The Albertine branch is a German princely family of the House of Wettin . The name derives from the progenitor of the line, Albert III, Duke of Saxony . The Albertine branch ruled from 1485 to 1918 as dukes, electors and kings in Saxony.
6-448: Ernest and Albert of Saxony, the two sons of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony , initially ruled their paternal inheritance for a long time, with Ernest as the eldest being the elector. In 1485, the two brothers divided their countries ( Treaty of Leipzig ). Albert and his descendants received their own territory with Dresden as the center, which they ruled from now on as the dukes of Saxony. While Frederick III, Elector of Saxony supported
12-767: The Reformation , George, Duke of Saxony tried to prevent it in his area. It was not until his brother Henry IV, Duke of Saxony , who succeeded George as duke, that the Reformation was also introduced in Saxony. Although Maurice, Elector of Saxony was also a Protestant, in 1546 he sided with Emperor Charles V against the Protestant princes of the Schmalkaldic League under the leadership of his cousin John Frederick I . After
18-960: The defeat of the Protestants in the Schmalkaldic War , in 1547 he received the electoral dignity and large parts of the Ernestine lands as a reward for his services. Since then, the Albertine branch have been the leading line of the House of Wettin . The common minting agreed between the Ernestines and Albertine branch in the main division of Leipzig in 1485 was finally abandoned. The new Albertine Elector Moritz only coins in his own name (Saxon coin separation). Ernest, Elector of Saxony Ernest (24 March 1441 – 26 August 1486), known as Ernst in German,
24-618: 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, Ernest died in Colditz , at the age of 46 years, the consequence of
30-595: The position of Elector of Saxony. In 1455 Ernst was briefly 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
36-518: Was Elector of Saxony from 1464 to 1486. Ernst was the founder and progenitor of the Ernestine line of Saxon princes . Ernst was born in Meissen , 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
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