Saxony - Wikipedia Jump to content Main menu Main menu move to sidebar hide Navigation Main page Contents Current events Random article About Wikipedia Contact us Contribute Help Learn to edit Community portal Recent changes Upload file Special pages Search Search Appearance Donate Create account Log in Personal tools Donate Create account Log in Contents move to sidebar hide (Top) 1 History Toggle History subsection 1.1 Prehistory 1.2 Stem Duchy of Saxony 1.3 Holy Roman Empire 1.4 Foundation of the second Saxon state 1.5 19th century 1.6 20th century 2 Geography Toggle Geography subsection 2.1 Topography 2.2 Largest cities and towns 3 Politics Toggle Politics subsection 3.1 2024 state election 3.2 Members of the state government 3.3 2024 European Parliament election 3.3.1 Federal politics 3.4 Administration 4 Demographics Toggle Demographics subsection 4.1 Population change 4.2 Birthrate 4.3 Sorbian population 4.4 Religion 5 Economy Toggle Economy subsection 5.1 International trade 5.2 Tourism 6 Education and research 7 Culture Toggle Culture subsection 7.1 Languages 7.2 Motherland of the Reformation 7.3 Sports 7.3.1 Rock climbing 7.3.2 Winter sports 7.4 Art 7.5 Porcelain 7.6 Cuisine 7.7 Anthem 8 Transport Toggle Transport subsection 8.1 Air 9 See also 10 Notes 11 References Toggle References subsection 11.1 Bibliography 12 External links Toggle the table of contents Saxony 151 languages Afrikaans Alemannisch አማርኛ Aragonés Ænglisc العربية مصرى Asturianu Aymar aru Azərbaycanca تۆرکجه Башҡортса Basa Bali Boarisch Беларуская (тарашкевіца) Беларуская Български বাংলা Brezhoneg Bosanski Буряад Català 閩東語 / Mìng-dĕ̤ng-ngṳ̄ Нохчийн Cebuano کوردی Corsu Qırımtatarca Čeština Чӑвашла Cymraeg Dansk Dagbanli Deutsch Zazaki Dolnoserbski Ελληνικά Emiliàn e rumagnòl Esperanto Español Eesti Euskara فارسی Suomi Français Nordfriisk Frysk Gaeilge Gàidhlig Galego Avañe'ẽ Gaelg 客家語 / Hak-kâ-ngî עברית हिन्दी Hrvatski Hornjoserbsce Magyar Հայերեն Interlingua Bahasa Indonesia Interlingue Ido Íslenska Italiano 日本語 Jawa ქართული Qaraqalpaqsha Kongo Қазақша 한국어 کٲشُر Ripoarisch Kurdî Kernowek Кыргызча Latina Ladino Lëtzebuergesch Limburgs Ligure Ladin Lombard Lietuvių Latviešu Мокшень Malagasy Македонски മലയാളം Монгол मराठी Bahasa Melayu مازِرونی Napulitano Nedersaksies Plattdüütsch Nederlands Norsk nynorsk Norsk bokmål Novial Occitan Ирон ਪੰਜਾਬੀ Kapampangan Papiamentu Pälzisch Polski Piemontèis پنجابی پښتو Português Runa Simi Rumantsch Română Русский Sardu Scots سنڌي Davvisámegiella Srpskohrvatski / српскохрватски Simple English Slovenčina Slovenščina Shqip Српски / srpski Seeltersk Svenska Kiswahili Ślůnski தமிழ் Тоҷикӣ ไทย Tagalog Türkçe Татарча / tatarça Українська اردو Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча Vèneto Tiếng Việt West-Vlams Volapük Winaray 吴语 ייִדיש Yorùbá Zeêuws 閩南語 / Bân-lâm-gí 粵語 中文 Edit links Article Talk English Read Edit View history Tools Tools move to sidebar hide Actions Read Edit View history General What links here Related changes Upload file Permanent link Page information Cite this page Get shortened URL Switch to legacy parser Print/export Download as PDF Printable version In other projects Wikimedia Commons Wikivoyage Wikidata item Appearance move to sidebar hide From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia State in Germany This article is about the modern state in Germany. For other uses, see Saxony (disambiguation). "Sachsen" redirects here. For various ships, see Sachsen (ship). For the German naval class, see Sachsen-class frigate. \n","href":"./Template:Infobox_settlement"},"params":{"name":{"wt":"Free State of Saxony"},"official_name":{"wt":""},"native_name":{"wt":"{{small|{{native name|de|Freistaat Sachsen}}<br />{{native name|sxu|Freischdaad Saggsn}}<br />{{native name|hsb|Swobodny stat Sakska}}}}"},"native_name_lang":{"wt":""},"settlement_type":{"wt":"[[States of Germany|State]]"},"image_skyline":{"wt":""},"imagesize":{"wt":"270px"},"image_caption":{"wt":""},"image_flag":{"wt":"Flag of Saxony.svg"},"flag_size":{"wt":"120px"},"image_shield":{"wt":"Coat of arms of Saxony.svg"},"shield_size":{"wt":"75px"},"anthem":{"wt":"{{ill|Sachsenlied|de}}<br />{{center|}}"},"image_map":{"wt":"Locator map Saxony in Germany.svg"},"map_caption":{"wt":""},"coordinates":{"wt":"{{coord|51|1|37|N|13|21|32|E|display=inline}}"},"subdivision_type":{"wt":"Country"},"subdivision_name":{"wt":"{{Flag|Germany}}"},"seat_type":{"wt":"Capital"},"seat":{"wt":"[[Dresden]]"},"seat1_type":{"wt":"Largest city"},"seat1":{"wt":"[[Leipzig]]"},"governing_body":{"wt":"[[Landtag of Saxony]]"},"leader_party":{"wt":"CDU"},"leader_title":{"wt":"[[List of minister-presidents of Saxony|Minister-President]]"},"leader_name":{"wt":"[[Michael Kretschmer]]"},"leader_title1":{"wt":"Governing parties"},"leader_name1":{"wt":"{{Polparty|Germany|CDU}} / {{Polparty|Germany|SPD}}"},"leader_title2":{"wt":"[[German Bundesrat|Bundesrat votes]]"},"leader_name2":{"wt":"4 (of 69)"},"leader_title3":{"wt":"[[Bundestag|Bundestag seats]]"},"leader_name3":{"wt":"[[Results of the 2025 German federal election#Saxony|30 (of 630)]] {{small|(as of 2025)}}"},"total_type":{"wt":"Total"},"area_footnotes":{"wt":"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Fläche und Bevölkerung |url=https://www.statistikportal.de/de/bevoelkerung/flaeche-und-bevoelkerung |access-date=2025-06-18|website=Statistische Ämter des Bundes und der Länder |language=de}}</ref>"},"area_total_km2":{"wt":"18449.89"},"elevation_m":{"wt":""},"population_footnotes":{"wt":"<ref>{{Cite web |title=Bevölkerung am 31.12.2023 nach Nationalität und Bundesländern |url=https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bevoelkerung/Bevoelkerungsstand/Tabellen/bevoelkerung-nichtdeutsch-laender.html |access-date=2025-06-17 |website=Statistisches Bundesamt |language=de |archive-date=13 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210113100802/https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Gesellschaft-Umwelt/Bevoelkerung/Bevoelkerungsstand/Tabellen/bevoelkerung-nichtdeutsch-laender.html |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>"},"population_total":{"wt":"4089467"},"population_as_of":{"wt":"2023"},"population_density_km2":{"wt":"auto"},"population_urban":{"wt":""},"population_metro":{"wt":""},"population_demonym":{"wt":"[[Saxons|Saxon]]"},"demographics_type1":{"wt":"GDP"},"demographics1_footnotes":{"wt":"<ref name=\"destatis\">{{cite web |date=2025-03-28 |title=Bruttoinlandsprodukt, Bruttowertschöpfung |url=https://www.statistikportal.de/de/vgrdl/ergebnisse-laenderebene/bruttoinlandsprodukt-bruttowertschoepfung/bip#9517 |trans-title=Gross domestic product, gross value added |website=statistikportal.de |language=de |publisher=Statistisches Bundesamt Obere Bundesbehörde im Geschäftsbereich des Bundesministeriums des Innern und für Heimat |access-date=2025-04-08}}</ref>"},"demographics1_title1":{"wt":"Total"},"demographics1_info1":{"wt":"€167.973 billion (2025)"},"demographics1_title2":{"wt":"Per capita"},"demographics1_info2":{"wt":"€41,553 (2025)"},"timezone1":{"wt":"[[Central European Time|CET]]"},"utc_offset1":{"wt":"+1"},"timezone1_DST":{"wt":"[[Central European Summer Time|CEST]]"},"utc_offset1_DST":{"wt":"+2"},"postal_code_type":{"wt":""},"postal_code":{"wt":""},"area_code_type":{"wt":""},"area_code":{"wt":""},"registration_plate":{"wt":""},"blank2_name_sec2":{"wt":"[[Human Development Index|HDI]] (2022)"},"blank2_info_sec2":{"wt":"0.944<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://globaldatalab.org/shdi/table/shdi/DEU/ |title=Subnational HDI |website=hdi.globaldatalab.org|language=en|access-date=17 June 2025}}</ref><br />{{color|green|very high}} · [[List of German states by Human Development Index|8th of 16]]"},"iso_code":{"wt":"DE-SN"},"blank_name_sec2":{"wt":"[[First level NUTS of the European Union#Germany|NUTS Region]]"},"blank_info_sec2":{"wt":"DED"},"website":{"wt":"{{URL|https://www.sachsen.de/en/}}"},"footnotes":{"wt":""}},"i":0}}]}'>State in Germany Free State of Saxony Freistaat Sachsen (German) Freischdaad Saggsn (Upper Saxon) Swobodny stat Sakska (Upper Sorbian) State Flag Coat of arms Anthem: Sachsenlied [de] Coordinates: 51°1′37″N 13°21′32″E / 51.02694°N 13.35889°E / 51.02694; 13.35889 Country Germany Capital Dresden Largest city Leipzig Government  • Body Landtag of Saxony  • Minister-President Michael Kretschmer (CDU)  • Governing parties CDU / SPD  • Bundesrat votes 4 (of 69)  • Bundestag seats 30 (of 630) (as of 2025) Area[1]  • Total 18,449.89 km2 (7,123.54 sq mi) Population (2023)[2]  • Total 4,089,467  • Density 221.6526/km2 (574.0777/sq mi) Demonym Saxon GDP[3]  • Total €167.973 billion (2025)  • Per capita €41,553 (2025) Time zone UTC+1 (CET)  • Summer (DST) UTC+2 (CEST) ISO 3166 code DE-SN NUTS Region DED HDI (2022) 0.944[4] very high · 8th of 16 Website www.sachsen.de/en/ Saxony,[a] officially the Free State of Saxony,[b] is a landlocked state of Germany, bordering the states of Brandenburg, Saxony-Anhalt, Thuringia, and Bavaria, as well as the countries of Poland and the Czech Republic. Its capital is Dresden, and its largest city is Leipzig. Saxony is the tenth largest of Germany's sixteen states, with an area of 18,450 square kilometres (7,124 sq mi), and the seventh most populous, with more than 4 million inhabitants. Together with Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia, Saxony is one of the three states commonly associated with Central Germany. The present-day state takes its name from the historic Electorate of Saxony and Kingdom of Saxony, though its territory represents only part of their former extent. Ruled for centuries by the House of Wettin, Saxony was among the most influential states of the Holy Roman Empire. It played a prominent role during the Protestant Reformation, particularly under Frederick the Wise, and later emerged as a major political and cultural centre within the German-speaking lands. After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the kingdom ceded much of its territory to Prussia, establishing boundaries that broadly shaped the modern state. During the 19th century, Saxony became one of the most densely industrialised regions in Europe, with major textile, engineering, and manufacturing industries. Following the Second World War, it formed part of the Soviet occupation zone in Germany and later the German Democratic Republic. The state was abolished in 1952 during administrative reforms in East Germany and re-established upon German reunification in 1990. Saxony is noted for its historic towns and cities, long industrial tradition, and cultural institutions. Dresden's Baroque cityscape and art collections, Leipzig's musical traditions, and the Ore Mountains' mining heritage are among its most prominent cultural features. The state's economy is centred on manufacturing, particularly in the automotive, microelectronics, and mechanical engineering sectors. It is also home to several universities and research institutes. History [edit] Main article: History of Saxony Saxony has a long history as a duchy, an electorate of the Holy Roman Empire (the Electorate of Saxony), and finally as a kingdom (the Kingdom of Saxony). In 1918, after Germany's defeat in World War I, its monarchy was overthrown and a republican form of government was established under the current name. The state was broken up into smaller units during communist rule (1949–1989), but was re-established on 3 October 1990 on the reunification of East and West Germany. Prehistory [edit] In prehistoric times, the territory of present-day Saxony was the site of some of the largest of the ancient central European monume…