the fürstlich sächsische hofdruckerei, the ducal printing press, was established at the hartenfels castle in torgau in 1594 by appointment of friedrich wilhelm i, duke of saxe-weimar (1562–1602). "fürstlich sächsische" roughly translates to "prince of saxony." the german prefix "hof," an abbreviation for "hoflieferant," denotes a royal appointment. the german word "druckerie" translates to "printer." the earliest extant publication is "torgauer katechismus" "(torgau catechism)" ("circa" 1594–95).