Hedwig von Ballenstedt

Hedwig von Ballenstedt (* before 1140 ; † end of March 1203 ) was Margravine of Meißen .

Life

Hedwig was born as the daughter of Albrecht I of Brandenburg and Sophie von Winzenburg . Her exact year of birth is not known, but she must have been born well before 1140, as she had four younger siblings, of which the youngest brother, who later became Duke Bernhard of Saxony , was born in 1140. In keeping with the customs of the time, for political reasons she was married to Otto the Rich from the Wettin family.

Act

Knowledge of Hedwig's work is very scarce. It is known, however, that in 1162 she initiated the founding of the Altzelle monastery . This was intended to secure the bailiwick rights to the Meissen margraves over the place of their burial and their memory of the dead. Due to its location, Altzella was also an important base for settlement development in Meißen. Hedwig was generally considered to be a strong woman who exercised no small influence on her husband. She is said to have even influenced the succession plan in the Margraviate of Meissen, so that her husband did not want to appoint the oldest son Albrecht as his successor instead of the usual , but the youngest son Dietrich . From 1189 onwards, this led to violent clashes between the father and the firstborn, in the course of which Albrecht even took his father prisoner.

death

Hedwig died at the end of March 1203 and was buried on April 1, 1203 in the Altzella monastery at the side of her husband († 1190).

progeny

• Albrecht I (Meißen) (1158–1195), ∞ Sophie of Böhmen
• Adelheid von Meissen (1160–1211), ∞ Ottokar I. Přemysl , King of Bohemia
• Dietrich (Meißen) (1162–1221), ∞ Jutta von Thuringia
• Sophie, ∞ Udalrich II (Moravia) , Duke of Moravia

Web links

• Christiane Weller: Hedwig von Ballenstedt . In: Institute for Saxon History and Folklore (Ed.): Saxon Biography .
• fabpedigree.com
• Grave slabs of Otto and Hedwig in Altzella