Augustus II the Strong
Augustus II the Strong of the Albertine line of the House of Wettin was Elector of Saxony, Imperial Vicar and became King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Augustus great physical strength earned him the nicknames the Strong, the Saxon Hercules, in order to be elected King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, Augustus converted to Roman Catholicism. As a Catholic, he received the Order of the Golden Fleece from the Holy Roman Emperor, as Elector of Saxony, he is perhaps best remembered as a patron of the arts and architecture. He established the Saxon capital of Dresden as a cultural centre. Augustus amassed an art collection and built lavish baroque palaces in Dresden. His reigns brought Poland some troubled times and he led the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Great Northern War, which led to the Russian Empire strengthening its influence in Europe, especially within Poland. His main pursuit was bolstering royal power in the Commonwealth, characterized by broad decentralization in comparison with other European monarchies and he tried to accomplish this goal using foreign powers and thus destabilized the state.
Augustus was born in Dresden on 12 May 1670, the son of the Elector Johann Georg III. As the second son, Augustus had no expectation of inheriting the electorate, since his brother, Johann Georg IV. Augustus married Kristiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth in Bayreuth on 20 January 1693 and they had a son, Frederick Augustus II, who succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony and King of Poland as Augustus III. While cavorting during the season in Venice, his older brother. On 27 April 1694, Johann Georg died without issue and Augustus became Elector of Saxony. To be eligible for election to the throne of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1697, the Saxon dukes had traditionally been called champions of the Reformation. Saxony had been a stronghold of German Protestantism and Augustus conversion was considered shocking in Protestant Europe. Although the prince-elector guaranteed Saxonys religious status quo, Augustus conversion alienated many of his Protestant subjects, as a result of the enormous expenditure of money used to bribe the Polish nobility and clergy, Augustus contemporaries derisively referred to the Saxon dukes royal ambitions as his Polish adventure.
His church policy within the Holy Roman Empire followed orthodox Lutheranism and ran counter to his new-found religious, the Protestant princes of the empire and the two remaining Protestant electors were anxious to keep Saxony well-integrated in their camp. Saxony remained Lutheran and the few Roman Catholics residing in Saxony lacked any political or civil rights. In 1717, it clear just how awkward the situation was, to realize his ambitious dynastic plans in Poland and Germany
Galicia (Eastern Europe)
Galicia is a historical and geographic region in Central-Eastern Europe, once a small Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria that straddled the modern-day border between Poland and Ukraine. The area, which is named after the city of Halych, was first mentioned in Hungarian historical chronicles in the year 1206 as Galiciæ. The nucleus of historic Galicia lies within the regions of western Ukraine, Ternopil. In the 18th century, territories that became part of the modern Polish regions of Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Subcarpathian Voivodeship. There is considerable overlap between Galicia and south-west Ruthenia, especially a cross-border region that is inhabited by various nationalities, Halych-Volhynia cut a swathe as a mighty principality under the reign of Roman the Great in 1170–1205. After the expulsion of the Hungarians in 1221, Ruthenians took back rule of the area, Romans son Daniel of Galicia was crowned king of Halych-Volhynia. He founded Lviv, named in honour of his son Leo I, the Ukrainian name Halych comes from the Khwalis or Kaliz who occupied the area from the time of the Magyars.
They were called Khalisioi in Greek, and Khvalis in Ukrainian, the Lypytsia culture supposedly replaced the existing Thracian Hallstatt and Vysotske cultures. Others assert that the name has Slavic origins – from halytsa, meaning a naked hill, the jackdaw was used as a charge in the citys coat of arms and also in the coat of arms of Galicia. The name, predates the coat of arms, which may represent canting or simply folk etymology, although the Hungarians were driven out from Halych-Volhynia by 1221, Hungarian kings continued to add Galicia et Lodomeria to their official titles. In 1527, the Habsburgs inherited those titles, together with the Hungarian crown, in 1772, Empress Maria Theresa, Archduchess of Austria and Queen of Hungary, decided to use those historical claims to justify her participation in the first partition of Poland. In fact, the territories acquired by Austria did not correspond exactly to those of former Halych-Volhynia, including the city of Volodymyr-Volynskyi – after which Lodomeria was named – was taken by Russia, not Austria.
On the other hand, much of Lesser Poland – Nowy Sącz and Przemyśl, Zamość, the full official name of the new Austrian province was Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria with the Duchies of Auschwitz and Zator. After the incorporation of the Free City of Kraków in 1846, it was extended to Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria, each of those entities was formally separate, they were listed as such in the Austrian emperors titles, each had its distinct coat-of-arms and flag. For administrative purposes, they formed a single province, the duchies of Auschwitz and Zator were small historical principalities west of Kraków, on the border with Prussian Silesia. Lodomeria, under the name Volhynia, was not ruled by Austria, dale Dwellers, Mazury, Grębowiacy, Głuchoniemcy, Bełżanie, Bużanie, Opolanie, Wołyniacy, Pobereżcy or Nistrowianie. During the Great Migration period of Europe, a variety of nomadic groups invaded the area, Slavs came to dominate the Celtic-German population. In the 12th century, a Rurikid Principality of Halych formed there and Volhynia had originally been two separate Rurikid principalities, assigned on a rotating basis to younger members of the Kievan dynasty
Anna of Russia
Anna Ioannovna, spelled Anna Ivanovna and sometimes anglicized as Anne, was regent of the duchy of Courland from 1711 until 1730 and ruled as Empress of Russia from 1730 to 1740. Anna was born in Moscow as the daughter of Tsar Ivan V by his wife Praskovia Saltykova, although Annas father was himself Tsar of Russia and co-ruler with his half-brother Peter I, he was mentally disabled and incapable of administering the country. Therefore, his younger half-brother and co-ruler was effectively the autocrat of all the Russias, Ivan V died in February 1696, when Anna was only three years old, and her uncle became the sole ruler of Russia. Although Anna was the child of her parents, she had only one surviving elder sister, Catherine. The three girls were raised in a disciplined and austere manner by their mother, a very stern lady of sterling character. Anna grew up within a milieu which cherished womanly virtue and domesticity above all else and her education consisted of French, religious texts and folklore, leavened with some music and dancing.
As she grew older, she developed into a girl, with a mean streak. Anna was famed for her big cheek, which, as shown in her portraits, in time, her uncle Peter the Great ordered the family to move from Moscow to St. Petersburg. This meant a change of not just location but society, and she greatly enjoyed the splendor of court and the lavishness of high society, which was very different from the austerity preferred by her mother. In 1710, Peter the Great arranged for the 17-year-old Anna to marry Frederick William, Duke of Courland and her wedding was held on a grand scale, as per her own inclinations, and her uncle gave her a fabulous dowry of 200,000 roubles. At the feast which followed the wedding, two performed a parody by jumping out of enormous pies and dancing on the tables. The newly wedded couple spent several weeks in Russia before proceeding to Courland, only twenty miles out of St. Petersburg, on the road to Courland, Duke Frederick died. The cause of death was uncertain - it has been attributed variously to a chill or to the effects of alcohol, after her husband died, Anna proceeded to Jelgava, the capital of Courland and ruled that province for almost twenty years, from 1711 to 1730.
During this period, the Russian resident, Peter Bestuzhev, was her adviser and she never remarried after the death of her husband, but her enemies said she conducted a love affair with Ernst Johann von Biron, a prominent courtier, for many years. In 1730, Tsar Peter II died childless at a young age and his death rendered the main line of the Romanov dynasty extinct, which had ruled Russia for over a century, since 1613. Possible candidates for the throne were the three surviving daughters of Ivan V, namely Catherine and Praskovya, and the two surviving daughters of Peter the Great, namely Anna and Elizabeth. Ivan V had been the brother of Peter the Great and co-ruler with him. Finally, the Russian Supreme Privy Council led by Prince Dmitri Golitzyn selected Anna and she was selected in preference to her elder sister Catherine even though Catherine was at that time resident in Russia whereas Anna was not
Dresden Cathedral
Always the most important Catholic church of the city, it was elevated to the status of cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen in 1964. It is located near the Elbe River in the center of Dresden. The Hofkirche stands as one of Dresdens foremost landmarks and it was designed by architect Gaetano Chiaveri from 1738 to 1751. The church was commissioned by Augustus III, Elector of Saxony, whilst the general population was protestant its rulers were catholic. The catholic Elector built the cathedral for his own use and for the use of other high-ranking officials, the church was badly damaged in February 1945 during the bombing of Dresden in the Second World War. It was initially restored during the mid-1980s by the East German government and it was further restored in the early 21st century following reunification, including the rebuilding of the bridge to the castle. Today it is the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Dresden-Meissen, free entry is permitted during the daytime.
The cathedral features a carefully restored organ, the last work of the organ builder Gottfried Silbermann. It contains a Rococo pulpit by Balthasar Permoser, media related to Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden at Wikimedia Commons
Charles of Saxony, Duke of Courland
Prince Karl Christian Joseph of Saxony was a German prince from the House of Wettin and Duke of Courland. Born in Dresden, he was the fifth but third surviving son of Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony, and Maria Josepha of Austria. Afterwards, a plot surrounding the Grand Duchess Elisabeth Petrovna against the regent was a success, in 1741 Anna Leopoldovna, her son Ivan. To occupy the new headship of the Duchy, the local knighthood —under pressure from Saxony, the young prince had previously travelled to St. Petersburg from which came the agreement of Tsarina Elisabeth, confirming these plans from their part. Before these negotiations could come to their conclusion, his father appointed him as Duke on 10 November 1758 and formally invested him on 8 January 1759 with the Duchy of Courland and Semigallia. After the Courland Diet and the States had met, they lost their hope of wringing a statement from Karl, appropriately many aristocrats refused to homage the duke’s appointment on 3 November 1759 and instead waged protest in Warsaw and St.
Petersburg. The Duke was fond of life and lived in a remarkably splendid household on the Schloss Mitau and he amused the aristocracy with parties and courtly hunts with which he was able to increase his supporters. Also he took over the guidance of the Freemasons medal blossoming, at time in Poland. He left domestic politics, however, in the hands of his Country Controller Otto Christoph von der Howen. She allowed the now entirely rehabilitated Biron to return from his exile, finally, a sickly Augustus III —not only for his declined health but by the consequences of the Seven Years War— accepted the fate of his son and denied his support to him. Without any support, Karl had to renounce the Duchy in 1763 and his hopes to win back the Duchy of Courland scattered after the quick death of his father and the loss of the Polish Crown for the Saxon Electors. Thereupon Karl lived in Dresden, dedicated himself farther to the hunt in the Annaburger Heath, Karl died in Dresden at age sixty-two. He was buried in the Marienstern Monastery of Mühlberg, in Warsaw on 21 March 1760 Karl secretly married Franciszka Corvin-Krasińska, daughter of Count Stanislaus Corvin-Krasiński.
Because Franziska did not belong to a dynasty or immediate noble family. In response to the persistence of Karl and the Saxon court, the couple had two daughters, Maria Theresia. Through his surviving daughters first marriage, Karl is an ancestor of the Kings of Italy, heinrich Diederichs, Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie,15, Duncker & Humblot, pp. 297–298
Dresden
Dresden is the capital city and, after Leipzig, the second-largest city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the border with the Czech Republic, Dresden has a long history as the capital and royal residence for the Electors and Kings of Saxony, who for centuries furnished the city with cultural and artistic splendour. The city was known as the Jewel Box, because of its baroque, the controversial American and British bombing of Dresden in World War II towards the end of the war killed approximately 25,000, many of whom were civilians, and destroyed the entire city centre. After the war restoration work has helped to reconstruct parts of the inner city, including the Katholische Hofkirche, the Zwinger. Since German reunification in 1990 Dresden is again a cultural and political centre of Germany, the Dresden University of Technology is one of the 10 largest universities in Germany and part of the German Universities Excellence Initiative.
The economy of Dresden and its agglomeration is one of the most dynamic in Germany and it is dominated by high-tech branches, often called as “Silicon Saxony”. The city is one of the most visited in Germany with 4,3 million overnight stays per year. The royal buildings are among the most impressive buildings in Europe, main sights are the nearby National Park of Saxon Switzerland, the Ore Mountains and the countryside around Elbe Valley and Moritzburg Castle. The most prominent building in the city of Dresden is the Frauenkirche, built in the 18th century, the church was destroyed during World War II. The remaining ruins were left for 50 years as a war memorial, the church was rebuilt from 1994 to 2005. Although Dresden is a relatively recent city of Germanic origin followed by settlement of Slavic people, Dresdens founding and early growth is associated with the eastward expansion of Germanic peoples, mining in the nearby Ore Mountains, and the establishment of the Margraviate of Meissen. Its name etymologically derives from Old Sorbian Drežďany, meaning people of the forest, Dresden evolved into the capital of Saxony.
Around the late 12th century, a Slavic settlement called Drežďany had developed on the southern bank, another settlement existed on the northern bank, but its Slavic name is unknown. It was known as Antiqua Dresdin by 1350, and as Altendresden, Margrave of Meissen, chose Dresden as his interim residence in 1206, as documented in a record calling the place Civitas Dresdene. After 1270, Dresden became the capital of the margraviate and it was given to Friedrich Clem after death of Henry the Illustrious in 1288. It was taken by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1316 and was restored to the Wettin dynasty after the death of Valdemar the Great in 1319, from 1485, it was the seat of the dukes of Saxony, and from 1547 the electors as well. The Elector and ruler of Saxony Frederick Augustus I became King Augustus II the Strong of Poland in personal union and he gathered many of the best musicians and painters from all over Europe to the newly named Royal-Polish Residential City of Dresden. His reign marked the beginning of Dresdens emergence as a leading European city for technology, during the reign of Kings Augustus II the Strong and Augustus III of Poland the Zwinger Royal Palace, the Hofkirche and the Frauenkirche were built
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria was an Archduchess of Austria and the younger sister of Empress Maria Theresa. Maria Amalia was born at the Hofburg Imperial Palace in Vienna and she was the last daughter of Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor, and Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel. Like her sister, Maria Anna, her birth was not well received by her father and she died at 19 April 1730, in Vienna. Maria Amalia was the last member of the Austrian Habsburgs, after the death of her father, who had no male heirs, the imperial crown passed to Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor, as the husband of Maria Theresa. The Habsburg dynasty of Austria became extinct in the line with the death of Charles VI
Austria
Austria, officially the Republic of Austria, is a federal republic and a landlocked country of over 8.7 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north and Slovakia to the east and Italy to the south, the territory of Austria covers 83,879 km2. The terrain is mountainous, lying within the Alps, only 32% of the country is below 500 m. The majority of the population speaks local Bavarian dialects of German as their native language, other local official languages are Hungarian, Burgenland Croatian, and Slovene. The origins of modern-day Austria date back to the time of the Habsburg dynasty, from the time of the Reformation, many northern German princes, resenting the authority of the Emperor, used Protestantism as a flag of rebellion. Following Napoleons defeat, Prussia emerged as Austrias chief competitor for rule of a greater Germany, Austrias defeat by Prussia at the Battle of Königgrätz, during the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, cleared the way for Prussia to assert control over the rest of Germany.
In 1867, the empire was reformed into Austria-Hungary, Austria was thus the first to go to war in the July Crisis, which would ultimately escalate into World War I. The First Austrian Republic was established in 1919, in 1938 Nazi Germany annexed Austria in the Anschluss. This lasted until the end of World War II in 1945, after which Germany was occupied by the Allies, in 1955, the Austrian State Treaty re-established Austria as a sovereign state, ending the occupation. In the same year, the Austrian Parliament created the Declaration of Neutrality which declared that the Second Austrian Republic would become permanently neutral, Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy comprising nine federal states. The capital and largest city, with a population exceeding 1.7 million, is Vienna, other major urban areas of Austria include Graz, Linz and Innsbruck. Austria is one of the richest countries in the world, with a nominal per capita GDP of $43,724, the country has developed a high standard of living and in 2014 was ranked 21st in the world for its Human Development Index.
Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955, joined the European Union in 1995, Austria signed the Schengen Agreement in 1995, and adopted the euro currency in 1999. The German name for Austria, Österreich, meant eastern realm in Old High German, and is cognate with the word Ostarrîchi and this word is probably a translation of Medieval Latin Marchia orientalis into a local dialect. Austria was a prefecture of Bavaria created in 976, the word Austria is a Latinisation of the German name and was first recorded in the 12th century. Accordingly, Norig would essentially mean the same as Ostarrîchi and Österreich, the Celtic name was eventually Latinised to Noricum after the Romans conquered the area that encloses most of modern-day Austria, around 15 BC. Noricum became a Roman province in the mid-first century AD, heers hypothesis is not accepted by linguists. Settled in ancient times, the Central European land that is now Austria was occupied in pre-Roman times by various Celtic tribes, the Celtic kingdom of Noricum was claimed by the Roman Empire and made a province
Clemens Wenceslaus of Saxony
Clemens Wenceslaus was the ninth child of the Prince-Elector Augustus III of Saxony, who was the King of Poland. In 1760 he went to Vienna and entered the Austrian army as a field marshal and he was present at the Battle of Torgau, but he decided that warfare was not for him and instead entered the church. He took a view in spiritual affairs. He allowed the Jesuits to remain in Trier after abolishing their order, protested the reforms of his cousin, the Emperor Joseph II. Although a modest person who lived simply, he rebuilt Ehrenbreitstein into a magnificent palace and he established the theatre in Coblenz and encouraged music in the archdiocese. Clemens Wenceslaus enjoyed hunting and established a lodge at Kärlich. With the outbreak of the French Revolution at the end of the 18th Century and he ceased all reforms and began to rule strictly. He offered refuge to members of the French royal family, Clemens Wenceslaus received a pension of 100,000 guldens and retired to Augsburg, dying in the episcopal summer residence in Marktoberdorf in Allgäu in 1812.
His grandniece Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria was named after him, Archduchess Maria Clementina was a daughter of Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor and Maria Luisa of Spain. Maria Luisa was his niece by his sister Maria Amalia of Saxony
Czartoryski
Czartoryski is a Polish princely family of Lithuanian-Ruthenian origin, known as the Familia. The family, which derived their kin from the Gediminids dynasty and they used the Czartoryski coat of arms and were a noble family of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the 18th century. The Czartoryski family is of Grand Ducal Lithuanian descent from Ruthenia and their ancestor was the Grand Duke of Lithuania Algirdass son, known after his baptismal name Constantine, who became a Prince of Chortoryisk in Volhynia. One of his sons Vasyli Chortoryiski was granted an estate in Volhynia in 1393, the founding members were Ruthenian and Eastern Orthodox, and converted to Roman Catholicism during the 16th century. It was Michaels descendant Prince Kazimierz Czartoryski Duke of Klewan and Zukow, an intelligent, well educated man, he married Isabella Morsztyn daughter of the Grand Treasurer of Poland and built The Familia with their four children, Michał, August and Konstancja. The family attained the height of its influence from the century in the court of Augustus III of Poland.
The Czartoryski family is renowned for the Czartoryski Museum in Kraków. Today, the descendants of Prince Adam Jerzy Czartoryski are Prince Adam Karol Czartoryski. The descendants of Prince Konstanty Adam Czartoryski live to this day in Poland and have their representatives in the Confederation of the Polish Nobility, the Czartoryski family used the Czartoryski coat of arms and the motto Bądź co bądź. The familys arms were a modification of the Pogoń Litewska arms, notable members include, Wasyl Czartoryski, married Hanna Michał Czartoryski, married Maria Niemir Teodor Czartoryski, married Princes Zofia Sanguszko h. Pogoń Litewska Iwan Czartoryski, married Princess Anna Zasławska h, korybut Jerzy Czartoryski, married Princess Aleksandra Wiśniowiecka h. Hołowiński and Princess Zofia Lubomirska h, szreniawa Michał Jerzy Czartoryski, married Princess Izabella Korecka h. Pogoń Litewska Michał Jerzy Czartoryski, married Rosine Margarethe von Eckenberg and Joanna Weronika Olędzka h. Rawa Kazimierz Czartoryski, married Countess Izabela Elżbieta Morsztyn h, leliwa Michał Fryderyk Czartoryski, married Countess Elenora Monika Waldstein August Aleksander Czartoryski married Countess Maria Zofia Sieniawska h.
Leliwa Adam Kazimierz Czartoryski, married Izabela Czartoryska h, fleming Maria Anna Czartoryska, married Louis, Duke of Württemberg Adam Jerzy Czartoryski, married Princess Anna Zofia Sapieha h. Lis Izabella Elżbieta Czartoryska, married Count Jan Kanty Działyński h, ogończyk Witold Czartoryski, married Maria Cycylia Grocholska h. Ślepowron Elżbieta Czartoryska married Count Stefan Adam Zamoyski h, gozdawa Jerzy Konstanty Czartoryski, married Maria Joanna Czermak Witold Leon Czartoryski, married Countess Jadwiga Dzieduszycka h. Sas Włodzimierz Alfons Czartoryski, married Countess Zofia Tyszkiewicz h, leliwa Professor Paweł Czartoryski Beatified Jan Franciszek Czartoryski Roman Jacek Czartoryski, married Countess Teresa Janina Zamoyska h
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