, Saxony, Germany
1906

Saxony (Ger. Sachaen, zax'en), Kingdom of, a state of the German Empire, the fifth in size and the third in order of population, bounded on the N. and NE. by Prussia ( pro vinoes of Saxony and Silesia), on the SE. by Bohemia, on the SW. (for a short distance) by Bavaria, and on the W. by Reuss, Saxe- Weimar, Saxe-Altenburg, and Prussian Saxony. Length, 144 miles ; breadth, 15 to 88 miles. Area, 5787 sq. m. Pop. in 1900, 4,202,216. All but about 5 per cent, of the inhabitants are Protes tants. The Catholics number about 200,000 and the Jews about 13,000. The royal family belongs to the Catholic church. The non-German element in the population (in addition to the foreigners) is that of the Wends, a Slavic people who live in the extreme E. of the kingdom, in a portion of old Lusatia, and who number about 50,000. The kingdom is divided into the circles of Dresden, Leipsic, Bautien, Chemniti, and Zwickau. The chief towns are Dresden, Leipsic, Chemnitz, Plauen, Zwickau, Meissen, Zittau, Freiberg, Bautzen, and Qlauchau. The capital is Dresden.

A large part of Saxony is mountainous or hilly. On the SE., along a great part of the frontier on the side of Bo hemia, stretches the Erzgebirge (Ore Mountains), reaching in the Fichtelberg an elevation of nearly 4000 feet. N. of their eastern end, on both sides of the river Elbe, is the sandstone mountain region called the Saxon Switzerland, with its fantastically castellated peaks, rising to a height of about 1800 ft. above the sea. The northwestern corner of the kingdom, the region about Leipsic, is an extensive plain. The river Elbe traverses Saxony from SE. to NW. It is navigable throughout the whole of its course within the kingdom. The largest river, after the Elbe, is the Mulde, which flows N. through the western part of the country and joins the Elbe beyond its borders. Saxony possesses a fertile soil, which is in a high state of cultiva tion. A large area is devoted to rye, oats, and potatoes, which are the leading crops. Fruit is extensively culti vated. The forests cover about one-fourth of the surface. Much attention is given to the rearing of live-stock. The sheep yield a fine quality of wool, but sheep-breeding has declined greatly. Saxony is rich in minerals, whioh include coal, silver, iron, lead, tin, arsenic, copper, cobalt, bismuth, and antimony, besides a variety of precious and semi precious stones, marble, sandstone (largely quarried), por celain-clay, etc. The great mining-centre is Freiberg. There are numerous mineral springs, the best known being those of Elster. Saxony is more actively engaged in manu factures than any section of Germany except Westphalia and Rhenish Prussia. The textile industry takes the lead, a vast number of persons being employed in the weaving of linen, cotton, and woollen fabrics and in the manufac ture of knitted goods, embroidery, lace, and passementerie. The manufacture of articles of apparel and finery is carried on very extensively. There are great establishments en gaged in turning out machinery of all kinds. Food products are manufactured on a large scale. The so-called Dres den china, manufactured at Meissen, is famous. Paper- making, brewing, wood-working, the preparation of chemi cals, distilling, the manufacture of artioles of leather, and piano-making are important industries. Leipsic vies with Berlin as the greatest publishing centre of Germany, and is the foremost place in the world in the extent of its book trade. The iron-industry is on a large scale. Saxony pos sesses one of the leading universities of Germany, that of Leipsic. The mining academy of Freiberg is the most celebrated institution of its kind in the world. Dresden has a notable polytechnic institute and the conservatory of music at Leipsic is world-renowned. The government of Saxony is a constitutional monarchy. There are six ministerial departments, — justice, finance, interior, educa tion and ecclesiastical affairs, foreign affairs, war. The legislature consists of two chambers. The first chamber is composed of princes, nobles, ecclesiastics, burgomasters of the principal cities, deputies representing nobiliary estates, a few members nominated by the king, and a representa tive from the university of Leipsic. The second chamber, or house of representatives, is elected by indirect suffrage. The voters are divided into 3 classes, the representation being unequal. Saxony has 4 votes in the Bundesrat and sends 23 representatives to the Reichstag.

History. — In addition to the kingdom so-called, the name Saxony is a designation of one of the provinces of Prussia, and is borne also by four of the Thuringian states (Sachten in the case of these being contracted in English to Saxe). It designates a very different region from the Saxony of the early period of German history. The home of the ancient Saxons was a territory extending southwestward from the river Elbe, near its mouth, nearly to the Rhine, in the vi cinity of Cologne. It was from this region that the Saxons came who, with the Jutes and Angles, conquered Britain. Towards the close of the eighth century Charles the Great subdued the Saxons of the main-land and forced them to accept Christianity. Soon after the partition of the Frank-ish realm by the grandsons of Charles, about the middle of the ninth century, the national duchy of the Saxons makes its appearance, — one of the great fiefs of the new German kingdom. In 919 Henry the Fowler, duke of Saxony, was elected king of Germany. His son Otho succeeded him on the royal throne, and his coronation by the Pope at Rome in 962 inaugurated the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation. This monarch conferred Saxony on Hermann Billung, whose house ruled till 1106. Shortly before the middle of the twelfth century the duchy came into the possession of the house of Guelph (Welf ). Henry the Lion of this house, who was also duke of Bavaria, was a feared vassal of Frederick Barbarossa. In 1181 the emperor brought about the fall of Henry, whose dominions were partitioned. The title of Duke of Saxony was now borne by Bemhard of Askanien, a petty prince who had some possessions in the region of the Elbe. The lands of his house were divided about the middle of the thirteenth century and there were two little duchies of Saxony, Saxe-Lauenburg and Saxe-Wittenberg. In the Golden Bull of the emperor Charles IV., issued in 1356, the duke of Saxe-Wittenberg was recognized as one of the imperial electors. In 1422 the line of Saxe-Wittenberg became extinct and the duchy and electoral dignity passed in 1423 to the margrave of Meissen (Misnia), of the House of Wettin. This house, in addition to the Saxon and Mis- nian dominions, acquired possessions in Thuringia. Its dominions collectively became known as Saxony. In 1485 they were divided into two states, — Saxony of the Ernest ine Line (or electoral Saxony) and Saxony of the Albert- ine Line (or ducal Saxony), the capitals being respectively Wittenberg and Dresden. Wittenberg was the cradle of the Reformation.

In 1547 the elector of Saxony, the main head of the Protestants, in the war of the Schmalkaldic League was de prived of his dominions and electoral dignity, which were conferred upon Maurice of the ducal line. The Thuringian possessions were, however, restored to the Ernestine house, and out of these arose the small Saxon duchies. In 1635 Saxony acquired Lusatia. Two electors of Saxony in suc cession occupied the royal throne of Poland between 1697 and 1763. In 1806 Saxony was elevated to the rank of a kingdom. The king of Saxony was head of the duohy of Warsaw from 1807-13. In 1815 Saxony, in consequence of its alliance with Napoleon, was deprived by the powers of half of its dominions, which were transferred to Prussia. From 1866-70 the kingdom was part of the North German Confederation, and in 1871 it became part of the new German Empire.

Saxony, a province of Prussia, having on the NE. and E. the provinoe of Brandenburg, on the W. Brunswick and the provinces of Hanover and Hesse-Nassau, and on the S. the Thuringian states and the kingdom of Saxony. Enclosed within it are the duchy of Anhalt and portions of Schwarz- burg-Sondershausen, Brunswick, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, and Saxe- Weimar, and there are detached fragments of the province enclosed within the Thuringian states. Ares, 9751 sq. m. In the extreme W. are the Harz mountains, while the southern portion belongs to the Thuringian high lands. The bulk of the province forms part of the great North German lowland. Prussian Saxony is watered by the Elbe, with its tributaries, the Black Elster, Mulde, and the Saale (which receives the Unstrut). This province is on the whole the most fertile portion of Prussia, producing bountiful crops of grain, potatoes, and beets (for sugar). Vegetable farming and horticulture are extensively carried on and wine, hops, and chiccory are produced. Prussian Saxony has the most productive coal-fields in Germany and rich deposits of common salt and other salts. Vast quanti ties of kainite are obtained at Stassfurt. The province is divided into the three districts of Magdeburg, Erfurt, and Merseburg. Capital, Magdeburg. Pop. in 1900, 2,832,616.

Lippincott's New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns ... in Every Portion of the Globe Publisher J.B. Lippincott Company, 1906

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