cultural point of view, new centers with palace buildings, cultural institutions and scientific facilities were established outside Dresden and Leipzig. The collateral lines striving for independence also limited
875-635: A constitution for the Kingdom of Saxony that served as the basis for its government until 1918. During the 1848–49 constitutionalist revolutions in Germany , Saxony became a hotbed of revolutionaries, with anarchists such as Mikhail Bakunin and democrats including Richard Wagner and Gottfried Semper taking part in the May Uprising in Dresden in 1849. (Scenes of Richard Wagner's participation in
1000-636: A federalistic and pro-Austrian policy throughout the early 1860s until the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian War . During that war, Prussian troops overran Saxony without resistance and then invaded Austrian Bohemia . After the war, Saxony was forced to pay an indemnity and to join the North German Confederation in 1867. Under the terms of the North German Confederation, Prussia took over control of
1125-517: A hereditary settlement and a clear demarcation of the borders between the Kingdom of Bohemia and Saxony. When Elector Frederick II died in Leipzig on 7 September 1464, his eldest son Ernest (r. 1464–1486) succeeded him at the age of 23. It marked the beginning of an almost twenty-year period of joint rule with his brother Duke Albert . Initially the two ruled in harmony, favored by
1250-548: A metropolis in the east of the Holy Roman Empire passed to Leipzig and Dresden, as well as to the rising Brandenburg city of Berlin. When John George II (r. 1656–1680) succeeded his father, Electoral Saxony was still suffering from the economic consequences of the war. It was not until the reign of John George III (r. 1680–1691) that the war damage and dire social welfare situation were overcome. Resettlement of village farms and urban households proved to be
1375-670: A minority of 3.8%. About 0.9% of the Saxons belonged to an Evangelical free church ( Evangelische Freikirche , i.e. various Protestants outside the EKD), 0.3% to Orthodox churches and 1% to other religious communities, while 72.6% did not belong to any public-law religious society. The Moravian Church (see above) still maintains its religious centre in Herrnhut and it is there where 'The Daily Watchwords ' (Losungen) are selected each year which are in use in many churches worldwide. In particular in
SECTION 10
#17327827272131500-536: A republic. The first Free State of Saxony was established in 1918 as a constituent state of the Weimar Republic . After World War II , it was under Soviet occupation before it became part of communist East Germany and was abolished by the government in 1952. Following German reunification , the Free State of Saxony was reconstituted with enlarged borders in 1990 and became one of the five new states of
1625-586: A stipulated tribute of 276,600 imperial thalers on 30 June 1650 did the last of the Swedes leave Leipzig. Life increasingly returned to normal after the hired mercenaries were also released. Most of the decrease in Saxony's population due to the war came about indirectly through epidemics and economic factors related to the stagnation of trade, but troop movements and wartime occupations also caused considerable loss in both urban and village populations. According to
1750-522: A window of Prague Castle, marked the end of a long period of religious peace. Elector John George I (r. 1611–1656) joined the emperor's side with the goal of preserving the status quo of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg . Initially he and the elector of Mainz tried to mediate between Emperor Matthias and the Bohemian estates that were behind the defenestration. After the death of the emperor in March 1619,
1875-539: Is Leipzig . Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of 18,413 square kilometres (7,109 sq mi), and the sixth most populous , with more than 4 million inhabitants. The term Saxony has been in use for more than a millennium. It was used for the medieval Duchy of Saxony , the Electorate of Saxony of the Holy Roman Empire , the Kingdom of Saxony , and twice for
2000-474: Is a significant Buddhist community, which mainly caters to the population of Vietnamese origin, with one Buddhist temple built in 2008 and another one currently under construction. The Sikh faith also maintains a presence in Saxony's three largest cities with three (though small) Gurdwara . The Gross domestic product (GDP) of the state was 124.6 billion euros in 2018, accounting for 3.7% of German economic output. GDP per capita adjusted for purchasing power
2125-465: Is also home to a minority of Sorbs , a West Slavic ethnic group native to the area, numbering an estimated 80,000 people. Saxony has a long history as a duchy , an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire (the Electorate of Saxony ), and finally as a kingdom (the Kingdom of Saxony ). In 1918, after Germany's defeat in World War I , its monarchy was overthrown and a republican form of government
2250-399: Is considered to be the first state parliament ( Landtag ) in Saxony. The estates were given the right to meet without being summoned by the ruler when there were reforms in taxation. As a result, state parliaments were held more and more frequently, and the Wettin "state of the estates" ( Ständestaat ) that lasted until the 19th century was formed. As was common in other German houses,
2375-558: Is exercised through the Domowina . Former Minister President Stanislaw Tillich is of Sorbian ancestry and has been the first leader of a German state from a national minority. As of 2011, 72.6% of people are not affiliated with any religion. The Protestant Church in Germany represents the largest Christian denomination in the state, adhered to by 21.4% of the population. Members of the Roman Catholic Church formed
2500-435: Is located just across the border of Saxony-Anhalt . Leipzig shares, for instance, an S-train system (known as S-Bahn Mitteldeutschland ) and an airport with Halle. Saxony is a parliamentary democracy. A Minister President heads the government of Saxony. Michael Kretschmer has been Minister President since 13 December 2017. Gisela Reetz Ines Fröhlich Gesine Märtens Conrad Clemens Authorized representative of
2625-519: Is the lowest with 1.49. Dresden's fertility rate of 1.58 is the highest of all German cities with more than 500,000 inhabitants. Saxony is home to the Sorbs . There are currently between 45,000 and 60,000 Sorbs living in Saxony (Upper Lusatia region). Today's Sorb minority is the remainder of the Slavic population that settled throughout Saxony in the early Middle Ages and over time slowly assimilated into
SECTION 20
#17327827272132750-488: Is unrelated to present-day Saxony but the name moved southwards due to certain historical events (see below). The territory of the Free State of Saxony became part of the Holy Roman Empire by the 10th century, when the dukes of Saxony were also kings (or emperors) of the Holy Roman Empire, comprising the Ottonian , or Saxon, dynasty. The Margravate of Meissen was founded in 985 as a frontier march , that soon extended to
2875-663: The Landesdirektion Sachsen [ de ] . Saxony is a densely populated state if compared with more rural German states such as Bavaria or Lower Saxony . However, the population has declined over time. The population of Saxony began declining in the 1950s due to emigration, a process which accelerated after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. After bottoming out in 2013, the population has stabilized due to increased immigration and higher fertility rates. The cities of Leipzig, Dresden and Chemnitz, and
3000-597: The Battle of Lützen the following year; both were won by the Protestant side. Leipzig was besieged several times, and its population declined from 17,000 to 14,000. Chemnitz was severely damaged and Freiberg lost its earlier importance. Other urban centers, notably Dresden/Meissen, were spared. Many smaller towns and villages fell victim to massive looting, especially after General Wallenstein gave free hand to his field marshal Heinrich Holk . From August to December 1632
3125-497: The Battle of Vienna that ended the second Turkish siege of the city and ensured its independence. On 27 April 1694 the prince who until then had scarcely made an appearance took over the affairs of state of Saxony as Elector Frederick Augustus I (r. 1694–1733), better known as Augustus II the Strong. Festivities, baroque splendor, art and patronage, as well as lavish grandeur and ostentation characterized both his reign and
3250-468: The Bundestag . Saxony is divided into 10 districts: 1. Bautzen (BZ) 2. Erzgebirgskreis (ERZ) 3. Görlitz (GR) 4. Leipzig (L) 5. Meissen (MEI) (Meissen) 6. Mittelsachsen (FG) 7. Nordsachsen (TDO) 8. Sächsische Schweiz-Osterzgebirge (PIR) 9. Vogtlandkreis (V) 10. Zwickau (Z) In addition, three cities have
3375-540: The Cottbus Bezirk . The Free State of Saxony was reconstituted with slightly altered borders in 1990, following German reunification . Besides the formerly Silesian area of Saxony, which was mostly included in the territory of the new Saxony, the free state gained further areas north of Leipzig that had belonged to Saxony-Anhalt until 1952. The highest mountain in Saxony is the Fichtelberg (1,215 m) in
3500-536: The Croatian light cavalry raided numerous villages, plundering them, maltreating and killing the inhabitants and leaving a swath of destruction in its wake. In 1635 Saxony concluded the Peace of Prague with the emperor and in an appendix to the treaty the next year gained possession of Lusatia. Saxony's territory increased by about 13,000 square kilometers and almost reached its final borders. The devastation caused by
3625-582: The Duchy of Magdeburg , the Altmark and some smaller territories to become the Prussian Province of Saxony , a predecessor of the modern state of Saxony-Anhalt . Lower Lusatia and part of the former Saxe-Wittenberg territory became part of the Province of Brandenburg and the northeastern part of Upper Lusatia became part of the Province of Silesia . The rump Kingdom of Saxony had roughly
3750-600: The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg an electorate, a territory whose ruler was one of the prince-electors who chose the Holy Roman emperor. After the extinction of the male Saxe-Wittenberg line of the House of Ascania in 1422, the duchy and the electorate passed to the House of Wettin . The electoral privilege was tied only to the Electoral Circle , specifically the territory of the former Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg. In
3875-622: The Hanseatic League , which included several cities along the river. The former colonized land between the Saale and Elbe was connected to the long-settled land in the west through its political upgrade, which occurred at almost the same time that the Hohenzollerns were granted the Electorate of Brandenburg . The Wettins rose to become the leading power in central Germany. Politically, they proved to be committed administrators of
Waldheim Prison - Misplaced Pages Continue
4000-462: The Holy Roman Empire and established the Electorate of Saxony as a kingdom in exchange for military support. The Elector Frederick Augustus III accordingly became King Frederick Augustus I of Saxony . Frederick Augustus remained loyal to Napoleon during the wars that swept Europe in the following years; he was taken prisoner and his territories were declared forfeit by the allies in 1813, after
4125-570: The Kwisa (Queis) river to the east and as far as the Ore Mountains. In the process of Ostsiedlung , settlement of German farmers in the sparsely populated area was promoted. Around this time, the Billungs , a Saxon noble family, received extensive lands in Saxony. The emperor eventually gave them the title of dukes of Saxony . After Duke Magnus died in 1106, causing the extinction of
4250-539: The March of Lusatia since 1089 and of Meissen since 1125, gained a strategically important area to the north of their territories with Saxe-Wittenberg. It gave them a transportation connection to important northern German cities such as Magdeburg and a stronger integration into the middle Elbe country which was densely populated and important economically. Access to the Elbe made it possible for them to participate in trade with
4375-596: The Oder-Neisse line was annexed by Poland and the Soviet Union, and, unlike in the aftermath of World War I , the annexing powers were allowed to expel the inhabitants. During the following three years, Poland and Czechoslovakia expelled German-speaking people from their territories, and some of these expellees came to Saxony. Only a small area of Saxony lying east of the Neisse River and centred around
4500-460: The Province of Schleswig-Holstein ). Saxe-Wittenberg, mostly in modern Saxony-Anhalt , became subject to the margravate of Meissen , ruled by the Wettin dynasty in 1423. This established a new and powerful state, occupying large portions of the present Free State of Saxony, Thuringia, Saxony-Anhalt and Bavaria (Coburg and its environs). Although the centre of this state was far to the southeast of
4625-685: The Schmalkaldic War of 1546/47, which was won by the Catholics. The events of the Peasants' War of 1525 touched Saxon territories only marginally in the Vogtland and the Ore Mountains. The pressure on the peasantry was less in Saxony than in the southwestern areas of the Empire because of Saxony's strong sovereign position and administration which imposed barriers to arbitrary actions by
4750-628: The Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED). The new minister-president Rudolf Friedrichs (SED), had been a member of the SPD until April 1946. He met his Bavarian counterparts in the U.S. zone of occupation in October 1946 and May 1947, but died suddenly in mysterious circumstances the following month. He was succeeded by Max Seydewitz , a loyal follower of Joseph Stalin . The German Democratic Republic (East Germany), including Saxony,
4875-609: The Soviet Military Administration in Germany (SVAG) merged this territory into Saxony. This former Silesian territory broadly corresponded with the Upper Lusatian territory annexed by Prussia in 1815. On 20 October 1946, SVAG organised elections for the Saxon state parliament ( Landtag ), but many people were arbitrarily excluded from candidacy and suffrage, and the Soviet Union openly supported
5000-626: The War of the Burgundian Succession . The period of the joint reign of Ernest and Albert saw extensive silver discoveries in the Ore Mountains that stimulated a sustained economic boom. The mining dividends enabled the Saxon princes to pursue a broad domestic and foreign policy agenda. They purchased lands within the Wettin dominion and expanded their territory to the north and east. Leipzig became an important economic center of
5125-602: The Western Ore Mountains . There are numerous rivers in Saxony. The Elbe is the most dominant one. The Neisse defines the border between Saxony and Poland. Other rivers include the Mulde and the White Elster . The largest cities and towns in Saxony according to the 31 July 2022 estimate are listed below. Leipzig forms a conurbation with Halle , known as Ballungsraum Leipzig/Halle . The latter city
Waldheim Prison - Misplaced Pages Continue
5250-645: The 1485 Treaty of Leipzig , the Wettin noble house was divided between the sons of Elector Frederick II into the Ernestine and Albertine lines, with the electoral district going to the Ernestines. In 1547, when the Ernestine elector John Frederick I was defeated in the Schmalkaldic War , the electoral district and electorship passed to the Albertine line. They remained electors until the dissolution of
5375-459: The 18th and 19th centuries Saxe-Lauenburg was colloquially called the Duchy of Lauenburg , which was held in a personal union by the Electorate of Hanover from the 18th century to the Napoleonic wars, and in a personal union with Denmark (along with neighbouring Holstein and Schleswig ) for much the 19th century. In 1876 it was absorbed into Prussia as the Duchy of Lauenburg district of
5500-674: The Albertine duke George the Bearded fought against his ideas and rejected open action against the emperor. It was only after George's death that the Reformation was introduced in the Albertine part of the country. For their part, the Ernestines became involved in the Reformation throughout the Empire, forming with the Schmalkaldic League of Lutheran princes a counterweight to the imperial Catholic side and openly calling for it to be challenged. The religious differences led to
5625-514: The Bohemian estates deposed the newly crowned Ferdinand II and elected Frederick V of the Palatinate as their king. John George then agreed with Ferdinand II that Saxony should reconquer the two Bohemian tributary lands of Upper and Lower Lusatia for the emperor. In September 1620 Saxon troops marched into the two Lusatian territories and occupied them without major resistance. Because the emperor could not as agreed reimburse John George for
5750-455: The Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg in 1548, but contrary to the emperor's promises, he did not receive all of the Ernestine territories. The Ernestine line lost half of its possessions and retained only Weimar , Jena , Saalfeld , Weida , Gotha , Eisenach and Coburg . The fragmentation of the Ernestine possessions into numerous small states began in 1572. Two main Ernestine lines emerged in 1640,
5875-470: The Elbe towards the end of the 15th century. Dresden became the permanent residence of the elector, his councilors and administrative officials. The elector's increased expenses for equipping and maintaining an army and for his own court could no longer be met as before. The solution was to levy new types of taxes, which required the consent of the estates of the realm . The meeting of the estates that Elector Frederick II (r. 1428–1464) organized in 1438
6000-469: The Empire and built up a compact territory, especially through purchases in the 15th century. From the area around Wittenberg the name "Saxony" gradually spread to encompass all the Wettin territories on the upper Elbe. Since the ruler's place of residence and his visibility to the people gained in importance in the early phase of the Renaissance, the Wettins created a new seat in the Dresden valley of
6125-458: The Empire with an area of only about 4,500 to 5,000 square kilometers. There were no large urban centers, but the duchy's strategic location along the middle of the Elbe River gave the area promise. In November 1422 Albert III (r. 1419–1422), Elector and Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg, died without descendants who were entitled to inherit. The German king, on the basis of the provisions of
6250-454: The Federal Republic of Germany. The area of the modern state of Saxony should not be confused with Old Saxony , the area inhabited by Saxons . Old Saxony corresponds roughly to the modern German states of Lower Saxony , Saxony-Anhalt , and the Westphalian portion of North Rhine-Westphalia . Historically the region of Saxony has sometimes been referred to as Upper Saxony or Obersachsen in German to distinguish it from Lower Saxony. The state
6375-436: The Free State of Saxony under a new constitution enacted on 1 November 1920. In October 1923, when the Communist Party of Germany entered the Social Democratic -led government in Dresden with hidden revolutionary intentions , the Reich government under Chancellor Gustav Stresemann used a Reichsexekution to send troops into Saxony to remove the Communists from the government. The state retained its name and borders during
SECTION 50
#17327827272136500-476: The German speaking society. Many geographic names in Saxony are of Sorbic origin (including the three largest cities Chemnitz , Dresden and Leipzig ). The Sorbic language and culture are protected by special laws and cities and villages in eastern Saxony that are inhabited by a significant number of Sorbian inhabitants have bilingual street signs and administrative offices provide service in both, German and Sorbian. The Sorbs enjoy cultural self-administration which
6625-441: The Golden Bull, confiscated the duchy as a vacant imperial fiefdom. Both the Lauenburg Ascanians under Duke Erich V and the Meissen Wettins in the person of Frederick I (r. 1423–1428) laid claim to Saxe-Wittenberg and the associated electoral privilege. Frederick I's claim was based on his support of the Catholic forces in the religious Hussite Wars of 1419–1434. In 1423 Sigismund , King of Germany and Bohemia, awarded
6750-522: The Holy Roman Empire after the Habsburg states, with the ability to play a decisive role in imperial politics. The state along the middle course of the Elbe that Electoral Saxony formed was not, however, fully connected geographically. Elector Maurice and his successor, his brother Augustus (r. 1553–1586), worked to fill in the gaps. On 13 July 1547 the estates of the realm from the old and new territories were convened in Leipzig for two weeks as state parliament. Elector Maurice succeeded in clearing
6875-422: The Holy Roman Empire after the emperor granted it the right to hold fairs three times a year. At the imperial fairs the electors were able to convert their silver into cash, and with their filled coffers they started an active building program. Due to Leipzig's newly granted market and staple rights , traffic increased on the major trade routes that met in the city, and Leipzig became an important trading center for
7000-463: The Holy Roman Empire in 1806, after which they gained the Saxon kingship through an alliance with Napoleon. The Electorate of Saxony then became the Kingdom of Saxony . The Electorate of Saxony had a diversified economy and a high level of prosperity, although it suffered major setbacks during and following both the Thirty Years' War of 1618–1648 and the Seven Years' War of 1756–1763. Its middle-class structures were restricted in their development by
7125-421: The House of Saxe-Weimar and the House of Saxe-Gotha . While the former had only a few collateral lines which were eventually united to form Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach , the House of Saxe-Gotha counted a great many collateral lines, most of which ruled over their own lands. It was the Albertine territories that for the most part made up what is now Saxony. Once again it became the second most important German state in
7250-399: The May 1849 uprising in Dresden are depicted in the 1983 movie Wagner starring Richard Burton as Richard Wagner.) The May uprising in Dresden forced King Frederick Augustus II of Saxony to concede further reforms to the Saxon government. In 1854 Frederick Augustus II's brother, King John of Saxony , succeeded to the throne. A scholar, King John translated Dante . King John followed
7375-497: The Nazi era as a Gau ( Gau Saxony ), but lost its quasi-autonomous status and its parliamentary democracy. During World War II , under the secret Nazi programme Aktion T4 , an estimated 15,000 people suffering from mental and physical disabilities, as well as a number of concentration camp inmates, were murdered at Sonnenstein killing centre near Pirna . Numerous subcamps of the Buchenwald , Flossenburg and Gross-Rosen concentration camps were operated in Saxony. As
7500-513: The Piast dynasty until 1472. The first medieval Duchy of Saxony was a late Early Middle Ages " Carolingian stem duchy ", which emerged around the start of the 8th century AD and grew to include the greater part of Northern Germany , what are now the modern German states of Bremen , Hamburg , Lower Saxony , North Rhine-Westphalia , Schleswig-Holstein and Saxony-Anhalt . Saxons converted to Christianity during this period, with Charlemagne outlawing pagan practices. This geographical region
7625-411: The Saxon coat of arms, in many towns of Thuringia, the coat of arms can still be found in historical buildings. The remaining Saxon state became still more powerful, receiving Upper and Lower Lusatia in the Peace of Prague (1635) . It also became known in the 18th century for its cultural achievements, although it was politically weaker than Prussia and Austria , states which oppressed Saxony from
SECTION 60
#17327827272137750-445: The Saxon duchies. However, Sigismund , King of the Romans , had already granted Margrave Frederick IV the Warlike of Meissen ( House of Wettin ) an expectancy of the Saxon electorate in order to remunerate his military support. On 1 August 1425 Sigismund enfeoffed the Wettinian Frederick as Prince-Elector of Saxony, despite the protests of Eric V. Thus the Saxon territories remained permanently separated. The Electorate of Saxony
7875-402: The Saxon postal system, railroads, military and foreign affairs. In the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Saxon troops fought together with Prussian and other German troops against France. In 1871, Saxony joined the newly formed German Empire . After King Frederick Augustus III of Saxony abdicated on 13 November 1918, Saxony, remaining a constituent state of Germany ( Weimar Republic ), became
8000-415: The Strong , elector of Saxony , the prison was initially focused on welfare and rehabilitation and housed beggars, highwaymen , and criminals (with the latter only accounting for 20% of inmates). A model for other such institutions, by the turn of the 19th century, envoys traveled from other European states to see the prison. After being stripped of its welfare roles in 1830, the prison became notorious for
8125-428: The Thirty Years' War nevertheless continued, as battles against the Swedes went on for more than ten years. Electoral Saxony left the direct fighting provisionally with the armistice of 1645 and permanently through a 1646 treaty with Sweden. After the conclusion on 23 October 1648 of the Peace of Westphalia that ended the Thirty Years' War, Swedish troops were slow in leaving Electoral Saxony. Only after payment of
8250-408: The Weser and the Elbe remained with the Guelphs, becoming later the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg . The remaining eastern lands, together with the title of Duke of Saxony, passed to an Ascanian dynasty (descended from Eilika Billung , Wulfhild's younger sister) and were divided in 1260 into the two small states of Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg . The former state was also named Lower Saxony ,
8375-450: The Wettins regularly divided their possessions among sons and brothers, which often led to intra-family tensions. After the death in 1440 of Frederick IV , Landgrave of Thuringia, the Landgraviate of Thuringia reverted to the Electorate. Disagreements between the landgrave's nephews Elector Frederick II and William III led to the Division of Altenburg of 1445, in which William III received the Thuringian and Franconian parts and Frederick
8500-412: The atrocious treatment of inmates. In 1870, Waldheim was the first prison to install a mental ward . Waldheim was used to hold political prisoners : before World War II , for the Nazi Party , and the East German state . Some famous prisoners included Karl May , August Röckel , and Horst Sindermann . The 1950 Waldheim Trials imprisoned thousands of Nazi suspects and executed 24. In April 2016,
8625-436: The close political and cultural relationship persisted well into the 19th century, with Saxony being the place of preparations for the Polish Kościuszko Uprising against the partitioning powers, and one of the chief destinations for Polish refugees from partitioned Poland, including the artistic and political elite, such as composer Frédéric Chopin , war hero Józef Bem and writer Adam Mickiewicz . In 1756, Saxony joined
8750-437: The defeat of Napoleon. Prussia intended the annexation of Saxony but the opposition of Austria , France, and the United Kingdom to this plan resulted in the restoration of Frederick Augustus to his throne at the Congress of Vienna although he was forced to cede the northern part of the kingdom to Prussia, which led to the loss of nearly 60% of the Saxon territory, and 40% of its population. Most of these lands were merged with
8875-463: The eastern part of the Electorate. Disputes over the division led to the Saxon Fratricidal War . After five years of fighting, the situation remained unchanged, although large areas of the country had been devastated. The war was ended with the Peace of Pforta on 27 January 1451. The treaty confirmed the Altenburg partition, temporarily dividing the Wettin domain into an eastern and a western part. The western part of Saxony, which had been ruled by
9000-418: The eastern part, which continued to bear the name Saxony, was enfeoffed to the House of Ascania . Bernhard III became the first Saxon duke. He did not succeed in establishing territorial rule over the full area of the old Duchy of Saxony that had been awarded to him, with the result that the new Ascanian Duchy of Saxony was formed only by his title and the imperial fiefs of Lauenburg and Wittenberg. Bernhard
9125-441: The economic capacity of the state and was ultimately financed at the expense of military strength. The financial problems led to the abandonment of important positions in central Germany. Electoral Saxony's overextension favored the rise of Brandenburg-Prussia to become the second major German and Protestant power in the Empire. Augustus reduced the influence of the nobility by establishing a centralized body for executive powers with
9250-419: The electoral dignity permanently and for itself alone. The Wittenberg Ascanians Albert I, Albert II and Rudolf I (r. 1298–1356) ruled as dukes of Saxony for almost 150 years. They secured the continuity of the dynasty with their sons and asserted themselves as heirs to the Saxon electoral privilege. The electors were mainly concerned with external conflicts with other territorial rulers and pushed forward
9375-639: The electoral district and Ernestine possessions of Saxony became the focus of European attention since it was there that the first phase of the Protestant Reformation was anchored. Elector Frederick the Wise (r. 1486–1525) protected Luther, most notably when he sheltered him at the Wartburg Castle for ten months in 1521/22 after Luther had refused to recant at the Diet of Worms , but
9500-434: The electoral privilege to Rudolf I as Duke of Saxe-Wittenberg and decreed the indivisibility of the territory. The dukes of Saxe-Wittenberg rose to a place among the highest-ranking princes of the Empire. In addition to being one of the seven German electorates, Saxe-Wittenberg had possession of the office of arch-marshal of the Holy Roman Empire. In terms of size, Saxe-Wittenberg remained a rather insignificant territory in
9625-578: The estate-owning nobility. In 1565, the Jews of Saxony were expelled. In the Battle of Mühlberg in the Schmalkaldic War, the Albertine duke Maurice of Saxony, an ally of Emperor Charles V , defeated the Ernestine elector John Frederick I (r. 1532–1547). In the Capitulation of Wittenberg , Maurice (r. 1547–1553) was enfeoffed with the electoral privilege in 1547 and with
9750-422: The estates were able to assert their right to self-assembly. John George I took advantage of the peace to put his territories in order. A clause in his will overrode the decree issued by Albert in 1499 which was intended to prevent a division in the inheritance. Small parts of Electoral Saxony were bequeathed to his three sons Augustus, Christian and Maurice. The bequests established independent duchies that created
9875-466: The former Saxony, it came to be referred to as Upper Saxony and then simply Saxony , while the former Saxon territories in the north were now known as Lower Saxony (the modern term Niedersachsen deriving from this). In 1485, Saxony was split in the Treaty of Leipzig . A collateral line of the Wettin princes received what later became Thuringia and founded several small states there (see Ernestine duchies ). Since these princes were allowed to use
10000-403: The free state Saxony to the federal government of Germany In the 2024 European Parliament election , AfD received the highest percentage of votes in Saxony, winning 31.8% of the ballots. The other states where AfD has become the strongest party are Thuringia , Saxony-Anhalt , Mecklenburg-Vorpommern , and Brandenburg . These four states were part of East Germany like Saxony. Compared to
10125-406: The help of a privy cabinet created in 1706. It had specialized departments and gradually became the supreme central authority over the competing privy council of the territorial princes. Augustus also introduced a transparent accounting system to verify expenditures and a chamber of accounts that effectively organized the tax system. As a result of it and of the military retrenchment, the national debt
10250-447: The historian Karlheinz Blaschke, Saxony's population was reduced by about half as a result of the war. Other authors point out that such a large decrease may have been true in individual regions, but that it cannot be applied to the entire population. The losses were mitigated to a large extent by religious refugees, about 150,000 of whom came to Saxony from Bohemia and Silesia. After the complete devastation of Magdeburg, its importance as
10375-711: The influence of the Catholic Counter-Reformation , which was supported by the emperor. Electoral Saxony tried to mediate between the parties in the Empire. In 1608 the Protestant Union was founded as an alliance of the Protestant imperial estates, followed in 1609 by the union of the Catholic imperial estates into the Catholic League . The 1618 Defenestration of Prague , in which angry Protestants threw Catholic officials out of
10500-685: The larger cities, there are numerous smaller religious communities. The international Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has a presence in the Freiberg Germany Temple which was the first of its kind in Germany, opened in 1985 even before its counterpart in Western Germany. It now also serves as a religious center for the church members in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia , and Hungary . In Leipzig, there
10625-458: The last election, AfD increased their votes in Saxony which was 25.3% in the 2019 European Parliament election . CDU/CSU received 21.8% of the votes in Saxony and became the second strongest party in the 2024 EP election. BSW was in the third place by receiving 12.6% of the votes. The Left lost a significant proportion of their votes compared to the 2019 election. Their votes regressed from 11.7% to 4.9%. Saxony has 16 constituencies for
10750-448: The late 6th century became populated by Polabian Slavs (most prominently tribe of Sorbs ), being conquered by Francia which organized Sorbian March . A legacy of this period is the modern ethnic group of Sorbs in Saxony. Eastern and western parts of present Saxony were ruled by Bohemia at various times between 1075 and 1635 (with some intermissions), and Schirgiswalde (Upper Sorbian: Šěrachów ; Czech : Šerachov ) remained
10875-612: The latter Upper Saxony , thence the later names of the two Imperial Circles Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg. Both claimed the Saxon electoral privilege for themselves, but the Golden Bull of 1356 accepted only Wittenberg's claim, with Lauenburg nevertheless continuing to maintain its claim. In 1422, when the Saxon electoral line of the Ascanians became extinct, the Ascanian Eric V of Saxe-Lauenburg tried to reunite
11000-478: The lower Rhine. Tensions that had their origins in family relations increased between the two brothers Ernest and Albert and culminated in the Partition of Leipzig of 11 November 1485. It was not originally intended to be permanent, but in the end it significantly weakened the powerful position of the Electorate of Saxony in the Holy Roman Empire and led to open confrontation. Ernest had his main focus in
11125-580: The male line of Billungs, oversight of the duchy was given to Lothar of Supplinburg , who also became emperor for a short time. In 1137, control of Saxony passed to the Guelph dynasty, descendants of Wulfhild Billung, eldest daughter of the last Billung duke, and the daughter of Lothar of Supplinburg. In 1180 large portions west of the Weser were ceded to the Bishops of Cologne , while some central parts between
11250-513: The mismanagement of Saxony's finances increased and budgets became unorganized, resulting in payment defaults and the danger of insolvency. After the death of the Polish king John III Sobieski in 1696, Augustus II the Strong converted to Catholicism and with Habsburg support, military pressure and bribes, won the free election for the kingship in 1697, becoming King Augustus II of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. The political calculation behind
11375-427: The most difficult problem. The first sign of recovery was an increase in tax revenues. Mining, metallurgy, crafts, trade and transportation recovered slowly but steadily. The Saxon estates of the realm had regained influence during the war due to the territorial princes' great need for money. In the second half of the 17th century the electors had to convene the state parliament far more frequently than before, and in 1661
11500-524: The nobility and the administration and tended to lag behind contemporary western nations such as the Dutch Republic . Important humanistic and educational impulses came from Saxony through the Reformation that started in the Electorate in the early 1500s. Especially in the 18th century, Saxon culture and arts flourished. For about 200 years until the end of the 17th century, the Electorate was
11625-565: The north and south, respectively. Between 1697 and 1763, two successive Electors of Saxony were also elected Kings of Poland in personal union . Many landmarks in Saxony date from this period and contain remnants of the former close Polish-Saxon relation, such as the coat of arms of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth on the facades and in the interiors of palaces, churches, edifices, etc. (e.g. Zwinger , Dresden Cathedral , Moritzburg Castle ), and on numerous mileposts, and
11750-777: The north with his residence at Torgau and held the prestigious electoral district in the north. His territory consisted of 14 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. Albert resided in Dresden as Duke of Saxony and was dominant in the east. He had the strategically better territory because it consisted of only two main areas and four exclaves. The two largest Saxon cities, Leipzig and Dresden, were located in his dominions. When Martin Luther posted his 95 theses in Wittenberg in 1517,
11875-718: The onset of a long economic upswing and increasing urban development. Agreement on political actions and decisions was ensured by a joint court in Dresden Castle . Together the brothers had the Albrechtsburg Castle built in Meissen on the French model. In their policy, they pursued additional accommodation with Bohemia and provided active military assistance to the Empire against the Ottoman Empire and in
12000-498: The orthodox Lutheran party, and the new church order was enforced nationwide. With Christian's death in 1591, the situation changed abruptly. Under a guardianship government established for the underaged Christian II (r. 1591–1611), Calvinist movements in Saxony were opposed with violence. Calvinist supporters were removed from all offices, and the houses of wealthy Calvinists were stormed and set on fire. The growing differences between reformed and orthodox Lutheranism strengthened
12125-526: The other German states of the time. After the western part of Saxony reverted to the main Wettin line following the death Duke William III in 1482, Saxony became the second power in the Holy Roman Empire next to the Habsburg domains. The family network of the Wettins expanded to include members who were ecclesiastical dignitaries in Magdeburg, Halberstadt and Mainz , with additional claims to duchies on
12250-903: The period. Augustan Dresden continued to develop into the "Florence on the Elbe". The period saw the building of the Zwinger Palace , the Taschenbergpalais , the Pillnitz Palace , the Moritzburg Castle and the Augustus Bridge . New church buildings included the Protestant Frauenkirche by George Bähr and the Catholic Dresden Cathedral of Gaetano Chiaveri . The luxurious life at court eventually exceeded
12375-456: The political inheritance of Albert III as an imperial fiefdom to the Wettin margraves of Meissen and granted them the Electorate of Saxony along with its electoral privilege. The Margravate of Meissen was absorbed into the Electorate of Saxony, and Saxe-Wittenberg was incorporated into the Wettin dominion as an electoral district. It was able to maintain a quasi-dominant position in the Wettin state until 1548. The Wettins, who had been margraves of
12500-642: The same extent as the present state, albeit slightly smaller. Meanwhile, in 1815, the Kingdom of Saxony joined the German Confederation . In the politics of the Confederation, Saxony was overshadowed by Prussia and Austria. King Anthony of Saxony came to the throne of Saxony in 1827. Shortly thereafter, liberal pressures in Saxony mounted and broke out in revolt during 1830—a year of revolution in Europe. The revolution in Saxony resulted in
12625-598: The second most important territory in the Holy Roman Empire and a key protector of its Protestant principalities. At the time of its greatest extent in 1807 (one year after it was elevated to the status of a kingdom), Saxony had reached a size of 34,994 square kilometers (about 13,500 square miles) and had a population of 2,010,000. From the end of the 12th to the middle of the 13th century, a narrow circle of imperial electors emerged that succeeded in excluding others from their number. The electoral college consisted initially of two ecclesiastical and two secular princes, one of whom
12750-540: The specific territory tied to was the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg. The Old Saxony of the early Middle Ages corresponded roughly to the present German state of Lower Saxony . In 1180 Emperor Frederick Barbarossa of the rival Hohenstaufen dynasty deprived the Saxon duke Henry the Lion of his power, and his duchy was divided, with the western part placed under the Archbishop of Cologne as the Duchy of Westphalia , while
12875-422: The status of an urban district ( German : kreisfreie Städte ): Between 1990 and 2008, Saxony was divided into the three regions ( Regierungsbezirke ) of Chemnitz , Dresden , and Leipzig . After the 2008 Saxony district reform , these regions – with some alterations of their respective areas – were called Direktionsbezirke . In 2012, the authorities of these regions were merged into one central authority,
13000-591: The territorial development of the still sparsely populated area. In 1290 the duchy was extended to include the Burgraviate of Magdeburg and the Countship of Brehna . The electoral privilege was not institutionally regulated until 1356 and the Golden Bull , the fundamental law of the Empire settling the method of electing the German king by seven prince-electors. Through it Emperor Charles IV permanently granted
13125-409: The town of Reichenau (Bogatynia) was annexed by Poland. Traditional close relations of Saxony with neighbouring German-speaking Egerland were thus completely destroyed, making the border of Saxony along the Ore Mountains a linguistic border. Part of the former Prussian province of Lower Silesia lay west of the Oder-Neisse line and therefore was separated from the bulk of its former province;
13250-469: The towns of Radebeul and Markkleeberg in their vicinity, have seen their populations increase since 2000. The following tables illustrate the foreign resident populations and the population of Saxony from 1816 to 2022: The average number of children per woman in Saxony was 1.60 in 2018, the fourth-highest rate of all German states. Within Saxony, the highest is the Bautzen district with 1.77, while Leipzig
13375-527: The trend towards absolutist government that was growing in Electoral Saxony. Like other similarly-sized states of the time, Electoral Saxony pursued a foreign policy goal of advancing its own rise in a system of states dominated by rivalries. It remained at the side of the Austrian imperial house until the end of the 17th century. After the death of Emperor Ferdinand III in 1657, John George II
13500-631: The villages of Eythra and Zwenkau near Leipzig. The Germanic presence in the territory of today's Saxony is thought to have begun in the first century BC. Parts of Saxony were possibly under the control of the Germanic King Marobod during the Roman era. By the late Roman period, several tribes known as the Saxons emerged, from which the subsequent state(s) draw their name. The territory of modern day Saxony and partly of Thuringia since
13625-478: The war costs, he had to give him the two Lusatias as a pledge in 1623. Saxony's relations with the emperor then began to deteriorate, in part because Saxony's neutrality was only minimally respected by the imperial troops led by Albrecht von Wallenstein , who on several occasions led marauding troops into Lusatia. John George also disliked the ruthlessly pursued recatholicization in Silesia and Bohemia, although he
13750-785: The war drew to its end, U.S. troops under General George Patton occupied the western part of Saxony in April 1945, while Soviet troops occupied the eastern part. That summer, the entire state was handed over to Soviet forces as agreed in the London Protocol of September 1944 . Britain, the US, and the USSR then negotiated Germany's future at the Potsdam Conference . Under the Potsdam Agreement , all German territory East of
13875-460: The way for the recognition of the new faith in the Empire. Under his rule, the Electorate of Saxony more than any other power in the Empire protected the Protestant faith. After the conclusion of the 1555 Peace of Augsburg that allowed rulers within the Empire to choose either Lutheranism or Catholicism, Saxony was firmly on the Habsburg side. Augustus, who had replaced Maurice as elector after he
14000-501: The whole of Europe. The customs revenues along the route in turn benefited the electoral treasury. In 1480 the printer Konrad Kachelofen from Nuremberg settled in Leipzig and with his letterpress began the Leipzig tradition of book printing. In 1483 Elector Ernest and Duke Albert established the Leipzig High Court . It was staffed by nobles and burghers and was the first independent public authority in Electoral Saxony that
14125-734: Was imperial vicar (regent) for more than a year until the election of the Habsburg Leopold I . Saxony took part in the Second Northern War against Sweden (1655–1660) and then the Austro-Turkish War (1663–1664). In the same year it became a member of the League of the Rhine and allowed the French to recruit on Saxon territory and to have its troops pass through it. In 1683 Elector John George III participated in
14250-646: Was 28,100 euros or 93% of the EU27 average in the same year. The GDP per employee was 85% of the EU average. The GDP per capita was the highest of the states of the former GDR. Saxony has a "very high" Human Development Index value of 0.930 (2018), which is at the same level as Denmark. Within Germany Saxony is ranked 9th . Electorate of Saxony The Electorate of Saxony , also known as Electoral Saxony ( German : Kurfürstentum Sachsen or Kursachsen ),
14375-435: Was a territory of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356 to 1806 initially centred on Wittenberg that came to include areas around the cities of Dresden , Leipzig and Chemnitz . It was a major Holy Roman state, being an electorate and the original protecting power of Protestant principalities until that role was later taken by its neighbor, Brandenburg-Prussia . In the Golden Bull of 1356 , Emperor Charles IV designated
14500-417: Was detached from the prince and court. An effective local and central administration secured the rule of the electors. Internal order was restored after the unrest and insecurity that robber barons had caused in Germany. Blood feuds were eliminated, the roads were secured from robbery, and an efficient legal system was established. Saxony became culturally, economically, and governmentally advanced compared to
14625-591: Was established in 1949 out of the Soviet zone of Occupied Germany , becoming a constitutionally socialist state , part of COMECON and the Warsaw Pact , under the leadership of the SED . In 1952 the government abolished the Free State of Saxony, and divided its territory into three Bezirke : Leipzig , Dresden , and Karl-Marx-Stadt (formerly and currently Chemnitz ). Areas around Hoyerswerda were also part of
14750-458: Was established under the current name. The state was broken up into smaller units during communist rule (1949–1989), but was re-established on 3 October 1990 on the reunification of East and West Germany . In prehistoric times, the territory of present-day Saxony was the site of some of the largest of the ancient central European monumental temples , dating from the fifth century BC. Notable archaeological sites have been discovered in Dresden and
14875-490: Was killed in battle in 1553, saw himself as the leader of the Lutheran imperial states in whose interest the status quo achieved between Protestants and Catholics was to be preserved. The Ernestine duke John Frederick II continued to claim the electoral privilege that had been revoked from his father. When his ally Wilhelm von Grumbach was placed under an imperial ban , John Frederick refused to act against him, and he too
15000-487: Was limited and manageable in spite of the high expenditures. A true absolutism did not develop in the Electorate. The inherent contradictions between the elector's claim to absolute power, the nobility's will to assert itself, and the aspirations of the burghers proved to be insurmountable. Because Augustus' son Frederick Augustus II (r. 1733–1763) had no political ambitions, he left the day-to-day political business to his prime minister Heinrich von Brühl . Under Brühl
15125-476: Was put under ban a year later. Emperor Ferdinand I entrusted Augustus with the execution of the imperial sentences, and his successful military actions against both Grumbach and John Frederick in 1567 consolidated Electoral Saxony's position in the Empire. The Albertine electoral privilege was never again challenged by the Ernestines. The introduction of Calvinism into Electoral Saxony began under Elector Christian I (r. 1586–1591). In time it prevailed over
15250-489: Was succeeded by Albert I (r. 1212–1260). After his death in 1260, his sons John I and Albert II (r. 1260–1298) divided his land into the Duchies of Saxe-Wittenberg and Saxe-Lauenburg . Initially the brothers ruled together, but after Albert became burgrave of Magdeburg in 1269, a final division of the duchies under the two rulers became final and was formalized in 1296. Saxe-Wittenberg succeeded in claiming
15375-401: Was the duke of Saxony . The circle was extended in the 13th century to seven: the archbishops of Mainz , Trier and Cologne plus the count palatine of the Rhine , the margrave of Brandenburg , the king of Bohemia and the duke of Saxony. Tying electoral rights to individual territories took place in the early 13th century and solidified from then on. In the case of the Electorate of Saxony,
15500-517: Was then merged with the much larger Wettinian Margraviate of Meissen ; however, it used the higher-ranking title Electorate of Saxony and even the Ascanian coat-of-arms for the entire monarchy. Thus Saxony came to include Dresden and Meissen . Hence, the territory of the modern Free State of Saxony shares the name with the old Saxon stem duchy for historical and dynastic reasons rather than any significant ethnic, linguistic or cultural connection. In
15625-411: Was unable to do anything about it. In 1631 he finally felt compelled to enter the war against the emperor on the side of Protestant Sweden. The decisive factor for the radical change in policy was the military situation – Swedish troops were already on Saxon soil at the time. The war affected Electoral Saxony especially badly in the west. The Battle of Breitenfeld took place near Leipzig in 1631, as did
#212787