1789-1815 Saxony, 1831-1848






Saxony, 1815-1830



KING FREDERICK AUGUSTUS I. resumed his rule only on July 6th 1815. DETLEV GRAF VON EINSIEDEL became the leading politician in the years following the Vienna Congress. A policy of austerity was pursued, centralizing measures adopted. Von Einsiedel was regarded an exponent of restauration policy; he remained in power until 1830 and was widely unpopular. Von Einsiedel implemented the CARLSBAD DECREES in Saxony (1819); the BURSCHENSCHAFT at the University of Leipzig was dissolved, censorship for newspapers introduced.
The outlawed organizations soon were replaced by secret illegal ones. The von Einsiedel administration was unpopular even among many among the civil servants, widely resented by business circles and intellectuals. In Saxony, painter CARL SPITZWEG, composer CARL MARIA VON WEBER leaned toward romanticism.
The beginning INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION saw the emergence and growth of enterprises, but also crises of traditional industries. The cities, especially Leipzig and Dresden, grew. In order to facilitate that growth, the city walls of Dresden were demolished (1809-1831). In 1814 a technical school, in 1814/1815 a surgical-medical acadamy, in 1816 a forestry academy were founded.
King Frederick Augustus I. died in 1827, succeeded by his brother Anton, a septuagenarian. After 12 years of repressive policy, in an economic crisis, large circles (liberals) favoured political reform, while gerontocrats (King Anton, Prime Minister von Einsiedel) held the strings of power. Dissatisfaction with the political situation at home turned into sympathy for other nations' patriots fighting against oppression, as in the case of the Greek fight for freedom since 1821. In Nov. 1829, French diplomacy offered Saxon crown prince John the crown of the Kingdom of Greece. While sympathizing with the idea for a while, John declined the offer.



EXTERNAL
FILES 		Die Wettiner (the Wettin Dynasty), by Sven Wetzig, in German
Biography of Frederick Augustus III. / I., Duke Elector, since 1806 King of Saxony, from infoplease, in English, 7 lines; from EB 1911, in English, 46 lines, text garbled; from Leipzig Lexikon, in German, 26 lines
Biography of Detlev von Einsiedel, from MDR, in German, illustrated; from BBKL, in German
DOCUMENTS Acte du Congres de Vienne du 9 juin 1815 : Saxe, Prusse, from Histoire Empire
REFERENCE Reiner Gross, Geschichte Sachsens (History of Saxony), Berlin : Edition Leipzig 2001



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First posted on December 28th 2002, last revised on November 12th 2004

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