1.
Wawel Cathedral
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The Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus on the Wawel Hill, also known as the Wawel Cathedral, is a Roman Catholic church located on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. More than 900 years old, it is the Polish national sanctuary, the construction of the current one began in the 14th century on the orders of bishop Nanker. The Cathedral comprises a nave with aisles, transepts with aisles, a choir with aisles. The main altar, located in the apse, was founded about 1650 by Bishop Piotr Gembicki, the altar painting of Crucified Christ by Marcin Blechowski is from the 17th century. Over the main altar stands a canopy of black marble supported by four pillars, designed by Giovanni Battista Trevano. Underneath the canopy is placed a silver coffin of national patron saint St. Stanislaus created between 1669-1671 after the one was stolen by the Swedes in 1655. The Wawel Cathedral has been the burial site for Polish monarchs since the 14th century. As such, it has significantly extended and altered over time as individual rulers have added multiple burial chapels. Financed by Sigismund I the Old, it was built between 1517 and 1533 by Bartolommeo Berrecci, a Florentine Renaissance architect, who spent most of his career in Poland. A square-based chapel with a dome, it houses the tombs of its founder. Notes Media related to Wawel Cathedral at Wikimedia Commons Wawel Cathedral official website
2.
Augustus II the Strong
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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 also 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
3.
Dresden
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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, educational 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 also 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 later 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 later as Altendresden, dietrich, 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, architects 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
4.
Dresden Cathedral
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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 also contains a Rococo pulpit by Balthasar Permoser, media related to Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden at Wikimedia Commons
5.
Maria Kunigunde of Saxony
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Maria Kunigunde Dorothea Hedwig Franziska Xaveria Florentina of Saxony was a German noblewoman. She was a titular Princess of Poland, Lithuania and Saxony of the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin and she was a member of the Order of the Starry Cross and a collegiate lady in the abbey at Münsterbilzen. Later, she became Princess-Abbess of Essen and Thorn and she was the 15th and youngest child of King Augustus III of Poland, who was also Elector of Saxony as Frederick August II, and his wife Maria Josepha of Austria. Her father liked hunting, often went to the opera, kept an art collection. However, he neglected his daily government duties and left them to his first ministers Count Heinrich von Brühl and her parents placed great emphasis on the education of all their children. Maria Kunigunde was taught Polish, Latin, French, English, philosophy, geography, religion, drawing, music, as a young girl, she took part in operas and Singspiele performed at court in Dresden. She sang the title rôle in the opera Leucippo by Johann Adolph Hasse, as a daughter of a ruling family, she was destined to marry a prince to strengthen the political relations of the House of Wettin. The candidate her father considered was Archduke Joseph of Austria, who later became Emperor as Joseph II and his first wife, Isabella of Bourbon-Parma had died without producing an heir and his mother, Maria Theresa pressured him to remarry and produce an heir. Joseph considered marrying Isabellas younger sister Maria Louisa, however, she was engaged to the Spanish heir apparent. Joseph asked Charles father Charles III to break off this engagement, the Empress and her chancellor then asked him to choose a princess from Bavaria or Saxony. In 1764, he left Vienna to meet potential brides, the Saxon court in Dresden favoured a marriage between Joseph and Maria Kunigunde, if only because he might help the Saxons solve their financial difficulties. A secret dinner meeting was arranged between the two at Teplice in Bohemia, however, Maria Kunigunde hardly said a word during this meal and Joseph decided she was too timid to be his bride. He married her first cousin, Maria Josepha of Bavaria, whom he considered not very pretty, Maria Josephas marriage was an unhappy one, Maria Kunigunde was spared this fate. However, the story of her secret meeting in Bohemia spread around the European courts. One of the objectives of the House of Wettin was to increase their influence in the Lower Rhenish-Westphalian Circle in the northwestern part of the Holy Roman Empire. The court in Dresden demanded that Vienna make her princess-abbess of a prestigious ladies abbey as compensation for the marriage plans. The two courts had some problems agreeing on a suitable abbey, Vienna proposed to make Maria Kunigude coadjutor and heir designate of Hradčany Abbey, which Empress Maria Theresa had founded in the Prague Castle. However, Dresden rejected this, because the abbey was a subject of the Bohemian Crown, Dresden demanded she be given an immediate Abbey, which would make Maria Kunigunde an Imperial Princess
6.
House of Wettin
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The House of Wettin is a dynasty of German counts, dukes, prince-electors and kings that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its origins can be traced back to the town of Wettin, the Wettins gradually rose to power within the Holy Roman Empire. Members of the family became the rulers of medieval states. Other states they gained were Meissen in 1089, Thuringia in 1263, the family divided into two ruling branches in 1485 by the Treaty of Leipzig, the Ernestine and Albertine branches. The older Ernestine branch played a key role during the Protestant Reformation, many ruling monarchs outside Germany were later tied to its cadet branch, the House of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. The Albertine branch, while less prominent, ruled most of Saxony, agnates of the House of Wettin have, at various times, ascended the thrones of Great Britain, Portugal, Bulgaria, Poland, Saxony, and Belgium. Only the British and Belgian lines retain their thrones today, the oldest member of the House of Wettin who is known for certain is Theodoric I of Wettin, also known as Dietrich, Thiedericus, and Thierry I of Liesgau. He was most probably based in the Liesgau, around 1000, the family acquired Wettin Castle, which was originally built by the local Slavic tribes, after which they named themselves. Wettin Castle is located in Wettin in the Hassegau on the Saale River, around 1030, the Wettin family received the Eastern March as a fief. The prominence of the Wettins in the Slavic Saxon Eastern March caused Emperor Henry IV to invest them with the March of Meissen as a fief in 1089. The family split into two ruling branches in 1485 when the sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony divided the territories hitherto ruled jointly, as Albert ruled under the title of Duke of Saxony, his possessions were also known as Ducal Saxony. The older Ernestine branch remained predominant until 1547 and played an important role in the beginnings of the Protestant Reformation, Frederick III appointed Martin Luther and Philipp Melanchthon to the University of Wittenberg, which he had established in 1502. The Ernestine predominance ended in the Schmalkaldic War, which pitted the Protestant Schmalkaldic League against the Emperor Charles V, although itself Lutheran, the Albertine branch rallied to the Emperors cause. Charles V had promised Moritz the rights to the electorship, after the Battle of Mühlberg, Johann Friedrich der Großmütige, had to cede territory and the electorship to his cousin Moritz. Although imprisoned, Johann Friedrich was able to plan a new university and it was established by his three sons on 19 March 1548 as the Höhere Landesschule at Jena. On 15 August 1557, Emperor Ferdinand I awarded it the status of university, the Ernestine line was thereafter restricted to Thuringia and its dynastic unity swiftly crumbled, dividing into a number of smaller states, the Ernestine duchies. In the 18th century, Karl August, Duke of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach, established what was to become known as Weimar Classicism at his court in Weimar, notably by bringing Johann Wolfgang von Goethe there. The Ernestine Wettins, on the hand, repeatedly subdivided their territory
7.
Grand Duchy of Lithuania
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The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was a European state from the 13th century until 1795. The state was founded by the Lithuanians, one of the polytheistic Baltic tribes from Aukštaitija, the Grand Duchy later expanded to include large portions of the former Kievan Rus and other Slavic lands, including territory of present-day Belarus, parts of Ukraine, Poland and Russia. At its greatest extent in the 15th century, it was the largest state in Europe and it was a multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state with great diversity in languages, religion, and cultural heritage. Consolidation of the Lithuanian lands began in the late 12th century, Mindaugas, the first ruler of the Grand Duchy, was crowned as Catholic King of Lithuania in 1253. The pagan state was targeted in the crusade by the Teutonic Knights. The multi-ethnic and multi-confessional state emerged only at the reign of Gediminas. The reign of Vytautas the Great marked both the greatest territorial expansion of the Grand Duchy and the defeat of the Teutonic Knights in the Battle of Grunwald in 1410 and it also marked the rise of the Lithuanian nobility. After Vytautass death, Lithuanias relationship with the Kingdom of Poland greatly deteriorated, Lithuanian noblemen, including the Radvila family, attempted to break the personal union with Poland. However, the unsuccessful Muscovite–Lithuanian Wars with the Grand Duchy of Moscow forced the union to remain intact, eventually, the Union of Lublin of 1569 created a new state, the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. In this federation, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania maintained its political distinctiveness and had separate government, laws, army, shortly after, the unitary character of the state was confirmed by adopting the Reciprocal Guarantee of Two Nations. The newly reformed Commonwealth was invaded by Russia in 1792 and partitioned between the neighbours, with a truncated state remaining only nominally independent, after the Kościuszko Uprising, the territory was partitioned among the Russian Empire, the Kingdom of Prussia, and Austria in 1795. The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania name the name of the state as Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia. The title of Grand Duchy was consistently applied to Lithuania from the 14th century onward, in the 12th century, Slavic chronicles refer to Lithuania as one of the areas attacked by the Rus. Pagan Lithuanians initially paid tribute to Polotsk, but they grew in strength. The sudden spark of military raids marked consolidation of the Lithuanian lands in Aukštaitija, the Livonian Order and Teutonic Knights, crusading military orders, were established in Riga in 1202 and in Prussia in 1226. The Christian orders posed a significant threat to pagan Baltic tribes, the peace treaty with Galicia–Volhynia of 1219 provides evidence of cooperation between Lithuanians and Samogitians. This treaty lists 21 Lithuanian dukes, including five senior Lithuanian dukes from Aukštaitija, although they had battled in the past, the Lithuanians and the Žemaičiai now faced a common enemy. Likely Živinbudas had the most authority and at least several dukes were from the same families, the formal acknowledgment of common interests and the establishment of a hierarchy among the signatories of the treaty foreshadowed the emergence of the state
8.
Holy Roman Empire
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The Holy Roman Empire was a multi-ethnic complex of territories in central Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806. On 25 December 800, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charlemagne as Emperor, reviving the title in Western Europe, more than three centuries after the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The title was revived in 962 when Otto I was crowned emperor, fashioning himself as the successor of Charlemagne, some historians refer to the coronation of Charlemagne as the origin of the empire, while others prefer the coronation of Otto I as its beginning. Scholars generally concur, however, in relating an evolution of the institutions and principles constituting the empire, the office of Holy Roman Emperor was traditionally elective, although frequently controlled by dynasties. Emperor Francis II dissolved the empire on 6 August 1806, after the creation of the Confederation of the Rhine by Napoleon, before 1157, the realm was merely referred to as the Roman Empire. In a decree following the 1512 Diet of Cologne, the name was changed to Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, by the end of the 18th century, the term Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation had fallen out of official use. As Roman power in Gaul declined during the 5th century, local Germanic tribes assumed control, by the middle of the 8th century, however, the Merovingians had been reduced to figureheads, and the Carolingians, led by Charles Martel, had become the de facto rulers. In 751, Martel’s son Pepin became King of the Franks, the Carolingians would maintain a close alliance with the Papacy. In 768 Pepin’s son Charlemagne became King of the Franks and began an expansion of the realm. He eventually incorporated the territories of present-day France, Germany, northern Italy, on Christmas Day of 800, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor, restoring the title in the west for the first time in over three centuries. After the death of Charles the Fat in 888, however, the Carolingian Empire broke apart, according to Regino of Prüm, the parts of the realm spewed forth kinglets, and each part elected a kinglet from its own bowels. After the death of Charles the Fat, those crowned emperor by the pope controlled only territories in Italy, the last such emperor was Berengar I of Italy, who died in 924. Around 900, autonomous stem duchies reemerged in East Francia, on his deathbed, Conrad yielded the crown to his main rival, Henry the Fowler of Saxony, who was elected king at the Diet of Fritzlar in 919. Henry reached a truce with the raiding Magyars, and in 933 he won a first victory against them in the Battle of Riade, Henry died in 936, but his descendants, the Liudolfing dynasty, would continue to rule the Eastern kingdom for roughly a century. Upon Henry the Fowlers death, Otto, his son and designated successor, was elected King in Aachen in 936 and he overcame a series of revolts from an elder brother and from several dukes. After that, the managed to control the appointment of dukes. In 951, Otto came to the aid of Adelaide, the queen of Italy, defeating her enemies, marrying her. In 955, Otto won a victory over the Magyars in the Battle of Lechfeld
9.
Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor
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Joseph I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1705 until his death in 1711. He was the eldest son of Emperor Leopold I from his third wife, Joseph was crowned King of Hungary at the age of nine in 1687, and King in Germany at the age of eleven in 1690. He succeeded to the throne and that of Bohemia when his father died. Joseph also had to contend with a revolt in Hungary. Neither conflict was resolved until after his death and his motto was Amore et Timore. Born in Vienna, he was educated strictly by Prince Dietrich Otto von Salm, although the first son and child born of his parents marriage, he was his fathers third son and seventh child. Previously, Leopold had been married to Infanta Margaret Theresa of Spain, then, he married Claudia Felicitas of Austria, heiress of Tyrol, who gave him two short-lived daughters. In 1684, the six-year-old Archduke had his first portrait painted by Benjamin von Block, at the age of nine, on 9 December 1687, he was crowned King of Hungary, and at the age of eleven, on 23 January 1690, King of the Romans. Unlike many of his relatives, although a Roman Catholic, Joseph was not one for religion, the cause of this may be that he was spared a strict religious upbringing. He had two great enthusiasms, music and hunting, in 1702, at the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession, Joseph saw his only military service. He joined the Imperial General, Louis William, Margrave of Baden-Baden, prior to his ascension, Joseph had surrounded himself with reform-hungry advisors and the ‘young court’ of Vienna was ambitious in the elaboration of innovative plans. He was described as a forward-looking ruler, the large number of privy councillors was reduced and attempts were made to make the bureaucracy more efficient. Measures were taken to modernize the central bodies and a success was achieved in stabilizing the chronic Habsburg finances. Joseph also endeavoured to strengthen his position in the Holy Roman Empire – as a means of strengthening Austria’s standing as a great power. When he sought to lay claim to rights in Italy and gain territories for the Habsburgs. In Hungary, Joseph had inherited the kuruc rebellion from his father Leopold I, once again, nobles in Transylvania had risen against Habsburg rule, even advancing for a time as far as Vienna. Although Joseph was compelled to take action, he refrained – unlike his predecessors – from seeking to teach his subjects a lesson by executing the leaders. Instead, he agreed to a peace, which in the long term facilitated the integration of Hungary into the Habsburg domains
10.
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
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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
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