Count August of Legnica (; ;

Brzeg Brzeg (; Latin: ''Alta Ripa'', German: ''Brieg'', Silesian German: ''Brigg'', , ) is a town in southwestern Poland with 34,778 inhabitants (December 2021) and the capital of Brzeg County. It is situated in Silesia in the Opole Voivodeship on t ...

, 21 August 1627 – Siebenhufen near

Przeworno Przeworno () is a village in Strzelin County, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, in south-western Poland. It is the seat of the administrative district (gmina) called Gmina Przeworno. It lies approximately south of Strzelin, and south of the regional ca ...

, 14 May 1679), was the last male-line member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented List of Polish monarchs, Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I of Poland, Mieszko I (–992). The Poland during the Piast dynasty, Piasts' royal rule in Pol ...

. He was the ninth (fourth surviving) son of John Christian, Duke of

Legnica Legnica (; , ; ; ) is a city in southwestern Poland, in the central part of Lower Silesia, on the Kaczawa River and the Czarna Woda. As well as being the seat of the county, since 1992 the city has been the seat of the Diocese of Legnica. Le ...

Wołów Wołów (, ) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in south-western Poland. It is the seat of Wołów County and Gmina Wołów. It lies approximately north-west of the regional capital Wrocław. , the town has a population of 12,373. It is pa ...

Oława Oława (, , ) is a historic town in south-western Poland with 33,029 inhabitants (2019). It is situated in Lower Silesian Voivodeship, within the Wrocław metropolitan area. It is the seat of Oława County and of the smaller administrative distri ...

, but the first-born by his second wife Anna Hedwig of Sitzsch.

Life

The marriage of Duke John Christian and Anna Hedwig was considered

morganatic Morganatic marriage, sometimes called a left-handed marriage, is a marriage between people of unequal social rank, which in the context of royalty or other inherited title prevents the principal's position or privileges being passed to the spous ...

and in consequence all the eventual children born of them were excluded from the succession of the Duchy of Legnica-Brzeg. The status of Anna Hedwig changed considerably when she was raised to the rank of Baroness by

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, King of Hungary, Hungary, and List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II, Archduke of Austr ...

on 7 December 1627. Shortly after, on 18 February 1628, August was also raised to the Baronial rank with the title of ''Baron of Legnica'' (), a title who was secured for the future children of the couple. From August's six full-siblings, only two survive infancy: Baron Sigismund and Baroness Johanna Elisabeth of Legnica, by marriage Baroness Berka von Dub und Leipa. None of them left descendants. After the outbreak of the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

, the young August and his family fled to Poland, first to

Toruń Toruń is a city on the Vistula River in north-central Poland and a World Heritage Sites of Poland, UNESCO World Heritage Site. Its population was 196,935 as of December 2021. Previously, it was the capital of the Toruń Voivodeship (1975–199 ...

and later to

Ostróda Ostróda (; Old Prussian language, Old Prussian: ''Austrāti'') is a town in northern Poland, in the historic region of Masuria. It is the seat of the Ostróda County within the Warmian-Masurian Voivodeship and has approximately 33,191 inhabitant ...

, where his parents died in 1639. August was raised to the Comital rank with the title of ''Count of Legnica'' ({{langx, de, Graf von Liegnitz) by Bohemian royal order at

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...

on 12 January 1664. In 1675 his nephew George William, the last

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of King Casimir III the Great. Branches of ...

Duke of Legnica-Brzeg, died without issue. Then August made his claim over the Duchies, as the last living male representative of the family (his younger brother Sigismund had died in 1664). The key of his eventual success was to demonstrated that the Agreement of 24 June 1626 who deprived Anna Hedwig of Sitzsch's descendants from the right of succession over Legnica-Brzeg was valid only if the descendants of Duke John Christian's first marriage were alive. August's claims were ultimately rejected, and in compensation, the

Emperor Leopold I Leopold I (Leopold Ignaz Joseph Balthasar Franz Felician; ; 9 June 1640 – 5 May 1705) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Hungary, List of Croatian monarchs, Croatia, and List of Bohemian monarchs, Bohemia. The second son of Ferdinand III, Holy Rom ...

granted to him a high annual pension. From all the Legnica-Brzeg lands, August could retain only two districts:

and Kantorowice near Brzeg. August, the last male member of the Piast dynasty, died on 14 May 1679 in his castle of Siedminie (''Siebenhufen'') and 28 September of that year he was buried in the Church of the Holy Trinity in Przeworno.

Marriages and issue

On 8 October 1653, August married firstly with Elisabeth (d. 24 April 1660), daughter of

Johann Adam Raupowsky von Raupow Johann, typically a male given name, is the German form of ''Iohannes'', which is the Latin form of the Greek name ''Iōánnēs'' (), itself derived from Hebrew name '' Yochanan'' () in turn from its extended form (), meaning "Yahweh is Gracious" ...

, Baron of Ruppau, and widow of Karl Deodat, Baron of Zahradek. They had three children: * Count Christian August of Legnica (b. 30 April 1655 - d. 26 May 1671). * Countess Anna Louise Elisabeth of Legnica (b. 18 January 1658 - d. 2 November 1659). * Countess Johanna Elisabeth of Legnica (b. and d. 5 April 1660). On 2 August 1665, August married secondly with Elisabeth Charlotte (b. Dillenburg, 2 June 1643 - d. Györ (Raab), Hungary, 2 March 1686), daughter of George Louis, Hereditary Prince of

Nassau-Dillenburg The County of Nassau was a German state within the Holy Roman Empire from the period of the formal recognition of the countly title in 1159 (though "de facto" sovereignty began in 1125) until the declaration of the Duchy of Nassau in 1806 with ...

. This union was childless.

References

*''This article was translated from his original in Polish Wikipedia'' 1627 births 1679 deaths Piast dynasty