produced" and part of it are exhibited at the National Museum in Warsaw. He also owned the largest collections of watches, vests, wigs and hats in Europe, though this cannot be accurately assessed. Brühl was depicted by his rivals as a nouveau-riche materialist, who used his wealth to gain support. His lavish spending was immortalized by Augustus' reported question to the viceroy "Brühl, do I have money?" By 1748 Augustus III completed extending the Saxon Palace in Warsaw and made significant contributions in remodelling the Royal Castle. In 1750, von Brühl purchased a residence adjacent to the larger Saxon Palace and transformed it into a rococo masterpiece, which later became known as the Brühl Palace. Both buildings were completely destroyed by the Nazis during World War II. War of the Austrian Succession With the marriage to the Austrian princess Maria Josepha, Augustus was bound to accept the succession of her cousin, Maria Theresa, as Holy Roman Empress. Saxony mediated between the friendly French faction and the Habsburg faction of Maria Theresa. Between 1741 and 1742 Saxony was allied with France, but changed sides with the help of Austrian diplomats. In the first days of December 1740, the Prussians assembled along the Oder river and on 16 December, Frederick invaded Silesia without a formal declaration of war. The Austrian troops which then stationed in Silesia were poorly supplied and outnumbered as the Habsburgs concentrated their supreme force on Hungary and Italy. They held onto the fortresses of Glogau, Breslau, and Brieg, but abandoned the rest of the region and withdrew into Moravia. This campaign gave Prussia control of most of the richest provinces in the Habsburg Empire, with the commercial centre of Breslau as well as mining, weaving and dyeing industries. Silesia was also rich in natural resources such as coal, chalk, copper and gold. Saxony joined Austria in the Second Silesian War, which erupted after Prussia proclaimed to keep Charles VII as Holy Roman Emperor and invaded Bohemia on 15 August 1744. The true cause behind the invasion was Frederick's personal expansionist ideas and goals. On 8 January 1745, the Treaty of Warsaw united Great Britain, the Habsburg Monarchy, the Dutch Republic and Saxony into what became known as the "Quadruple Alliance", which was aimed at securing the Austrian throne for Maria Theresa. Soon-after Charles VII died of gout in Munich, which weakened the Prussians. However, Prussia still maintained military