Johanna van Polanen (also spelled as ''Jehenne''; 10 January 1392 – 15 May 1445) was a Dutch noblewoman. She was the daughter of John III of Polanen, Lord of Breda, and his wife, Odilia of Salm. The

House of Polanen The Van Polanen family are a noble family that played an important role in the Netherlands during the Middle Ages. By inheriting the vast properties of the Polanen family, the House of Nassau in 1403 became a landowner in the Netherlands for the f ...

was a side branch of the still existing

House of Wassenaer Van Wassenaer is the name of an old Dutch noble family. It was first mentioned in the county of Holland on November 3, 1200. They are one of the few original noble families from Holland that has survived to this day. Members of the family carry ...

. Johanna married on 1 August 1403, at the age of 11, in

Breda Breda () is a city and municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the province of North Brabant. The name derived from ''brede Aa'' ('wide Aa' or 'broad Aa') and refers to the confluence of the rivers Mark and Aa. Breda has ...

with

Engelbert I of Nassau Engelbert I of Nassau (, in Dillenburg3 May 1442, in Breda) was a son of Count John I of Nassau-Siegen and Countess Margaret of the Mark, daughter of Count Adolph II of the Marck. Early years Engelbert of Nassau was a student in Cologne, ...

, who became Lord of Breda . Johanna and Engelbert resided in Breda; they also owned houses in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

and

Mechelen Mechelen (; french: Malines ; traditional English name: MechlinMechelen has been known in English as ''Mechlin'', from where the adjective ''Mechlinian'' is derived. This name may still be used, especially in a traditional or historical contex ...

. They had six children: * John IV (b. 1410), Count of Nassau-Breda * Henry II (b. 1414), Count of Nassau-Dillenburg * Margaret (b. 1415) * William (b. 1416) *

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

(b. 1418) * Philip (b. 1420) Johanna inherited many Lordship, Heerlijkheden and manors in

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

Brabant Brabant is a traditional geographical region (or regions) in the Low Countries of Europe. It may refer to: Place names in Europe * London-Brabant Massif, a geological structure stretching from England to northern Germany Belgium * Province of Bra ...

, Hainaut,

Utrecht Utrecht ( , , ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city and a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality of the Netherlands, capital and most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, pro ...

Zeeland , nl, Ik worstel en kom boven("I struggle and emerge") , anthem = "Zeeuws volkslied"("Zeelandic Anthem") , image_map = Zeeland in the Netherlands.svg , map_alt = , m ...

. She also inherited the western part of

Krimpenerwaard Krimpenerwaard () is a List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality, a List of regions of the Netherlands, region and a former Water board (Netherlands), water board of the Netherlands. It is a rural area located in the east of the p ...

, including the villages of

Krimpen aan de Lek Krimpen aan de Lek is a town on the Lek River in the municipality of Krimpenerwaard, province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It had 6,607 inhabitants in 2008. The name ''Krimpen'' comes from the archaic word "''Krempener''", meaning "river ...

Krimpen aan den IJssel Krimpen aan den IJssel () is a town and municipality in the western Netherlands, in the province of South Holland. The municipality had a population of in , and covers an area of of which is water. History Krimpen is first mentioned in a docum ...

Lekkerkerk Lekkerkerk is a town and former municipality on the Lek River, now part of the municipality of Krimpenerwaard, South Holland province, the Netherlands. Since 1 January 1985 Lekkerkerk is no longer an independent municipality. Lekkerkerk is mos ...

and

Ouderkerk aan den IJssel Ouderkerk aan den IJssel (; en, Ouderkerk upon IJssel) is a village in the municipality of Krimpenerwaard, in the province of South Holland, the Netherlands. It is situated along the river Hollandse IJssel and has over 4000 inhabitants. Ouderke ...

. Most of these possessions had been acquired by

William of Duivenvoorde Willem van Duvenvoorde or van Duvoorde (1290–1353), also known as Willem Snikkerieme, was a 14th-century nobleman and financier who served as a financial and political adviser to four successive counts and countesses of Hainaut and Holland. Lif ...

. Through her inheritance, the

House of Nassau The House of Nassau is a diversified aristocratic dynasty in Europe. It is named after the lordship associated with Nassau Castle, located in present-day Nassau, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The lords of Nassau were originally titled "Count o ...

became one of the wealthiest and most influential noble families in the

Burgundian Netherlands In the history of the Low Countries, the Burgundian Netherlands (french: Pays-Bas bourguignons, nl, Bourgondische Nederlanden, lb, Burgundeschen Nidderlanden, wa, Bas Payis borguignons) or the Burgundian Age is the period between 1384 and ...

. Johanna died in 1445 in

, where he was buried in the

mausoleum A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or people. A mausoleum without the person's remains is called a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be consid ...

constructed for her husband in the Church of Our Lady at the Market Square.

External links

Children of Engelbert I of Nassau
People from Breda Lords of Breda House of Polanen House of Nassau 1392 births 1445 deaths Medieval Dutch women 15th-century women of the Holy Roman Empire {{Germany-noble-stub