Ernst, Elector of Saxony
| Ernest | |
|---|---|
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|
| Elector of Saxony | |
| Reign | 7 September 1464 – 26 August 1486 |
| Predecessor | Frederick II |
| Successor | Frederick III |
| Landgrave of Thuringia | |
| Reign | 17 September 1482 – 26 August 1486 |
| Predecessor | William II |
| Successor | Frederick VI |
| Born |
24 March 1441 Meissen, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
| Died | 26 August 1486 (aged 45) Colditz, Electorate of Saxony, Holy Roman Empire |
| Spouse | Elisabeth of Bavaria-Munich |
| Issue among others... |
Christina, Queen of Denmark Frederick III, Elector of Saxony Johann, Elector of Saxony Margarete, Duchess of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| House | House of Wettin |
| Father | Frederick II, Elector of Saxony |
| Mother | Margaret of Austria-Styria |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Ernest (Meissen, 24 March 1441 – 26 August 1486 in Colditz) was Elector of Saxony from 1464 to 1486.
Ernst was the founder and progenitor of the Ernestine line of Saxon princes, and a direct patrilineal ancestor of Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
He was the second son (but fourth in order of birth) of the eight children of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Margaret 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, by the knight Kunz von Kaufungen 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.
According to the Treaty of Leipzig he received an area around Wittenberg, the southern Thuringian part, the Vogtland and parts of the Pleissnerland. As a 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 from a horse.
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