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Capitulation of Wittenberg

 

 
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Capitulation of Wittenberg
 
 
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The Capitulation of Wittenberg was a treaty in 1547 by which John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, was compelled to resign the electoral
Prince-elector

The Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of Imperial election the Holy Roman Emperors....
 dignity. The Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony

The Electorate of Saxony or Duchy of Upper Saxony was an independent hereditary Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356?1806. It was the successor state of the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg and was itself replaced in Napoleonic times by the Kingdom of Saxony ....
 and most of his territory, including Wittenberg
Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany in the States of Germany Saxony-Anhalt, on the Elbe River. It has a population of about 50,000....
, passed from the elder, Ernestine line to the cadet branch, the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.

Wittenberg had become the focal point of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
. On the door of the castle church at Wittenberg in 1517, Martin Luther
Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a Germans monk, theology, university professor, priest, father of Protestantism, and Protestant Reformers whose ideas started the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western culture....
 nailed his 95 theses, the opening act of the Reformation.






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The Capitulation of Wittenberg was a treaty in 1547 by which John Frederick I, Elector of Saxony, was compelled to resign the electoral
Prince-elector

The Prince-Electors of the Holy Roman Empire were the members of the electoral college of the Holy Roman Empire, having the function of Imperial election the Holy Roman Emperors....
 dignity. The Electorate of Saxony
Electorate of Saxony

The Electorate of Saxony or Duchy of Upper Saxony was an independent hereditary Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 1356?1806. It was the successor state of the Duchy of Saxe-Wittenberg and was itself replaced in Napoleonic times by the Kingdom of Saxony ....
 and most of his territory, including Wittenberg
Wittenberg

Wittenberg, officially Lutherstadt Wittenberg, is a town in Germany in the States of Germany Saxony-Anhalt, on the Elbe River. It has a population of about 50,000....
, passed from the elder, Ernestine line to the cadet branch, the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.

Wittenberg had become the focal point of the Protestant Reformation
Protestant Reformation

The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe. It is thought to have begun in 1517 with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses and may be considered to have ended with the Peace of Westphalia in 1648....
. On the door of the castle church at Wittenberg in 1517, Martin Luther
Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a Germans monk, theology, university professor, priest, father of Protestantism, and Protestant Reformers whose ideas started the Protestant Reformation and changed the course of Western culture....
 nailed his 95 theses, the opening act of the Reformation. There in 1520 he burned the papal bull condemning him, and in 1534 the first Lutheran Bible was printed there. The Elector was the most important patron of the reforms.

In 1547 Emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
, with the assistance of the Duke of Alva, captured Wittenberg after the Battle of Mühlberg
Battle of Mühlberg

The Battle of M?hlberg was a large battle at M?hlberg, Brandenburg in the German of Electorate of Saxony during the Protestant Reformation at which the Catholic princes of the Holy Roman Empire led by Emperor Charles V decisively defeated the Schmalkaldic League of Protestant princes....
, where John Frederick I was taken prisoner. Then, the Duke of Alva presided over a court-martial and condemned him to death. To save his life, the Prince-Elector conceded the capitulation of Wittenberg, and, after having been compelled to resign the government of his country in favor of his relative, Maurice of Saxony
Maurice, Elector of Saxony

Maurice I, Elector of Saxony was a Duke of Saxony and later Prince-elector of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity....
, his condemnation was commuted to imprisonment for life. Rescued on September 1, 1552, his homeward journey was a triumphal march. He removed the seat of government to Weimar
Weimar

Weimar is a city in Germany. It is located in the States of Germany of Thuringia , north of the Th?ringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle, Saxony-Anhalt and Leipzig....
.

Wittenberg declined after 1547, when Dresden
Dresden

Dresden is the capital city of the Germany Federal Free state of Saxony. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon triangle metropolitan area....
, residence of the Albertine dukes, replaced it as the Saxon capital.