Maria of Bohemia ( – after 1172), 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 ...

, 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 Herman III.

Life

Maria was the only daughter of Duke

Soběslav I of Bohemia Soběslav (; german: Sobieslau) is a town in Tábor District in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 6,800 inhabitants. The historical town centre is well preserved and is protected by law as an urban monument zone. Admi ...

and his wife

Adelaide of Hungary Adelaide of Hungary ( – 27 January 1062) was the only daughter of King Andrew I of Hungary of the Árpád dynasty and Anastasia of Kiev. She was the second wife of Vratislav II of Bohemia, whom she married in 1058. She was a good dynasti ...

, a granddaughter of King

Géza I of Hungary Géza I (; hu, I. Géza; 104025 April 1077) was King of Hungary from 1074 until his death. He was the eldest son of King Béla I. His baptismal name was Magnus. With German assistance, Géza's cousin Solomon acquired the crown when his father ...

. To strengthen the ties between the

Bohemian Bohemian or Bohemians may refer to: *Anything of or relating to Bohemia Beer * National Bohemian, a brand brewed by Pabst * Bohemian, a brand of beer brewed by Molson Coors Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, origin ...

and

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) **Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ger ...

nobility, her father married her off to the

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 ...

margrave Leopold IV of Austria on 28 September 1138. The bride was in her early teens, and the groom was in his early 30s. The Bohemian-Austrian alliance was confirmed, when Leopold's younger sister Gertrude married Soběslav's nephew, Duke Vladislaus II of Bohemia, two years later. In 1139, one year after Maria's marriage, 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 ...

, having deposed the

Welf Welf is a Germanic first name that may refer to: *Welf (father of Judith), 9th century Frankish count, father-in-law of Louis the Pious *Welf I, d. bef. 876, count of Alpgau and Linzgau *Welf II, Count of Swabia, died 1030, supposed descendant of W ...

duke

Henry the Proud Henry the Proud (german: Heinrich der Stolze) (20 October 1139), a member of the House of Welf, was Duke of Bavaria (as Henry X) from 1126 to 1138 and Duke of Saxony (as Henry II) as well as Margrave of Tuscany and Duke of Spoleto fro ...

, enfeoffed the

Duchy of Bavaria The Duchy of Bavaria (German: ''Herzogtum Bayern'') was a frontier region in the southeastern part of the Merovingian kingdom from the sixth through the eighth century. It was settled by Bavarian tribes and ruled by dukes (''duces'') under Fr ...

to the Babenberg dynasty, ruling the

Margraviate of Austria The Margraviate of Austria (german: Markgrafschaft Österreich) was a medieval frontier march, centered along the river Danube, between the river Enns and the Vienna Woods (''Wienerwald''), within the territory of modern Austrian provinces of Up ...

since 976. Margrave Leopold was Conrad's half-brother by their mother

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 ...

; the king may also had helped to arrange the dynastical ties with the Bohemian Přemyslids. Leopold took over the rule in Bavaria, he nevertheless had to face the claims raised by Henry's younger brother

Welf VI Welf VI (111515 December 1191) was the margrave of Tuscany (1152–1162) and duke of Spoleto (1152–1162), the third son of Henry IX, Duke of Bavaria, and a member of the illustrious family of the Welf. Biography Welf inherited the familial po ...

. Maria's first marriage lasted three years, ending with Leopold's unexpected death at

Niederaltaich Abbey Niederaltaich Abbey (Abtei or Kloster Niederaltaich) is a house of the Benedictine Order founded in 741, situated in the village of Niederalteich on the Danube in Bavaria. Foundation and early history After its foundation in 741 by Duke Odilo o ...

in 1141. As the marriage produced no heirs for Leopold, Austria and Bavaria were inherited by his elder brother, Duke Henry II. One year later, she remarried to Margrave Herman III, who had been

Margrave of Baden The Margraviate of Baden (german: Markgrafschaft Baden) was a historical territory of the Holy Roman Empire. Spread along the east side of the Upper Rhine River in southwestern Germany, it was named a margraviate in 1112 and existed until 1535, ...

since 1130. Maria was his second wife. Herman participated in the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusa ...

and in 1151 he was vested with the

March of Verona The March of Verona and Aquileia was a vast march (frontier district) of the Holy Roman Empire in the northeastern Italian peninsula during the Middle Ages, centered on the cities of Verona and Aquileia. Seized by King Otto I of Germany in 952, ...

by King Conrad III. He remained a loyal supporter of the Hohenstaufen dynasty during the

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

campaigns of Conrad's successor

Frederick Barbarossa Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (german: link=no, Friedrich I, it, Federico I), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death 35 years later. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt on ...

. Maria had the following children with Hermann: * (?)

Gertrude of Baden Gertrude of Baden (before 1160 – before 1225) was a Margravine of Baden by birth and by marriage a Countess of Dagsburg. She was a daughter of Margrave Hermann III of Baden and his wife, Bertha of Lorraine. Marriages and issue Gertrude ...

(d. before 1225), who married in 1180 Count Albrecht of Dagsburg (d. 1211). Hermann died 16 January 1160. Maria disappeared from then although she may have been alive in 1172. She is buried at

Backnang Abbey The Abbey of Saint Pancras of Backnang, better known as Backnang Abbey (german: Stift Backnang), was a German monastery of canons regular founded around AD 1100 in Backnang, in the Duchy of Swabia. History The abbey was founded before 1116 by He ...

Ancestry

References

Sources

* *Vaníček V., Soběslav I. Přemyslovci v kontekstu evropských dějin v letech 1092-1140, Praha-Litomyšl 2007, s. 288-290. {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria Of Bohemia 1120s births 1160s deaths Duchesses of Bavaria Austrian royal consorts Přemyslid dynasty Babenberg House of Zähringen Margravines of Germany 12th-century Bohemian people 12th-century Bohemian women Remarried royal consorts