Kunigunde of Austria
Cunegonde of Austria (* March 16, 1465 in Wiener Neustadt; † August 6, 1520 in Munich), the wife of the Bavarian Duke Albrecht IV was
Life
Cunegonde was the daughter of Frederick III. and his Portuguese wife Eleanor Helena born. She was the fourth of five children, of whom but except her only her brother Maximilian survived early childhood.
She grew up in Wiener Neustadt and Graz, in a casual and free atmosphere, even without rigid court ceremonial. Her father was looking for her personally the teachers and the court with. Contrary to the former practice, she learned not only to read, write, crochet and embroider, but also received instruction in riding and hunting, as well as astronomy and mathematics.
Like most daughters of ruling families was also Cunegonde plaything of political power intrigues her father. 1470 Matthias Corvinus campaigned for the hand Kunigunde, but was rejected by Friedrich. At the age of 15, she had to give to her father's side their first major appearance in Vienna, where the Emperor had loaded the Bavarian Duke Georg him the fief and the regalia of Lower Bavaria. After the celebrations in Vienna Cunegonde was sent to their security at the Graz castle. , Under the command of Graz Castle Count Ulrich III stood by the ditch. However, they floated here in great danger - at the last minute a predatory conspiracy was uncovered by digging and executed the conspirators. Frederick moved now to Linz and sent Cunegonde to Innsbruck at his former ward, Duke Siegmund ( the Rich ).
In Innsbruck she met in 1485 at the court of her uncle, the Duke of Bavaria Albrecht know IV. The charming 18 years older Albrecht hoped that by marrying the emperor's daughter a power gain. He had his heir, which was an imperial fief, usurped after the death of his friend Niklas von Abensberg. Frederick III. , The ever suffered from lack of money, agreed that the Abensberg heritage passed as Statues of Kinga in the possession of the Duke.
Even during the wedding negotiations, however, Albrecht occupied the imperial city of Regensburg. The Emperor then withdrew his consent to the wedding back. Albrecht put Cunegonde with the help of a fake Siegmund consent of the emperor before, and so the wedding took place at the Imperial Palace Chapel on January 2, 1487. The marriage was consummated immediately thereafter.
Only through the agency of her brother Maximilian Cunegonde could avert the looming imperial ban. When her father not only her husband but also she had fallen out of favor. But the fraud loaded the first years of marriage. Added to this was that the first three children were girls, what Albrechts ambitions impaired to make Bavaria a great power. After reconciliation with Frederick III. in 1492, which had also been taught by Maximilian and had traveled to the Gwendolyn with her three daughters, the ratio of the spouses improved. Finally, Gwendolyn gave also three sons life.
After her husband's death in 1508 Cunegonde withdrew into the Püttrichkloster, where she lived until her death in 1520. She won an equal inheritance for their two older sons, contrary to the applicable law of primogeniture.
Progeny
- Sidonie von Bayern (1488-1505)
- Sibille of Bavaria (1489-1519); ∞ 1511 Ludwig V, Elector of the Palatinate
- Sabine of Bavaria (1492-1564); ∞ 1511 Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg, from the latter separated after 1515
- William IV (1493-1550), Duke of Bavaria
- Louis X (1495-1545), Duke of Bavaria
- Susanne (1499-1500)
- Ernest of Bavaria (1500-1560), Archbishop of Salzburg
- Susanna of Bavaria (1502-1543); ∞ 1518 Casimir, Margrave of Brandenburg- Kulmbach, Count Palatine Otto Heinrich ∞ 1529