Augustus, elector of Saxony and leader of Protestant Germany, has transformed Saxony into a model state with the active encouragement and assistance of his wife, Princess Anna of Denmark (1532–85).

Under his administration Saxony is enjoying economic and commercial prosperity at a time when commerce in Germany as a whole is decaying.

His reorganization of the tax structure and reform of justice have increased the state's efficiency and solvency.

Saxon wealth has been further enhanced by his encouragement of production and trade.

The development of mining and the manufacturing skills of Dutch Protestant immigrants has done much to promote the state's economic well-being.

He has waged a constant struggle for Glaubensreinheit (purity of religious belief) in his territories, ending only with his death on February 12, 1586, at Dresden.