Elector Ernest OfSaxony

Ernest, Elector of Saxony
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Ernst, Elector of Saxony (b. Meissen, 24 March 1441 - d. Colditz, 26 August 1486) was Elector of Saxony from 1464 to 1486.
Contents
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• 1 Biography
  
• 2 Ancestry
  
• 3 Children
  
• 4 See also
  
• 5 References
  
  [edit] Biography
  
  Ernst was founder of the Ernestine line of Saxon princes, ancestor of George I of Great Britain, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, as well as his wife and cousin Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom, and their cousins Leopold II of Belgium and Empress Carlota of Mexico.
  
  He was the second son (but fourth in order of birth) of the eight children of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Margarete of Austria, sister of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.
  
  The death of his older brother Frederick (1451) made him the new heir apparent to the position of Elector of Saxony.
  
  In 1455 Ernst was kidnapped along with his brother Albert, an episode famous in German history as the "Prinzenraub" (i. e. The Stealing of the Princes).
  
  In 1464, he succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony, and annexed Thuringia in 1482, and three years later (Treaty of Leipzig, 1485) shared his territory with his brother Albert, until he arranged the division of the common possession.
  
  In the Division of Leipzig he received area around Wittenberg, the south Thuringian part, the Vogtland and parts of the Pleissnerland. As residence he selected Wittenberg. He provided for the welfare of the country and introduced the constitution.
  
  One year after the division elector Ernest died in Colditz, at the age of 46 years, the consequence of a fall off a horse.
  
  [edit] Ancestry
  
  16. Frederick II, Margrave of Meissen
  
  8. Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia
  
  17. Matilde of Bavaria
  
  4. Frederick I, Elector of Saxony
  
  18. Heinrich VIII of Henneberg-Schleusingen
  
  9. Katharina of Henneberg-Schleusingen
  
  19. Judith of Brandenburg-Salzwedel
  
  2. Frederick II, Elector of Saxony
  
  20. Magnus II, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  
  10. Henry the Mild, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg
  
  21. Catherine of Anhalt-Bernburg
  
  5. Catherine of Brunswick
  
  22. Wratislav VI, Duke of Pomerania
  
  11. Sofie of Pomerania-Wolgast
  
  23. Anna zu Mecklenburg-Stargard
  
  1. Ernest, Elector of Saxony
  
  24. Albert II, Duke of Austria
  
  12. Leopold III, Duke of Austria
  
  25. Johanna of Pfirt
  
  6. Ernest, Duke of Austria
  
  26. Bernabò Visconti, Lord of Milan
  
  13. Viridis Visconti
  
  27. Beatrice della Scalla
  
  3. Margarete of Austria-Styria
  
  28. Siemowit III of Masovia
  
  14. Siemowit IV, Duke of Masovia
  
  29. Euphemia of Schlesien-Troppau
  
  7. Cymburgis of Masovia
  
  30. Algirdas, Grand Duke of Lithuania
  
  15. Alexandra of Lithuania
  
  31. Uliana Alexandrovna of Tver
  
  [edit] Children
  
  In Leipzig on 19 November 1460 Ernst married with Elisabeth of Bavaria-Munich. They had seven children:
  
  1. Christine (b. Torgau, 25 December 1461 - d. Odense, 8 December 1521), married on 6 September 1478 to King Johann I of Denmark.
  2. Frederick III, Elector of Saxony (b. Torgau, 17 January 1463 - d. Lockau, 5 May 1525).
  3. Ernst (b. Meissen, 26 June 1464 - d. Halle, 3 August 1513), Archbishop of Magdeburg (1476-1480), Bishop of Halberstadt (1480-1513).
  4. Albrecht (b. Meissen, 8 May 1467 - d. Aschaffenburg, 1 May 1484), Administrator of Mainz.
  5. Johann, Elector of Saxony (b. Meissen, 30 June 1468 - d. Schweinitz, 16 August 1532).
  6. Margarete (b. Meissen, 4 August 1469 - d. Weimar, 7 December 1528), married on 27 February 1487 to Duke Heinrich of Brünswick-Lüneburg.
  7. Wolfgang (b. Meissen, ca. 1473 - d. Torgau, ca. 1478).
  
  Preceded by
  Frederick II Elector of Saxony
  1464 1486 Succeeded by
  Frederick III