Ask the Chatbot Games & Quizzes ProCon History & Society Science & Tech Biographies Animals & Nature Geography & Travel Arts & Culture Money Videos
Maria Aurora, countess von Königsmark
Table of Contents
Introduction References & Edit History Quick Facts & Related Topics
Images
Maria Aurora von Königsmark, detail from an oil painting by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl; in Marienburg Castle, Germany
Discover
Rural Irish landscape, Sligo, Ireland.
Why Is Ireland Two Countries?
Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519), Italian Renaissance painter from Florence. Engraving by Cosomo Colombini (d. 1812) after a Leonardo self portrait. Ca. 1500.
10 Famous Artworks by Leonardo da Vinci
Thumbnail for flags that look alike quiz Russia, Slovenia, Iceland, Norway
Flags That Look Alike
Baseball laying in the grass. Homepage blog 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society, sports and games athletics
10 Greatest Baseball Players of All Time
Close up of books. Stack of books, pile of books, literature, reading. Homepage 2010, arts and entertainment, history and society
12 Novels Considered the “Greatest Book Ever Written”
Artist interpretation of a Space meteoroid impact. Meteor impact. Asteroid, End of the world, danger, destruction, dinosaur extinct, Judgement Day, Planet Earth, Doomsday Predictions, comet
10 Failed Doomsday Predictions
A human Inuit skull in a stone chambered cairn in Ilulissat in Greenland. These ancient graves are pre christian and are at least 2000
14 Tough Questions Answered

Maria Aurora von Königsmark, detail from an oil painting by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl; in Marienburg Castle, Germany
Maria Aurora von Königsmark, detail from an oil painting by David Klöcker Ehrenstrahl; in Marienburg Castle, Germany

Maria Aurora, countess von Königsmark

mistress of Augustus II
verifiedCite
While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions.
Select Citation Style
Feedback
Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login).
Thank you for your feedback

Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

External Websites
Written and fact-checked by
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors.
The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Article History
Quick Facts
Born:
May 8, 1662, Stade, Bremen [Germany]
Died:
Feb. 16, 1728, Quedlinburg, Brandenburg (aged 65)
See all related content

Maria Aurora, countess von Königsmark (born May 8, 1662, Stade, Bremen [Germany]—died Feb. 16, 1728, Quedlinburg, Brandenburg) was a German noblewoman and mistress of Augustus II the Strong, elector of Saxony and king of Poland. She was for many years a powerful figure at the Saxon court.

The beautiful and gifted daughter of an impoverished German nobleman in Swedish service, Countess Königsmark met the Saxon elector in Dresden while pursuing inquiries about her missing brother Philipp Christoph. The elector Frederick Augustus I of Saxony soon made her his mistress, and the relationship resulted in the birth of a son (1696), Maurice de Saxe, the future marshal of France. In 1702 the elector, who had meanwhile become king of Poland, sent her on an unsuccessful mission to arrange peace between himself and Charles XII of Sweden. After her fall from favour, she became coadjutor abbess and lady provost of Quedlinburg, but she preferred court life and seldom resided in her holdings.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.