Gertrude of Babenberg ( cs, Gertruda Babenberská; – 8 April 1150), a member of the House of Babenberg, was Duchess consort of Bohemia 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. 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 Maria of Bohemia ( – after 1172), a member of the Přemyslid dynasty, was Margravine of Austria and Duchess of Bavaria by her first marriage to Duke Leopold I, as well as Margravine of Baden and Verona by her second marriage to Margrave H ...

, 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 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 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 s ...

in 1142, she successfully defended Prague Castle 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.

Issue

* Frederick, Duke of Bohemia (''Bedřich''; d. 1189) * a daughter (Richeza?), married Yaroslav II of Kyiv *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 *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