 |
History
A prince and his passion
Saxony looks back on an exceptionally changeful history. Originally inhabited by Slavic clans, the area developed in the Middle Ages to become the highly well-regarded Electorate of Saxony. Under the reign of Napoleon royal status was bestowed on Saxony - the Kingdom of Saxony was then proclaimed in 1806. In November 1918, the forces of republicanism triumphed, causing the collapse of the monarchic system: Saxony became a Free State.
In the 19th century, the German Social Democratic movement saw its beginnings in the highly developed industrial State of Saxony. Ferdinand Lassalle founded the General German Workers' Association in Leipzig and in Chemnitz August Bebel was responsible for setting up the Saxon People’s Party, from which the Social Democratic Party later emerged. And finally, it was in Saxony, where in 1989 demonstrations in Leipzig, Plauen and Dresden initiated the beginning of the end of the GDR, thereby paving the way for Germany’s reunification.
Saxony’s beginnings
After subjugating the Daleminzers, a Sorbian tribe, the German King Heinrich I in 929 founded the march of Meissen. In 1089, the Wettins were enfeoffed of the margravate. The region had its first economic heyday during the rule of Margrave Otto the Rich, 1156–1190. In the Erzgebirge, mining sprang up. Initially, small deposits of tin, copper and iron ore were found. In 1268, the discovery of a large deposit of silver ore in Freiberg triggered the first “Berggeschrey,” comparable with the nineteenth-century gold rush in America. After losing the march of Meissen to King Adolf of Nassau and King Albrecht of Austria, Margrave Friedrich the Joyful won it back at the Battle of Lucka in 1307. His successors succeeded in acquiring important territories, among others in the Pleissenland and Vogtland regions and in Thuringia. In 1409, a new university was established in Leipzig. In 1485, the Leipzig Partition divided the Wettin possessions between brothers Ernst (founder of the Ernestine line) and Albrecht the Valiant (founder of the Albertine line) in perpetuity. Unlike the Ernestine Friedrich the Wise, who gave protection to Martin Luther, the Albertine Georg the Bearded opposed the Protestant doctrine. Only after his death in 1539 the Reformation came to his territories.
From the mid-fifteenth century, large finds of ore in the Erzgebirge led to the emergence of more mining centers (Schneeberg, Annaberg). In 1491, miner Kaspar Nitzel of Frohnau discovered a rich vein of silver, thereby triggering the “great Berggeschrey” in the upper Erzgebirge and a massive influx of people. The Electorate of Saxony made its last major territorial gains during the Thirty Years’War, when the 1635 Peace of Prague assigned to Saxony the margravates of Oberlausitz and Niederlausitz. During the rule of Elector Friedrich August I (Augustus the Strong), Electoral Saxony steadily increased its political weight. The Elector converted to Catholicism and in 1697 he was crowned King of Poland. In Saxony, a Catholic Elector was now governing over a mainly Protestant population. His son Friedrich August II continued the union between Saxony and Poland, where he was King August III. August the Strong and his successors were passionate collectors, and the Saxon capital Dresden has them to thank for numerous splendid buildings and treasures. In 1710, Augustus the Strong established the Meissen porcelain factory. In 1763, Saxony lost the Seven Years’War and relinquished the Polish crown as a result. The state recovered swiftly from the consequences of war and manufacturing, especially of textiles in Chemnitz and the surrounding area, flourished. In the eighteenth century, Leipzig evolved into the centre of the German book trade and publishing.
| A section of the mural “Fürstenzug” at the Dresden Stallhof. |
 |
Kingdom of Saxony 1806/15–1918
After Napoleon’s defeat of Prussia, Saxony signed in 1806 a treaty with the French in Posen (now Poznan), joined the Confederation of the Rhine and was rewarded with the status of a kingdom. During the Continental Blockade numerous mechanical spinning workshops were set up, marking the start of industrialisation. After the Battle of the Nations at Leipzig in 1813, King Friedrich August I, who had stood by his alliance with Napoleon to the last, was taken prisoner by the opposing Allies and forced to cede more than half his territory to Prussia. After revolutionary disturbances in September 1830, Saxony was given a constitution in 1831. During the period of constitutional monarchy, reforms brought change to public administration, municipal and agricultural affairs and elementary schools. As railways were built and steam engines put to use, industrialisation marched on. In the nineteenth century Saxony developed into a highly industrialised state.
Free State of Saxony 1918–1945
During the 1918 November Revolution, Saxony became a republic and in 1920 it adopted a democratic constitution. In November 1918, when the monarchy collapsed, King Friedrich August III abdicated and Free State (i.e. Republic) of Saxony was proclaimed. The newly elected Saxon People’s Chamber adopted on February 28 1919 the Preliminary Basic Law for the Free State of Saxony and retained the designation “free state” in its final constitution, making Saxony the oldest free state in Germany. “Freistaat” (free state) is a German term that corresponds to the French “république” and underscores the idea that the state is governed by free citizens and not by a sovereign. After the National Socialists came to power in 1933, Saxony ceased to exist as an independent free state and was placed under a Reich governor. That was the end of parliamentary democracy. During World War II Saxony suffered heavy loss of life and cultural assets. In particular, the destruction of Dresden along with the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady) between 13 and 15 February 1945 came to symbolise the war.
State of Saxony 1945–1952
After 1945 new borders were drawn along the Oder and Neisse rivers and the territories around Görlitz and Hoyerswerda that had been ceded in 1815 again became part of Saxony, which was under the control of the Soviet occupying forces. In 1949, Saxony became a state in the German Democratic Republic (GDR). To strengthen centralist structures, in 1952 the GDR states were dissolved and Saxony was divided into three administrative regions, Chemnitz (renamed Karl-Marx-Stadt in 1953), Dresden and Leipzig.
Free State of Saxony from 1990
The peaceful revolution of 1989 that spread from Leipzig, Plauen and Dresden throughout the GDR (Monday Demonstrations) ended the rule of the SED, the East German communist party. The Free State (i.e. Republic) of Saxony was re-established on 3 October 1990, When the GDR acceded to the West German constitution, Saxony became a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 1992, the state adopted a new constitution.
Flag
Historically speaking, the Saxon flag is a relative newcomer. Its colors date back to instructions issued by King Friedrich August I on 22 May 1815 to Lt-Gen. von Lecoq to take over command of the Saxon forces on the Rhine. Item 7 of these instructions specified that a wide green trim was to be added to the Saxon troops’ previously white cockade to prevent them from being mistaken for other contingents. News of this instruction preceded the King on his return to Saxony after a peace treaty that was less than glorious for the kingdom. Dresden awaited him bedecked in white and green flags. Students from Leipzig wore white and green ribbons on their lapels, soldiers wore white and green cockades and civil servants wore white and green cordons on their hats. These new colors symbolised a fresh start after the Wars of Liberation (from Napoleon) in which Saxony had sustained heavy losses.
Coat of arms
The escutcheon of the Saxon coat of arms is divided into nine black and gold horizontal stripes on which, from top left to bottom right, a green ornamental band is superimposed. The ornamental design is taken from the Gothic style of architecture that flourished in Saxony. The official state flag uses the plain version.
 |
The Coat of Arms of the Saxon State assembly |
|
|
Saxony: Baroque Meets High Tech
 Saxony: Baroque Meets High Tech
High Tech Baroque The
Saxon Cities
History
Geography
The Saxons Saxony's Government Saxony on the Web
Links and Sister Cities
George Ticknor
Ticknor was an accomplished American historian, writer and language professor, who spent years in Europe and was befriended by Saxony's King John. Their correspondence, in English, spanned 30 years and was collected and published in 1920. The Kingwrote of Ticknor "He was a man of unencumbered points of view, who observed our European situation with a partisan eye. Simple and without pretension in his manner (he greeted me for example in his overcoat), he was not at his core a republican at all costs. I saw him often in society; he also was a part in my small circle of my advisors. Since that time I've remained in correspondence with him." (Johann Georg, Herzog von Sachsen (Hrsg.): Briefwechsel König Johanns von Sachsen mit George Ticknor. B.G. Teubner in Leipzig und Berlin, 1920, S. 1.) |
Newsletters
 Printer-Friendly
Page
Email This Article |
|
|
