Margaretha of Austria (1416–1486)

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Margaretha of Austria, Electress of Saxony.

Margaretha of Austria (* around 1416 in Innsbruck , Tyrol; † February 12, 1486 in Altenburg , Saxony (today Thuringia); buried in the castle church there) was the daughter of Archduke Ernst I ("the Iron") and because of her Physical strength famous Cimburgis . Margaretha was engaged to Friedrich the Meek (1428), the wedding took place on June 3, 1431 in Leipzig . As a result, she became Electress of Saxony , Duchess of Saxony and Margravine of Meißen from June 3, 1431 to September 7, 1464 and Landgravine of Thuringia from May 7, 1440 to 1445. She reconciled her husband with his brother, Duke Wilhelm III. (“Tried a great atonement”) and otherwise took part intensively in the government. At her instigation, among other things, the Jews were expelled from Meißnische in 1432 .

An extraordinary event in the history of coins in Saxony is the fact that her husband, Elector Friedrich II, set up her own mint in Colditz in 1456 as compensation for the high treasure that was due to her and allowed her to have her own coins minted there, which she did . The Meissnian-Saxon groschen with an additional M at the beginning or within the romanization are also referred to as Margarethen groschen .

Margaretha of Austria was considered a Christian woman. After her husband's fratricidal war ended, she initiated a spiritual foundation. In 1453 she laid the foundation stone for a pilgrimage church consecrated to the fourteen helpers in a desert village near Jena . 1478 succeeded her in which up to then with Augustinian canons occupied monastery in Crimmitschau Carthusian to settle.

In July 1455, the two sons Ernst and Albrecht were stolen from Altenburg Castle by the knight Kunz von Kauffungen , but saved by a charcoal burner.

After the death of her husband on September 7, 1464, she received an extensive Wittum , including the city and care Altenburg, the palaces of Leipzig and Liebenwerda and the cities of Colditz , Eilenburg and Liebenwerda . She lived in Altenburg until her death, where she exercised sovereign rights and was therefore subject to jurisdiction. In 1468 she had a granary built in Altenburg Castle , which was destroyed in a fire in 1868. With the support of the Altenburg bailiff, who ran her farm, Margaretha ran a generous supply economy. This made it possible for her to supply other residences as well.

In 1485, their sons Ernst and Albrecht decided to divide their inheritance, which led to a weakening of the Saxon electorate for decades .

progeny

Margaretha of Austria and Frederick the Meek had the following children:

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Gerhard Krug: The Meissnisch-Saxon Groschen 1338–1500 , Berlin 1974, p. 83.
  2. ↑ Elfie-Marita Eibl: Margaretha II of Austria , in: Sächsische Biografie, ed. from the Institute for Saxon History and Folklore eV, arr. by Martina Schattkowsky.
  3. ^ F. Perthes: History of the Electoral States and Kingdom of Saxony , 1830, pp. 333/334
  4. ^ Margaretha von Österreich, On the trail of great women (Part 10). Holger Jakobi, accessed March 20, 2009 .
predecessor Office Successors
Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg Electress of Saxony
1431–1464 		Elisabeth of Bavaria
Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg Duchess of Saxony
1431–1464 		Sidonie of Bohemia
personal data
SURNAME Margaretha of Austria
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Daughter of Archduke Ernst I ("the Iron")
DATE OF BIRTH around 1416
PLACE OF BIRTH innsbruck
DATE OF DEATH February 12, 1486
Place of death Altenburg