Why was August II called ‘Strong’?

August II Mocny, known as August the Strong, did everything possible to earn this nickname. Not only was he very tall – an imposing man over 2 metres in height, he was also a great horseman and a man of great physical strength. He liked to show off this strength and that is why even some of his contemporaries claimed that when he broke horseshoes with bare hands, some suspected that these horseshoes were specially prepared so that they would break easily.

The reign of August II Strong

Unfortunately, this strength did not extend to his governing skills. He was already the Elector of Saxony ( a neighbouring state to Poland), when he developed an ambition to become the king of Poland and to unite Saxony and Poland under one powerful crown. By becoming a Catholic, and backed by powerful neighbours in Russia and Austria, he managed to gain the support of a part of the Polish nobility in a Sejm election and was soon crowned the King of Poland (King of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) in 1697. In 1700, as  Saxonian Elector and backed by the Russian Tsar, he began a war with Sweden,  known as the Great Northern War. Poland was drawn into this war and it was the local population that suffered most from this war between foreign powers.

What followed was a double change on the Polish throne. First, Sweden, after defeating a combined army of Saxon and Polish-Lithuanian forces, deposed August II and installed Leszczyński as Stanisław I in 1704. Then, the situation changed. Tsar Peter I defeated the Swedes and August II the Strong returned to the throne.

The reign of August II the Strong was not a good time for Poland. The country and the people were weakened by wars, illnesses and a worsening economic situation. Foreign powers – the Russian, Prussian and Austrian monarchies wished to have more and more influence over the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. The rich Polish magnates often took sides and there were those who were more guided by personal gain than by the common good and the good of the country.

August II Strong – a patron of arts

Returning to August II the Strong, he is perhaps best remembered as a patron of the arts and architecture. He led a life of ease and pleasure, but he was also a great art collector and built lavish baroque palaces in Dresden and Warsaw.

Finally, he established the Order of the White Eagle, Poland’s highest honour. Today this order is still the greatest distinction that can be awarded in Poland.

Illustrations:

Louis de Silvestre, Augustus II, National Museum in Poznan, after 1718

Jan Matejko, August II Mocny (275320), circa 1893

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:August_II_Mocny_(275320).jpg

Photo: Mathiasrex, Maciej Szczepańczyk (2018), Johann August Jordan, Star of the Royal Rubingarnitur of the Order of White Eagle of Augustus II the Strong