Capitulation of Wittenberg
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In 1547, by the terms of the treaty known as the Capitulation of Wittenberg the Prince-Elector Johann Friedrich, Elector of Saxony, called the Magnanimous, was compelled to resign the electoral dignity, and the Duchy of Saxony and most of his territory, Wittenberg and much else, passed from the elder, Ernestine line to the cadet branch, the Albertine line of the House of Wettin.
The city had become the focal point of the Reformation. On the door of the Castle church at Wittenberg Martin Luther in 1517 nailed his 95 theses, the opening act of the Reformation. There in 1520 he burned the papal bull condemning him, and in 1534 the first Lutheran Bible was printed there. The Elector was the most important patron of the reforms.
In 1547 Emperor Charles V with the assistance of the Duke of Alva, who would later make a name for himself in the Spanish Netherlands, captured Wittenberg after the battle of Mühlberg, where the Prince-Elector was taken prisoner. Then, the duke of Alva presided over a court-martial and condemned him to death. To save his life, the Prince-Elector conceded the capitulation of Wittenberg, and, after having been compelled to resign the government of his country in favor of his Catholic relative Maurice, his condemnation was commuted to imprisonment for life. He was rescued on September 1, 1552. His homeward journey was a triumphal march. He removed the seat of government to Weimar.
Wittenberg declined after 1547, when Dresden, residence of the Albertine dukes, replaced it as Saxon capital.