Augustus III of Poland

Augustus III
King of Poland
Augustus III of Poland.
Reign	1734 – 5 October, 1763
Coronation	17 January, 1734 Wawel Cathedral, Kraków
Titles	Elector of Saxony
Born	17 October, 1696
Birthplace	Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Died	5 October, 1763
Place of death	Dresden, Saxony, Germany
Buried	Dresden, family vault at Katholische Hofkirche
Predecessor	Stanisław Leszczyński
Successor	Stanisław August Poniatowski
Consort	Maria Josepha of Austria
Offspring	Frederick Christian, Elector of Saxony
Royal House	Wettin
Father	Augustus II the Strong
Mother	Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth

Augustus III (Augustus III the Saxon or the Corpulent; (German: August III. von Polen); (Polish: August III. Sas, August III. Gruby); b. Dresden, 17 October, 1696 - d. Dresden, 5 October, 1763) was the Elector of Saxony in 1733-1763, as Frederick Augustus II (German: Kurfürst Friedrich August II.), King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania in 1734-1763.

Royal titles

• Royal 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 the grace of God, King of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania, Ruthenia (i.e. Galicia), Prussia, Masovia, Samogitia, Kyiv, Volhynia, Podolia, Podlachia, Livonia, Smolensk, Severia, Chernihiv, and also hereditary Duke of Saxony, prince and Elector, etc.

Biography

Augustus III of Poland. Drawing by Jan Matejko

Augustus was the only legitimate son of Augustus II the Strong, Imperial Prince-Elector of Saxony and monarch of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, by his wife, Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. He was groomed to succeed his father as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, 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, Augustus III was uninterested in the affairs of his Polish-Lithuanian dominion, focusing 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 House of Czartoryski and the Potocki paralysed the Sejm (Liberum Veto), fostering internal political anarchy and further weakening the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. Augustus III delegated most of his powers and responsibilities to Heinrich von Brühl, who became quasi-dictator of Poland.

The thirty years of Augustus III's reign saw the Seven Years' War (1754 and 1756–1763), and neighboring Prussia, Austria and Russia refining their plans to partition Poland, among them.

His eldest surviving son, Frederick Christian, eventually succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony, but not as King of Poland. It was Stanisław August Poniatowski, who was elected King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, after a coup d'état by the House of Czartoryski, supported by Russian troops on September 7, 1764.

Marriage and children

Augustus III the Saxon

In Dresden on 20 August, 1719, Augustus married the Archduchess, Maria Josepha of Austria, daughter of Joseph I, the Holy Roman Emperor. They had fifteen children:

1. Frederick Augustus Franz Xavier (b. Dresden, 18 November, 1720 - d. Dresden, 22 January, 1721).
2. Joseph Augustus Wilhelm Frederick Franz Xavier Johann Nepomuk (b. Pillnitz, 24 October, 1721 - d. Dresden, 14 March, 1728).
3. Frederick Christian Leopold Johann Georg Franz Xaver (b. Dresden, 5 September, 1722 - d. Dresden, 17 December, 1763), succesor of his father as Elector of Saxony.
4. Stillborn daughter (Dresden, 23 June, 1723).
5. Maria Amalia Christina Franziska Xaveria Flora Walburga (b. Dresden, 24 November, 1724 - d. Buen Retiro, 27 September, 1760); married on 19 June, 1738 to Charles VII, King of Naples, later King Charles III of Spain.
6. Maria Margaretha Franziska Xaveria (b. Dresden, 13 September, 1727 - d. Dresden, 1 February, 1734).
7. Maria Anna Sophie Sabina Angela Franziska Xaveria (b. Dresden, 29 August, 1728 - d. Munich, 17 February, 1797); married on 9 August, 1747 to Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria.
8. Franz Xavier Albert August Ludwig Benno (b. Dresden, 25 August, 1730 - d. Dresden, 21 June, 1806), Regent of Saxony (1763-1768).
9. Maria Josepha Karolina Eleonore Franziska Xaveria (b. Dresden, 4 November, 1731 - d. Versailles, 13 March, 1767); married on 9 February, 1747 to Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), son of Louis XV of France (she was the mother of Louis XVI of France).
10. Karl Christian Joseph Ignaz Eugen Franz Xaver (b. Dresden, 13 July, 1733 - d. Dresden, 16 June, 1796), Duke of Courland and Zemgale (1758-1763).
11. Maria Christina Anna Teresia Salomea Eulalia Franziska Xaveria (b. Warsaw, 12 February, 1735 - d. Brumath, 19 November, 1782), Princess-Abbess of Remiremont. [1]
12. Maria Elisabeth Apollonia Casimira Francisca Xaveria (b. Warsaw, 9 February, 1736 - d. Dresden, 24 December, 1818). [2]
13. Albert Kasimir Augustus Ignaz Pius Franz Xavier (b. Moritzburg, near Dresden, 11 July, 1738 - d. Vienna, 10 February, 1822), Duke of Teschen and Governor of the Austrian Netherlands (1781-1793).
14. Clemens Wenceslaus August Hubertus Franz Xavier (b. Schloss Hubertusburg, Wermsdorf, 28 September, 1739 - d. Marktoberdorf, Allgäu, 27 July, 1812), Archbishopric of Trier.
15. Maria Kunigunde of Saxony|Maria Kunigunde Dorothea Hedwig Franziska Xaveria Florentina (b. Warsaw, 10 November, 1740 - d. Dresden, 8 April, 1826), Princess-Abbess of Toruń and Essen.

Construction work at castles

• Hubertusburg
• Katholische Hofkirche, Dresden
• Saxon Palace, Warsaw (destroyed 1944)
• Brühl Palace, Warsaw (destroyed 1944)

See also

• History of Poland (1569–1795)
• Mass in B Minor