Early life and education by
Louis XIV, 1714 , 1727 Augustus was born 17 October 1696 in
Dresden, the only legitimate son of
Augustus II the Strong,
Prince-Elector of
Saxony and ruler of the
Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who belonged to the
Albertine branch of the
House of Wettin. His mother was
Christiane Eberhardine of Brandenburg-Bayreuth, daughter of
Christian Ernst, Margrave of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. Unlike his father, Christiane remained a fervent
Protestant throughout her life and never set foot in Catholic Poland during her 30-year service as queen consort. Despite the pressure from Augustus II, she was never crowned at
Wawel in
Kraków and purely held a titular title of queen. This move was viewed by the Polish nobility as a provocation and from the beginning, the prince was treated with prejudice in Poland. From his early years, Augustus was groomed to succeed as king of Poland-Lithuania; the best tutors were hired from across the continent and the prince studied
Polish,
German,
French and
Latin. He was taught Russian, but was unable to speak it fluently, as well as
exact sciences including mathematics, chemistry and geography. While his father spent time in Poland, the young Augustus was left in the care of his grandmother,
Princess Anna Sophie of Denmark, who initially raised him
Lutheran. This was particularly unfavourable for the Poles, who wouldn't accept or tolerate a Protestant monarch. As a consequence, a troubled Augustus II organised a tour of Catholic countries in Europe for his son, which he hoped would bring him closer to Catholicism and break the bond between him and his controlling grandmother. In
Venice, the Polish entourage thwarted a kidnapping attempt organised by British agents of
Queen Anne in order to prevent him from converting. He also witnessed the coronation of
Charles VI in 1711 after the death of his brother and predecessor,
Joseph I. Faced with a hereditary Catholic succession for Saxony,
Prussia and
Hanover attempted to oust Saxony from the directorship of the
Protestant body in the Reichstag of the Holy Roman Empire, but Saxony managed to retain the directorship. On 26 September 1714, Augustus was warmly welcomed by
Louis XIV at
Versailles. Louis rejoiced when he heard that Augustus had converted to Catholicism and permitted him to stay at the royal court and in
Paris. The young prince participated in balls,
masquerades and private parties that were hosted by the Sun King himself. The wedding celebration in Dresden was one of the most splendid and expensive of the Baroque era in Europe. Over 800 guests were invited for a 2-week celebration. The main banquet was held in a chamber that was transformed into an artificial silver mine to astound the invitees. Apart from exotic dishes, over 500 deer were brought in from the
Białowieża Forest for the feast. Approximately 4 million
thalers were spent for this occasion. Austria received a promise that as king, Augustus would both renounce any claim to the Austrian succession and continue respecting the
Pragmatic Sanction of 1713.
War of the Polish Succession of Augustus III, made around the time of the Succession War Augustus, in his candidacy to the Polish throne, was opposed by
Stanisław Leszczyński, who had usurped the throne with
Swedish support during the
Great Northern War. Reigning from 1706 until 1709, Stanisław was overthrown after the Swedish
defeat at Poltava. Returning from exile in 1733 with the support of
Louis XV of France and
Philip V of Spain, Stanisław sparked the
War of the Polish Succession. Throughout the spring and summer of 1733,
France began mobilising and stationing forces along its northern and eastern borders, while Austria massed troops on the Polish frontier, reducing garrisons in the
Duchy of Milan for the purpose. Prince
Eugene of Savoy recommended to the emperor a more warlike posture against its longtime rival, France. He suggested that the
Rhine valley and northern
Italy should be strengthened with more troops; only minimal steps were taken to improve imperial defences on the Rhine. In July 1733, Augustus agreed to Austria's and Russia's terms per Löwenwolde's Treaty. During the
election sejm in August, Russian troops counting 30,000 men under the command of
Peter Lacy, entered Poland to secure Augustus' succession. The election was
de jure won by Stanisław, with 12,000 votes. Augustus received 3,000; however, he had the support of Poland's influential, wealthiest and most corrupt
magnates, such as
Michał Serwacy Wiśniowiecki. The Franco-Spanish coalition declared war on Austria and Saxony on 10 October. The Italian states of
Savoy-
Sardinia and
Parma also joined the struggle against Austrian rule in northern Italy. Most of the battles took place outside of Poland and the main focus of the war was personal interests and the demonstration of superiority. The Russian-Saxon forces chased Stanisław until he was
besieged at Gdańsk (Danzig) on 22 February 1734. In June, when the garrisons at Gdańsk surrendered, Stanisław fled to
Königsberg and then back to France. The
Pacification Sejm in 1736
de facto confirmed Augustus III as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. To this day, the aphorism and phrase
od Sasa do Lasa (lit. from the Saxon to Leszczyński) exists in the Polish language and is used when describing two opposite things in everyday life.
Reign and diplomacy Poland exhibiting his extravagant
Meissen porcelain. Brühl was the viceroy of Poland and headed the Saxon court. As King, Augustus was uninterested in the affairs of his Polish–Lithuanian dominion, focusing instead on hunting, opera and the collection of artwork at the
Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister. He spent less than three years of his thirty-year reign in Poland, where political feuding between the
House of Czartoryski and the
Potocki paralysed the
Sejm (
Liberum veto), fostering internal political anarchy and weakening the Commonwealth. Augustus delegated most of his powers and responsibilities in the Commonwealth to
Heinrich von Brühl, who served in effect as the viceroy of Poland. Brühl, in turn, left the politics in Poland to the most powerful magnates and nobles, which resulted in widespread corruption. Under Augustus, Poland was not involved in any major conflicts, which further lessened its position in Europe and allowed the neighbouring countries to take advantage of the disorder. Any opposition was violently crushed by Brühl, who used either Saxon or Russian forces that were permanently stationed in the country. It has been described as possibly "the finest table service ever produced" and part of it are exhibited at the
National Museum in Warsaw. Brühl was depicted by his rivals as a
nouveau-riche materialist, who used his wealth to gain support. His lavish spending was immortalised by Augustus' reported question to the viceroy, "Brühl, do I have money?"
War of the Austrian Succession in 1747, by
Bernardo Bellotto , 1755 With the marriage to the Austrian princess
Maria Josepha, Augustus was bound to accept the succession of her cousin,
Maria Theresa, as Archduchess of
Austria and Queen of
Hungary and
Bohemia. Saxony mediated between the friendly French faction and the Habsburg faction of Maria Theresa. Between 1741 and 1742, Saxony was allied with France, but changed sides with the help of Austrian diplomats. In the first days of December 1740, the Prussians assembled along the
Oder river and on 16 December,
Frederick II invaded
Silesia without a formal declaration of war. The Austrian troops, which were then stationed in Silesia, were poorly supplied and outnumbered as the Habsburgs concentrated their supreme force on Hungary and Italy. They held onto the fortresses of
Glogau,
Breslau, and
Brzeg, but abandoned the rest of the region and withdrew into
Moravia. This campaign gave Prussia control of most of the richest provinces in the
Habsburg monarchy, with the commercial centre of Breslau as well as mining, weaving and dyeing industries. Silesia was also rich in natural resources such as
coal,
chalk,
copper and
gold. Saxony joined Austria in the
Second Silesian War, which erupted after Prussia proclaimed its support of
Charles VII as Holy Roman Emperor and invaded
Bohemia on 15 August 1744. The true cause behind the invasion was Frederick's personal
expansionist ideas and goals. On 8 January 1745, the
Treaty of Warsaw united
Great Britain, the Habsburg monarchy, the
Dutch Republic and Saxony into what became known as the "Quadruple Alliance", which was aimed at securing the Austrian throne for Maria Theresa. Soon after, Charles VII died of
gout in Munich, which weakened the Prussians. However, Prussia still maintained military superiority; the successful battles of
Hennersdorf and
Kesselsdorf opened the way to Dresden, which Frederick occupied on 18 December. The
Treaty of Dresden was eventually completed on Christmas Day (25 December) and Saxony was obliged to pay one million
rixdollars in reparations to the Prussian state. The treaty ended the Second Silesian War with a
status quo ante bellum. Maria Theresa was finally recognised in her inheritance with the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748, which proved a
Pyrrhic victory for Augustus III; the conflict nearly bankrupted Saxony. Meanwhile, the affairs in Poland remained highly neglected.
Seven Years' War platter from Augustus III's dinner set for the
Warsaw Royal Castle. The service was delivered to Warsaw in August 1756, where it was used by the king during the Seven Years' War and is currently held at the
National Museum in Warsaw. The
Electorate of Saxony was involved in the
Seven Years' War from 1756 to 1763. The Saxons were allied with Austria and Russia against
Frederick the Great of Prussia, who saw Saxony as another potential field for expansion. Saxony was then merely a buffer zone between Prussia and the Austrian
Bohemia as well as
Silesia, which Frederick attempted to annex in their entirety. Moreover, Saxony and Poland were separated by a strip of land in Silesia and
Lusatia, which made the movement of troops even more difficult. Frederick's plans also entailed annexing the
Electorate of Hanover, but joining France would trigger an Austro-Russian attack and occupation. On 29 August 1756, the
Prussian Army preemptively invaded Saxony, beginning the
Third Silesian War, a theatre of the Seven Years' War. Saxony was bled dry and exploited to the maximum extent to support Prussia's war effort. The
Treaty of Hubertusburg, signed on 15 February 1763, ended the conflict with Frederick's victory and Saxony renounced its claim to Silesia.
Death In April 1763, Augustus returned ill and frail from Poland to Dresden with his closest advisors, leaving Primate
Władysław Aleksander Łubieński behind to take care of the affairs in the Commonwealth. He died suddenly on 5 October 1763 in Dresden from
apoplexy (stroke). Unlike his father, who rests at
Wawel in Kraków, Augustus III was buried at
Dresden Cathedral and remains one of the few Polish monarchs who were buried outside of Poland. Augustus's eldest surviving son,
Frederick Christian, succeeded his father as elector but died two and a half months later. In the Commonwealth, on 7 September 1764, with the small participation of the
szlachta initiated by the Czartoryski's and the strong support of Russia,
Stanisław August Poniatowski was elected king of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Reigning under the name Stanisław II Augustus, Poniatowski was the son of the
elder Stanisław Poniatowski, a powerful Polish noble and a onetime agent of Stanisław I; in youth, he was a lover of
Catherine the Great of Russia, and as such enjoyed strong support from that Empress's court. == Legacy ==