Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg

Katharina von Braunschweig-Lüneburg (* 1395 ; † December 28, 1442 in Grimma ) from the family of Welfs was a princess of Braunschweig-Lüneburg and was elector of Saxony by marriage .

Frederick the Arguable and Katharina von Braunschweig (historical painting in the Albrechtsburg , 19th century)

Life

Katharina was the only daughter and the second child of Duke Heinrich I of Braunschweig-Lüneburg († 1416) from his first marriage to Sophie († 1400/06), daughter of Duke Wartislaw VI. from Pomerania.

At the age of 7, she married Margrave Friedrich IV of Meißen (1370–1428) on May 8, 1402 , who in 1425 as Friedrich I became the first Wettin elector of Saxony. The elector lost a large part of his army in the Hussite Wars at Brüx in 1425 . Back home, Electress Katharina, while Frederick was absent, organized the formation of another army of 20,000 men, which hurried to help and was defeated in 1426 in the battle of Aussig .

Katharina stayed with her husband, but more often alone, for a long time at Mildenstein Castle in Leisnig , which became more and more a secondary residence for the Saxon Elector.

progeny

From her marriage to Friedrich, Katharina had the following children:

• Friedrich II. (1412–1464), Elector of Saxony

⚭ 1431 Archduchess Margaret of Austria (1416 / 17–1486)

• Sigismund (1416–1471), Bishop of Würzburg
• Anna (1420–1462)

⚭ 1433 Landgrave Ludwig I of Hesse (1402–1458)

• Catherine (1421–1476)

⚭ 1441 Elector Friedrich II of Brandenburg (1413–1471)

• Heinrich (1422-1435)
• William III. (1425–1482), Landgrave of Thuringia, Duke of Luxembourg

⚭ 1. 1446 Archduchess Anna of Austria (1432–1462)

⚭ 2. 1463 Katharina von Brandenstein († 1492)

literature

• Jens Kunze: The Leisnig office in the 15th century. Constitution, economy, everyday life. Leipziger Universitätsverlag, Göttingen 2007, p. 191 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
• Art. Friedrich I. (the arguable). In: General German real encyclopedia for the educated classes. Conversations Lexicon. Vol. 5. FA Brockhaus Verlag, Leipzig 1844, p. 633 ( digitized in the Google book search).

predecessor	Office	Successor
Euphemia from Oels	Electress of Saxony 1425–1428	Margaretha of Austria