Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz
Encyclopedia
Moritzburg
Moritzburg is a municipality in the district of Meißen in Saxony, Germany, between Meißen as early centre of Saxony and the today's capital Dresden. It is most famous for its Baroque castle, Schloss Moritzburg....
, 9 October 1666 - d. Regensburg
Regensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
, 23 August 1725), was a German prince of the House of Wettin.
Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz was a Teutonic Knight, the Primas of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
and finally a cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
. On May 22, 1712 he crowned Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
as the King of Hungary
King of Hungary
The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...
and on October 18, 1714 also his wife Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel
Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel was Princess of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Holy Roman Empress, German Queen, Queen of Bohemia and Hungary; and Archduchess of Austria by her marriage to Emperor Charles VI. She was renowned for her delicate beauty and also for being the mother of Empress...
in St. Martin's Cathedral.
Life
He was the third (but second surviving) son of Maurice, Duke of Saxe-ZeitzMaurice, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz
Maurice of Saxe-Zeitz was a duke of Saxe-Zeitz and member of the House of Wettin.Born in Dresden, he was the youngest surviving son of Johann Georg I, Elector of Saxony, and his second wife Magdalene Sibylle of Prussia....
, and his second wife, Dorothea Marie of Saxe-Weimar
Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar
Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Weimar , was a duke of Saxe-Weimar.Wilhelm was the fifth son of Johann, Duke of Saxe-Weimar, and Dorothea Maria of Anhalt...
.
A Teutonic Knight, he converted to Catholicism
Catholicism
Catholicism is a broad term for the body of the Catholic faith, its theologies and doctrines, its liturgical, ethical, spiritual, and behavioral characteristics, as well as a religious people as a whole....
in 1696 and became Provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
of Köln
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
(1696-1725), Bishop of Raab (1696-1725) and, on 17 May 1706, a cardinal
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
by creation of Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI
Pope Clement XI , born Giovanni Francesco Albani, was Pope from 1700 until his death in 1721.-Early life:...
.
He was chosen to convert his kinsman, the King-Elector August the Strong of Poland to the Catholic faith. Christian August instructed him secretly and on 1 June 1697 baptized him secretly in the Court Chapel (Hofkapelle) in Baden bei Wien
Baden bei Wien
-Points of interest:The town offers several parks and a picturesque surrounding, of which the most frequented is the Helenental valley. Not far from Baden, the valley is crossed by a widespread aqueduct of the Vienna waterworks...
, then publicly and solemnly in the German Piekar in Oppeln
Opole
Opole is a city in southern Poland on the Oder River . It has a population of 125,992 and is the capital of the Upper Silesia, Opole Voivodeship and, also the seat of Opole County...
. When the conversion was finally formalized, Christian August issued a certificate to the king, which was authenticated by the Papal nunzio.
In 1707 Christian August was elected Archbishop of Esztergom
Esztergom
Esztergom , is a city in northern Hungary, 46 km north-west of the capital Budapest. It lies in Komárom-Esztergom county, on the right bank of the river Danube, which forms the border with Slovakia there....
(Gran) and consequently, Primate
Primate
A primate is a mammal of the order Primates , which contains prosimians and simians. Primates arose from ancestors that lived in the trees of tropical forests; many primate characteristics represent adaptations to life in this challenging three-dimensional environment...
of Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. He used the office of a deputy of the Emperor as Principal Commissioner (Prinzipalkommissar) in the Perpetual Imperial Diet (Reichstag) of Regensburg.
On the occasion of the victory over the Turks in Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
in 1717 Christian August, as representative of the Emperor Charles VI
Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles VI was the penultimate Habsburg sovereign of the Habsburg Empire. He succeeded his elder brother, Joseph I, as Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia , Hungary and Croatia , Archduke of Austria, etc., in 1711...
, organized a magnificent celebration in the Imperial Diet realm. During the festivities, the Order of St. Emmeram
Emmeram of Regensburg
Saint Emmeram of Regensburg was born in Poitiers and was a Christian bishop and a martyr. He died circa 652 and is buried in St. Emmeram's in Regensburg, Germany. His feast day in the Catholic calendar of saints is 22 September.-Life:What we know of Emmeram comes to us second hand...
was created in the knight's hall on October 26.
The death of his brother Maurice Wilhelm, Duke of Saxe-Zeitz, on 15 November 1718 without surviving male issue, made him heir to the duchy of Saxe-Zeitz, but because he took the monastic vows (and the next in line to the inheritance, Christian August's nephew Maurice Adolf, was also a priest), Zeitz was merged into the Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony
The Electorate of Saxony , sometimes referred to as Upper Saxony, was a State of the Holy Roman Empire. It was established when Emperor Charles IV raised the Ascanian duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg to the status of an Electorate by the Golden Bull of 1356...
in accordance with the will of Elector Johann Georg I
John George I, Elector of Saxony
John George I was Elector of Saxony from 1611 to 1656.-Biography:Born in Dresden, he was the second son of the Elector Christian I and Sophie of Brandenburg....
.
Death
Christian August of Saxe-Zeitz died on 23 August 23, 1725 in RegensburgRegensburg
Regensburg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers, at the northernmost bend in the Danube. To the east lies the Bavarian Forest. Regensburg is the capital of the Bavarian administrative region Upper Palatinate...
. He is buried in the crypts of St. Martin's Cathedral in Bratislava
Bratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
the capital of present-day Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
.