duchy · Germany and Central Europe

Duchy of Żagań

1274 CE – 1786 CE (approx.) · capital Żagań

Silesian duchy that passed from the Piasts to the Wettins, Wallenstein and the Lobkowicz, and where Johannes Kepler worked for a time.

Origins

Żagań, in north-western Silesia, became the seat of a separate duchy in the division of the Głogów lands after 1274. It was ruled by branches of the Głogów Piasts, who accepted Bohemian overlordship in the 1320s and 1330s, and Żagań grew as a market town with a large Augustinian abbey.

Rule and society

The Piast dukes ruled until the turbulent Jan II the Mad sold Żagań to the Wettins of Saxony in 1472. It later returned to the Bohemian crown and in 1628 was granted to the general Albrecht von Wallenstein, who brought Johannes Kepler there. From 1646 the Lobkowicz family held it, building a baroque palace.

Decline and legacy

In 1742 Żagań passed to Prussia, and in 1786 the Lobkowicz sold it to Peter von Biron, Duke of Courland. His daughter Dorothea later held it as Duchess of Sagan. The town has been Polish since 1945.

Lineage

Duchy of Głogów 1251 CE – 1506 CEDuchy of Żagań

Connections (2)

More states of Germany and Central Europe →

Cite this page
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Duchy of Żagań. In The Epoch Institute States Register. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-zagan
MLA
“Duchy of Żagań.” The Epoch Institute States Register, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-zagan. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Duchy of Żagań.” The Epoch Institute States Register. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-zagan.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Duchy of Żagań’, The Epoch Institute States Register. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/state/duchy-of-zagan (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random state ↻