Maria Josepha of Austria

Queen of Poland from 1733 to 1757

Maria Josepha of Austria (Maria Josepha Benedikta Antonia Theresia Xaveria Philippine, Maria Józefa; 8 December 1699 – 17 November 1757) was the Queen of Poland and Electress of Saxony by marriage to Augustus III. From 1711 to 1717, she was heiress presumptive to the Habsburg monarchy. Her sister Maria Amalia became Electress of Bavaria.

Maria Josepha was born in Vienna, an Archduchess of Austria, the eldest child of Joseph I, Holy Roman Emperor and Princess Wilhelmina Amalia of Brunswick Lüneburg. She was named for her father. During the reign of her grandfather, Maria Josepha's father and uncle signed the Mutual Pact of Succession of 1703, which was issued by her grandfather, Emperor Leopold I, and effectively made Maria Josepha the heiress presumptive to her uncle, Emperor Charles VI; However, Charles VI's Pragmatic Sanction of 1713 annulled the earlier agreement and made his daughter Maria Theresa his successor instead of Maria Josepha.

A marriage between Maria Josepha and Frederick Augustus II, Elector of Saxony (1696–1763) had been suggested by Frederick's father, August II the Strong, since 1704. The fact that Maria Josepha was not allowed to marry a non Catholic, however, prevented the marriage. When Augustus converted to Catholicism in 1712, the negotiations became serious. Emperor Charles VI forbade Maria Josepha and her sister from marrying until they renounced their positions in the line of succession, securing the succession for Charles's future daughter Maria Theresa. Maria Josepha renounced her claim on 10 August 1719. Ten days later, Maria Josepha and Frederick Augustus married. Through this marriage between the Houses of Wettin and Habsburg, Frederick Augustus II's father hoped to place Saxony in a better position should there arise a war of succession to the Austrian territories. The couple's eldest surviving son, Frederick Christian, eventually succeeded his father as Elector of Saxony. In Saxony, the couple lived at Dresden Castle. The marriage has been described as a happy one, and Augustus was apparently never unfaithful.

In 1733, Frederick Augustus was elected King of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as August III the Saxon. She shared an interest in music, art and hunting with her spouse, and they usually spent their autumns at the Palace of Hubertusburg for the hunting season. She was devoted to Catholicism and especially venerated Saint Francis Xavier and was actively involved in the building of the Catholic Hofkirche in Dresden. She, as well as Frederick Christian and his spouse Maria Antonia, were all placed under house arrest at the palace of Dresden guarded by a Prussian commandant.