Barbara of Poland

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Barbara of Poland, Duchess of Saxony, painting by Lucas Cranach the Elder

Barbara of Poland (born July 15, 1478 in Sandomierz , † February 15, 1534 in Leipzig ) was a Polish princess from the house of the Jagiellonians and by marriage Duchess of Saxony .

Life

Barbara was a daughter of King Casimir IV of Poland (1427-1492) from his marriage to Elisabeth von Habsburg (1437-1505), daughter of the Roman-German King Albrecht II. Barbara's older sister Hedwig had 1475 in the so-called Landshut princely wedding Duke Georg married the rich of Bavaria-Landshut.

Barbara married Duke Georg of Saxony (1471–1539) on November 21, 1496 in a glamorous and very elaborate ceremony in Leipzig . 6286 German and Polish nobles are said to have been present at the wedding. As the brother-in-law of three Polish kings, Georg also became a key figure in peace brokering in East Germany and in Poland-Lithuania. But the marriage was also important for the Jagiellonians because of the rivalry with the Habsburgs for the Hungarian crown.

Barbara and her husband founded several masses and liturgical celebrations in the Meißner Dom in 1513 on the occasion of Easter, which have been performed annually since then. Letters that Barbara wrote to her husband, who was fighting in Friesland in 1514 , testify to a happy and loving marriage. This is also borne out by the number riddle on coins in the time of Duke George's sole minting , a small symbol consisting of a seven and a Z-like written two , which are interlaced with one another. The seven means the seventh letter and the two the second letter of the alphabet. They are the first letters of the names Georg and Barbara. After the death of his wife, Georg is said to have grown his beard out of grief, to which he owes his nickname “ the bearded one ”.

Barbara was buried in Meißen Cathedral in a funeral chapel built by her husband between 1521 and 1524. Barbara and Georg are the last Wettin princely couple to be buried in the Meissen Cathedral. The altar painting in the burial chapel was created by Lucas Cranach the Elder and depicts the couple surrounded by apostles and saints.

progeny

Barbara had the following children from her marriage to Georg:

  • Christoph (* / † 1497)
  • Johann (1498–1537)
⚭ 1516 Princess Elisabeth of Hesse (1502–1557)
  • Wolfgang (1499–1500)
  • Anna (* / † 1500)
  • Christoph (* / † 1501)
  • Agnes (* / † 1503)
  • Friedrich (1504–1539)
⚭ 1539 Countess Elisabeth von Mansfeld (1516–1541)
⚭ 1523 Landgrave Philip I of Hesse (1504–1567)
⚭ 1524 Elector Joachim II of Brandenburg (1505–1571)
  • Margaret (1508-1510)

literature

  • Uwe Schirmer : The wedding of George the bearded with the Polish princess Barbara von Sandomierz (1496), in: structures and figures. Historical essays for Hartmut Zwahr on the 65th anniversary , ed. by Manfred Hettling (among others), Munich 2002

Web links

Commons : Barbara Jagiellon  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Journal of Philosophy and Catholic Theology, Volume 12, Part 1, p. 165
  2. Yearbook for European History 2007, Volume 8, p. 19
  3. Christoph Volkmar: Reform instead of Reformation: the church policy of Duke George of Saxony, 1488 ..., p. 78
predecessor Office Successor
Sidonie of Bohemia Duchess of Saxony
1500–1534
Catherine of Mecklenburg