The region of Electoral Saxony refers to the upper reaches of the German Speaking Elbe Valley, focused on the cities of Leipzig and Dresden. First in Leipzig, and later in Dresden, resided the Electors of Saxony, a title that granted them the right to vote for the successor to the Holy Roman Empire. This region was unfathomably wealthy. Leipzig was one of the most important centers of trade in the Empire, though it flowed all the trade on the Via Regia and the Amber Road. Meissen was the most illustrious center of European porcelain production, and her wares are still coveted today. In the “Ore Mountains” mountains along the Czech border were numerous mines that fed the coffers of the state.

That Saxony ultimately failed to challenge the might of Brandenburg in the contest for Germany reflects perhaps just as much on the misfortunes of the Saxon state than on the successes of the Hohenzollern dynasty.