Saxony: Definition and Links by Encyclopedian.com

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Furthermore there are seven independent towns, which don't belong to any district:

History

For the origins of the Saxon tribes see Saxons.

Foundation of the first Saxon state

The first duchy of Saxony emerged about 900 in a region, which is completely different from the present state of Saxony: It was located in today's Lower Saxony and North Rhine-Westphalia. The first dukes of Saxony were at the same time kings (or emperors) of the Holy Roman Empire (Ottonian or Saxon Dynasty).

In 1137 Saxony was passed to the Welfen[?] dynasty. It reached its peak under duke Henry the Lion, but after his death it began to shrink. In 1180 large portions west of the Elbe had to be ceased to the bishops of Cologne (these lands later formed the duchy of Brunswick-Lueneburg). The small remains were passed to an Ascanian dynasty and were divided in 1260 into the two mini states of Saxony-Lauenburg and Saxony-Wittenberg.

Foundation of the second Saxon state

Saxony-Lauenburg was later called Lauenburg and had nothing to do anymore with the history of Saxony.

Saxony-Wittenberg (in present Saxony-Anhalt) became subject to the margravate of Meißen (ruled by the Wettin dynasty) in 1423. A new powerful state was established, occupying large portions of present Saxony, Thuringia and Saxony-Anhalt. Although the centre of this state was far southeast of the former Saxony, it was soon called Upper Saxony and then only Saxony, while the former Saxon territories were now called Lower Saxony.

A collateral line of the Wettin princes diverged in 1485. This line received what later became Thuringia and founded several tiny states there (see Thuringia for more details). The remaining state became even more powerful. In the 18th century Saxony was known for great cultural achievements, but was politically inferior to Prussia and Austria, which pressed Saxony from either sides.

Saxony in the 19th and 20th centuries

In the Congress of Vienna Saxony was forced to cease its northern territories to Prussia. These lands became the Prussian province of Saxony, which is today incorporated in Saxony-Anhalt.

Remaining Saxony was roughly identical with the present federal state. It became a kingdom in 1831. After 1918 Saxony was an administrative region in the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era and under Soviet occupation. It was dissolved in 1952, but reestablished in 1990 upon the German reunification. Today Saxony also includes a little part of Silesia around the town of Goerlitz which remained German after the war.