Augustus III of Poland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

August III the Saxon
Reign	1734 – 5 October 1763
Elected	1734 at Wola, Warsaw, Poland
Coronation	17 January 1734 Wawel Cathedral, Cracow
Royal House	Wettin
Parents	August II the Strong, Christiane v. Brandenburg-Bayreuth
Consorts	Maria Josepha of Austria
Children	Frederick Christian.
Date of Birth	7 October 1696
Place of Birth	Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Date of Death	5 October 1763
Place of Death	Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Place of Burial	Dresden, family vault of Hofkirche

Augustus III, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony (Augustus III the Saxon or the Corpulent) (German: August III. von Polen; Polish: August III Sas, August III Gruby) (7 October 1696 - 5 October 1763) was as Frederick Augustus II (German: Kurfürst Friedrich August II.) the Elector of Saxony 1733-1763, and also King of Poland 1734-1763.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Marriage and children 2.1 Titles 3 Construction work at castles 4 See also

[edit] Biography

August III was born in Dresden in 1696, son of August II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector of Saxony and King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was groomed to succeed his father as King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and thus in 1721 converted to Catholicism.

After his father's death, he inherited Saxony and was elected King of Poland with the support of Russian and Austrian military forces in the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738).

As King, August III was uninterested in the affairs of his Polish-Lithuanian dominion, focussing on interests like hunting, opera, and collecting paintings (see Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister). During his 30-year reign, he spent less than a total of three years in Poland, where the struggle between the Czartoryski and the Potocki paralysed the Sejm (Liberum Veto), fostering internal political anarchy and further weakening the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. August delegated most of his powers and responsibilities to Heinrich, Count von Brühl, who became quasi-dictator of Poland.

The thirty years of August III's reign saw the Seven Years' War (1754 and 1756–1763), and neighboring Prussia, Austria, and Russia refined their plans to partition the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth among them.

[edit] Marriage and children

On August 20, 1719, August married Archduchess Maria Josepha of Austria (1699-1757), daughter of Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I. Their eldest surviving son, Frederick Christian, eventually succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony.

The children of August and Marie Josepha were:

1. Friedrich August (1720-1721);
2. Joseph (1721-1728);
3. Frederick Christian (1722-1763), Elector of Saxony;
4. Maria Amalia Christina (1724-1760), who married Charles III of Spain;
5. Maria Margaretha (1727-1734);
6. Maria Anna Sophia (1728-1797), who married Maximilian III, Elector of Bavaria;
7. Franz Xaver (1730-1806), Regent of Saxony, 1763 – 1768;
8. Marie-Josèphe (1731-1767), who married Louis, dauphin de France (1729-1765), son of King Louis XV of France (1710-1774), and became the mother of Louis XVI of France;
9. Carl Christian (1733-1796), Count of Courland;
10. Maria Christina Anna (1735-1782), Reigning Abbess of Remiremont;
11. Maria Elisabeth Apollonia (1736-1818);
12. Albert Kasimir August (1738-1822);
13. Clemens Wenzeslaus (1739-1812), Elector and Archbishop of Trier; and
14. Maria Kunigunde Dorothea (1740-1826), Reigning Abbess of Thorn and Essen.

[edit] Titles

• In Latin: Augustus III, Dei Gratia rex Poloniae, magnus dux Lithuaniae, Russie, Prussiae, Masoviae, Samogitiae, Kijoviae, Volhyniae, Podoliae, Podlachiae, Livoniae, Smolensciae, Severiae, Czerniechoviae, nec non haereditarius dux Saxoniae princeps et elector etc.
• English translation: August III, by God's grace King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia (i.e. Ukraine and Belarus), Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Kyiv, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlachia, Livonia, Smolensk, Severia, Chernihiv, and hereditary Duke Prince-Elector of Saxony, etc.

[edit] Construction work at castles

• Schloss Hubertusburg
• Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden
• Sächsisches Schloss, Warsaw (destroyed 1944)
• Brühlsches Schloss, Warsaw (destroyed 1944)

[edit] See also

• History of Poland (1569-1795)

Preceded by: August II the Strong	Elector of Saxony 1733-1763	Succeeded by: Frederick Christian
Preceded by: Stanisław Leszczyński	King of Poland 1733-1763	Succeeded by: Stanisław August Poniatowski

v • d • e Monarchs of Poland
Piast	Siemowit · Lestko · Siemomysł · Mieszko I · Boleslaw I the Brave · Mieszko II Lambert · Bezprym · Mieszko II Lambert · Casimir I the Restorer · Boleslav II the Bold · Władysław I Herman · Zbigniew of Poland · Bolesław III Wrymouth · Władysław II the Exile · Bolesław IV the Curly · Mieszko III the Old · Casimir II the Just · Leszek I the White · Władysław III Spindleshanks · Władysław Odonic · Mieszko IV Tanglefoot · Konrad I of Masovia · Henry I the Bearded · Henry II the Pious · Konrad I of Masovia · Bolesław V the Chaste · Leszek II the Black · Henryk IV Probus · Premislas II
Přemyslid	Venceslaus II · Wenceslaus III
Piast	Władysław I the Elbow-high · Casimir III the Great
Angevin	Ludwik the Hungarian · Jadwiga Angevin
Jagiellon	Władysław II Jagiełło · Władysław III of Varna · Casimir IV Jagiellon · John I Albert · Alexander Jagiellon · Sigismund I the Old · Sigismund II Augustus
Elected	Henry III of France · Anna Jagiellon · Stefan Batory · Sigismund III Vasa · Władysław IV Vasa · John II Casimir · Michał Korybut Wiśniowiecki · John III Sobieski · August II the Strong · Stanisław Leszczyński · Augustus II the Strong · Stanisław Leszczyński · August III the Saxon · Stanisław August Poniatowski