Elbgespräche auf dem THEATERKAHN #31 * Plötzlich Kurfürst - Mit Prof. Dr. Dirk Syndram

In the organizer's words:

August of Saxony. A Renaissance prince from Freiberg.

Elbe Talks at the THEATERKAHN #31 moderated by Dipl.-Ing. Karl-Heinz Kloppisch

Suddenly Elector
August of Saxony. A Renaissance prince from Freiberg.

With Prof. Dr. Dirk Syndram
Former Director of the Green Vault and the Armory, former Deputy Director General of the Dresden State Art Collections

On July 31, 1526, Augustus was born in Freiberg as the third son of Henry and Catherine of Saxony. He was the scion of a ducal collateral line and, through several coincidences, became one of the most powerful and richest electors of the 16th century, a friend of Emperor Maximilian II and a promoter and guardian of religious peace in the Holy Roman Empire.

From 1553 to 1586, he ruled and shaped Saxony and made a decisive contribution to its development into an early modern territorial state. He had a profound influence on the structure
of this country for centuries to come. As a Protestant ruler who, together with his wife Anne of Denmark, was to set an example for the princes of the new faith, he was one of the most powerful personalities of his time.

Through his good relations in Europe and his own magnificent court, but above all through the establishment of the Elector's Kunstkammer, he left behind a rich artistic legacy.

The Freiberg City and Mining Museum's first special exhibition is dedicated to this Saxon elector and can be seen in its new premises from mid-June 2025 until January of the following year. It has been created in collaboration with the Green Vault and the Armory of the Dresden State Art Collections and was curated by the lecturer.

In the immediate vicinity of Freiberg Cathedral, whose Wettin burial vault dates back to Elector Augustus, the impact of this Saxon global player of the Renaissance will once again shine through.

Lecture with digital image presentation