Augustus II the Strong

Augustus II the Strong^[a] (12 May 1670 – 1 February 1733), was Elector of Saxony as Frederick Augustus I from 1694 as well as King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1697 to 1706 and from 1709 until his death in 1733. He belonged to the Albertine branch of the House of Wettin.

Augustus' great physical strength earned him the nicknames "the Strong", "the Saxon Hercules" and "Iron-Hand". He liked to show that he lived up to his name by breaking horseshoes with his bare hands and engaging in fox tossing by holding the end of his sling with just one finger while two of the strongest men in his court held the other end.^[1] He is also notable for fathering a very large number of children, with contemporary sources claiming a total of between 360 and 380.

In order to be elected king of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, Augustus converted to Roman Catholicism. As a Catholic, he received the Order of the Golden Fleece from the Holy Roman Emperor and established the Order of the White Eagle, Poland's highest distinction. As elector of Saxony, he is perhaps best remembered as a patron of the arts and architecture. He transformed the Saxon capital of Dresden into a major cultural centre, attracting artists from across Europe to his court. Augustus also amassed an impressive art collection and built lavish baroque palaces in Dresden and Warsaw. In 1711 he served as the Imperial vicar of the Holy Roman Empire.

His reign brought about many troubles to Poland. He led the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in the Great Northern War, which allowed the Russian Empire to strengthen its influence in Europe, especially within Poland. His main pursuit was bolstering royal power in the Commonwealth, characterized by broad decentralization in comparison with other European monarchies. In order to reduce the autonomy of the Commonwealth's subjects he used foreign powers, leading to destabilization of the country. Augustus ruled Poland with a 3-year interruption between 1706 and 1709; in 1704 the Swedes installed nobleman Stanisław Leszczyński as king, who officially reigned from 1706 to 1709 and then after Augustus' death in 1733, which sparked the War of the Polish Succession.

Augustus' body was buried in Poland's royal Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, but his heart rests in the Dresden Cathedral. His only legitimate son, Augustus III of Poland, became king in 1733.

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