Ludmilla (Ludmiła) of Bohemia (died 14 August 1240) was a daughter of

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 ...

, and his wife, Elizabeth of Hungary. Ludmilla was a member of the

Přemyslid dynasty The Přemyslid dynasty or House of Přemyslid ( cs, Přemyslovci, german: Premysliden, pl, Przemyślidzi) was a Bohemian royal dynasty that reigned in the Duchy of Bohemia and later Kingdom of Bohemia and Margraviate of Moravia (9th century–130 ...

. She was

Duchess consort of Bavaria There have been three kinds of Bavarian consorts in history, Duchesses, Electresses and Queens. Most consorts listed are Duchesses. The first ever consort of Bavaria was Waldrada in the 6th century. The final consort was Maria Theresia of Austri ...

by her marriage to Louis I, Duke of Bavaria.

Family

Ludmilla was the third of six children born to her parents. Her siblings were Helena of Bohemia, betrothed to Manuel I Komnenos but never married, and Sophia of Bohemia, wife of Albert, Margrave of Meissen. The rest of Ludmilla's siblings were short-lived or died in early adulthood. Ludmilla's paternal grandparents were Vladislaus II of Bohemia and his first wife Gertrude of Babenberg. Her maternal grandparents were

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 ...

and his wife

Euphrosyne of Kiev Euphrosyne of Kiev (also ''Euphrosine of Novgorod'';Jirí Louda and Michael MacLagan, ''Lines of Succession: Heraldry of the Royal Families of Europe'', 2nd edition (London, U.K.: Little, Brown and Company, 1999), table 89. hu, Eufrozina; 1130 ...

. Geza was son of

Béla II of Hungary Béla the Blind ( hu, Vak Béla; hr, Bela Slijepi; sk, Belo Slepý; 1109 – 13 February 1141) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1131 to 1141. He was blinded along with his rebellious father Álmos on the order of Álmos's brother, ...

and his wife Helena of Raška. Bela was son of

Prince Álmos Álmos (also "Almus", Slovak, hr, Almoš; 1070 or 1075 – 1 September 1127) was a Hungarian prince, the son of King Géza I of Hungary and brother of King Coloman. He held several governmental posts in the Kingdom of Hungary. Life Ea ...

and his wife Predslava of Kiev, who was daughter of

Sviatopolk II of Kiev Sviatopolk II Iziaslavich ( orv, Свѧтополкъ Изѧславичь; rus, Святополк Изяславич, Svyatopolk Izyaslavich; uk, Святополк Ізяславич; November 8, 1050 – April 16, 1113) was supreme ruler of ...

and an unknown Bohemian princess.

Marriages

Ludmilla married twice and had issue in both of her marriages. Her first marriage was to Count Albert III of Bogen, making Ludmilla Countess of Bogen. The couple had three children from their marriage, all sons: * Berthold IV, Count of Bogen (d. 1218) married Kunigunda of Hirschberg, no known issue * Albert IV, Count of Bogen (d. 1242) married Richeza of Dillingen * Diepold of Bogen (d. 1219) a priest in Regensburg Albert died in 1197 and was succeeded by his eldest son with Ludmilla, Berthold. Ludmilla then married Louis I, Duke of Bavaria, a former enemy of her first husband. The marriage was good for Louis because it created an alliance with Ludmilla's uncle,

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 ( ...

. The couple had one son: *

Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria Otto II (7 April 1206 – 29 November 1253), called the Illustrious (german: der Erlauchte), was the Duke of Bavaria from 1231 and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1214. He was the son of Louis I and Ludmilla of Bohemia and a member of the Wit ...

(7 April 1206 – 29 November 1253), next Duke of Bavaria. Louis and Ludmilla tried to find a suitable bride for their only child. Otto married Agnes of the Palatinate in 1222. Within time, Agnes' closer relatives died and she became Countess of Palatinate, which became part of the Bavarian inheritance, starting with Ludmilla's grandson,

Louis II, Duke of Bavaria Louis the Strict (german: Ludwig der Strenge) (13 April 1229 – 2 February 1294) was Duke of Upper Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. He is known as Louis II or Louis VI following an alternative numbering. Born in Heidelberg, h ...

Widowhood

Louis was murdered in 1231 on a bridge in

Kelheim Kelheim () is a town and municipality in Bavaria, Germany. It is the capital of the district Kelheim and is situated at the confluence of the rivers Altmühl and Danube. Kelheim has a population of around 16,750 (2020). History Kelheim is t ...

. The crime was never cleared up since the murderer was immediately lynched. Due to the following aversion of the Wittelsbach family the city of

lost its status as one of the ducal residences. Louis was buried in the crypt of

Scheyern Abbey Scheyern Abbey, formerly also Scheyern Priory (german: Kloster Scheyern), is a house of the Benedictine Order in Scheyern in Bavaria. First foundation The monastery at Scheyern was established in 1119 as the final site of the community founde ...

. Ludmilla lived to see the birth of four or five grandchildren from Otto and Agnes: Louis II,

Henry XIII, Duke of Bavaria Henry XIII (19 November 1235 – 3 February 1290 in Burghausen), member of the Wittelsbach dynasty, was Duke of Lower Bavaria. Family He was the younger son of Otto II and Agnes of Brunswick. Biography In 1254, he succeeded his father tog ...

Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany Elisabeth of Bavaria (, Trausnitz Castle, Landshut, Bavaria – 9 October 1273, Goyen Castle, Schenna, Tyrol), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was Queen of Germany and Jerusalem from 1246 to 1254 by her marriage to King Conrad IV of ...

, Sophie and Agnes. Ludmilla founded the Seligenthal convent, near Landshut, in 1232. She remained here for the rest of her days. Ludmilla died there 14 August 1240 and her body was buried there.

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ludmilla of Bohemia Bohemian princesses Přemyslid dynasty House of Wittelsbach German people of Czech descent Czech people of Hungarian descent 12th-century births 1240 deaths Female murder victims Year of birth unknown 13th-century Bohemian women 13th-century German women 13th-century Bohemian people 13th-century German nobility