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Augustus Ii, Augustus II (1670-1733), called Augustus the Strong, was elector of Saxony and king of Poland. Better known for his extravagance and promiscuity than… Northern War, Northern War, 1700–1721, general European conflict, fought in N and E Europe at the same time that the War of the Spanish Succession was fought in th…
- He Wasn’T Supposed to Have Power
- His Brother Died in Infamous Circumstances
- His Marriage Was Miserable
- He Was A Serial Cheater
- He Humiliated His Wife in Public
- He Had A Famous Inspiration
- He Was called “The Strong” For A Reason
- He Had Vicious Tastes
- He Did His “Duty” Well
- He Had A Scandalous Love Child
Augustus II was born in May 1670 to gold and glory. As the son of the current Elector of Saxony, little Augustus wanted for almost nothing as a child. But there was one thing missing. Augustus was merely the secondson of the family, and thus had no hopes of inheriting the Electorate when he grew up. Until, that is, horrible tragedy hit. Wikimedia C...
In 1694, Augustus’ older brother—who had already inherited the position of Elector—met a scandalous end, contracting smallpox from his mistress and then perishing. This ignominious turn of events nonetheless cleared the path for Augustus to become the Elector of Saxony himself, and suddenly the younger son wielded immense power. He just had no idea...
Augustus II’s issues started early—just before he became Elector, in fact. The year before his brother conveniently died, the 24-year-old Augustus had married 21-year-old Christiane of Brandenburg-Bayreuth. It was instantly a bad idea. The union had been a purely political match rather than a love one, and the exuberant Augustus found the stoic, st...
Growing up as the second son, Augustus II had gotten used to some debauched antics. In particular, he was veryused to having a string of mistresses warm his bed, and didn’t like the idea of marriage cramping his style. More than that, though, he flaunted his side pieces in front of Christiane, something she—shocker—took issue with. Still, that didn...
During his official procession to become the Elector of Saxony, Augustus’s marital problems were uncomfortably on display. His courtiers were all dressed as gods and goddesses for the parade, but while his wife Christiane dressed modestly as a Vestal Virgin—not even a goddess role—Augusts had his main mistress, Maria Aurora von Konigsmarck, dress a...
As time wore on, Augustus only got more bombastic, not less. As Elector of Saxony, he immediately set about making the main city of Dresden into party central, taking the opulent palace of Versailles as his inspiration and constructing a string of pleasure palaces in its image. And what he didin those palaces is even more disturbing than you might ...
One of Augustus’s defining traits—and the reason for his nickname—was his above-average height of 5’9” and his absolutely dominant physical prowess. He put these traits to chilling use.While in Dresden, Augustus loved holding and participating in “animal tossing” contests, where he and his courtiers would literally hurl animals into the air. Oh, bu...
Never one to shy away from the spotlight, Augustus II made sure everyone knew just how strong he really was during these blood sports. He would show off by holding one of the slings they used with just one of his fingers, all while it took two other nobles to hold onto the other end. On other occasions, he liked to break horseshoes with just his ha...
By 1696, August was firmly settling into his role as Elector of Saxony—and more than that, his wife Christiane was pregnant, which was quitethe feat considering the pair of them didn’t like each other much. Fortunately for them, it was a one and done situation: That fall, Christiane gave birth to a son and heir they named Frederick. But, well, then...
Augustus II was now a proud father—but his situation was about to get sordid. In a turn of events that proves the truth really is more scandalous than fiction, Augustus’s favorite mistress Maria Aurora was alsopregnant at the exact same time, with his child, and had her own boy just 11 days after Christiane gave birth to the heir. This had immediat...
Augustus II the Strong (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733.
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May 9, 2024 · Augustus II, king of Poland and elector of Saxony. Though he regained Poland’s former provinces of Podolia and Ukraine, his reign marked the beginning of Poland’s decline as a European power. His hopes of establishing a strong Polish monarchy came to naught and his death triggered the War of the Polish Succession.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jun 27, 2018 · Augustus II (1670-1733), called Augustus the Strong, was elector of Saxony and king of Poland. Better known for his extravagance and promiscuity than for political shrewdness, he failed in his modest attempts to create a strong and independent Poland.
AUGUSTUS II., THE STRONG: By: Herman Rosenthal. Table of Contents. Assisted in Election by Jews. Measures Against the Jews. Assisted in Election by Jews. Elector of Saxony 1694-1733, and from 1697 king of Poland with the title Frederick Augustus I.; born at Dresden May 12, 1670; died at Warsaw Feb. 1, 1733.
Augustus' great physical strength earned him the nicknames "the Strong", "the Saxon Hercules" and "Iron-Hand." He liked to show that he lived up to his name by breaking horseshoes with his bare hands and engaging in fox tossing by holding the end of his sling with just one finger while two of the strongest men in his court held the other end. [1]
