Gertrude of Babenberg ( cs, Gertruda Babenberská; – 8 April 1150), a member of the

House of Babenberg The House of Babenberg was a noble dynasty of Austrian Dukes and Margraves. Originally from Bamberg in the Duchy of Franconia (present-day Bavaria), the Babenbergs ruled the imperial Margraviate of Austria from its creation in 976 AD until its e ...

, was

Duchess consort of Bohemia This is a list of the royal consorts of the rulers of Bohemia. The first Duchess of Bohemia (''česká kněžna'') was St. Ludmila, while the first Queen of Bohemia (''česká královna'') was Świętosława of Poland. Some of them were (like ...

from 1140 until her death, by her marriage to the Přemyslid duke Vladislaus II.

Life

She was the daughter of Margrave Leopold III of Austria (died 1136) and his second wife, the

Salian The Salian dynasty or Salic dynasty (german: Salier) was a dynasty in the High Middle Ages. The dynasty provided four kings of Germany (1024–1125), all of whom went on to be crowned Holy Roman emperors (1027–1125). After the death of the l ...

heiress

Agnes of Waiblingen Agnes of Waiblingen (1072/73 – 24 September 1143), also known as Agnes of Germany, Agnes of Poitou and Agnes of Saarbrücken, was a member of the Salian imperial family. Through her first marriage, she was Duchess of Swabia; through her secon ...

. Upon the death of her father, Gertrude's brother Leopold IV succeeded as

Austrian Austrian may refer to: * Austrians, someone from Austria or of Austrian descent ** Someone who is considered an Austrian citizen, see Austrian nationality law * Austrian German dialect * Something associated with the country Austria, for example: ...

margrave and in 1138 married the Přemyslid princess Maria of Bohemia, a cousin of her future husband. Gertrude married Vladislaus II, eldest son of the late Duke Vladislaus I of Bohemia in 1140. Her husband had left the

Duchy of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia, also later referred to in English as the Czech Duchy, ( cs, České knížectví) was a monarchy and a principality of the Holy Roman Empire in Central Europe during the Early and High Middle Ages. It was formed around 870 b ...

during the rule of his uncle, Duke Soběslav I, but was recalled by the local nobility after Soběslav's death. Through her mother, Gertrude was a half-sister of the

Hohenstaufen The Hohenstaufen dynasty (, , ), also known as the Staufer, was a noble family of unclear origin that rose to rule the Duchy of Swabia from 1079, and to royal rule in the Holy Roman Empire during the Middle Ages from 1138 until 1254. The dynasty ...

king

Conrad III of Germany Conrad III (german: Konrad; it, Corrado; 1093 or 1094 – 15 February 1152) of the Hohenstaufen dynasty was from 1116 to 1120 Duke of Franconia, from 1127 to 1135 anti-king of his predecessor Lothair III and from 1138 until his death in 1152 k ...

, thus a good catch for Vladislaus. At the time of the siege of Prague by his cousin Count

Conrad II of Znojmo Conrad II of Znojmo ( cz, Konrád II. Znojemský; d. 1161), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was a Bohemian prince who ruled in the Moravian principality of Znojmo from 1123 to 1128 and again from 1134 until his death. Life Conrad II was the ...

in 1142, she successfully defended

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for kin ...

with the help of her brother-in-law Děpold, while Vladislaus sought assistance from King Conrad III. Gertrude participated in projects of her husband Vladislaus to found new religious institutions and due to her encouragement, the duke invited foreign religious orders to establish themselves in Bohemia. She gave birth to four children and died in 1150 at the age of 30 at her residence in

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...

Issue

Frederick, Duke of Bohemia Frederick ( cs, Bedřich) ( – 25 March 1189), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Duke of Bohemia from 1172 to 1173 and again from 1178 to his death. Life Frederick was the eldest son of King Vladislav II of Bohemia and Gertrude o ...

(''Bedřich''; d. 1189) * a daughter (Richeza?), married

Yaroslav II of Kyiv Yaroslav II Iziaslavich (russian: Ярослав Изяславич; uk, Ярослав Ізяславич) (died 1180?), Prince of Turov (1146), Novgorod (1148–1154), Lutsk (1154–1180) and Grand Prince of Kiev (Kyiv, 1174–1175, 1180). He was ...

*Svatopluk, married Odola, a daughter of King

Géza II of Hungary Géza II ( hu, II. Géza; hr, Gejza II; sk, Gejza II; 113031 May 1162) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1141 to 1162. He was the oldest son of Béla the Blind and his wife, Helena of Serbia. When his father died, Géza was still a child a ...

Adalbert III of Bohemia Adalbert III of Bohemia (1145 – 8 April 1200), also called Vojtěch in Bohemia, was Archbishop of Salzburg between 1168 and 1177 and then again between 1183 and 1200. His reign is marked significantly from the struggle with Emperor Frederick I Ba ...

(''Vojtĕch''; 1145–1200),

Archbishop of Salzburg The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Salzburg ( la, Archidioecesis Salisburgensis) is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Austria. The archdiocese is one of two Austrian archdioceses, serving alongside the Archdiocese of ...

*Agnes (''Anežka''; d. 1228), abbess of St George of Prague

Literature

* ŽEMLIČKA, J. ''Čechy v době knížecí 1034–1198''. Praha: NLN, 2002. 660 p. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Gertrude of Babenberg, Duchess of Bohemia 1110s births Year of birth uncertain 1150 deaths Duchesses of Bohemia 12th-century Bohemian people Babenberg German Bohemian people People from Melk Women in medieval European warfare Women in 12th-century warfare 12th-century Bohemian women