Hedwig of Cieszyn ( pl, Jadwiga cieszyńska, hu, Hedvig tescheni hercegnő) (1469 – 6 April 1521) was a Polish princess. She was the only child of

Przemysław II Przemysław () is a Polish Slavic given name, meaning someone who is clever or ingenious. It is derived from another Polish name Przemysł. Its diminutive forms include Przemek (the most popular one), Przemuś (hypocorism), Przemo, Przemko, Przem ...

, Duke of

Cieszyn Cieszyn ( , ; cs, Těšín ; german: Teschen; la, Tessin; szl, Ćeszyn) is a border town in southern Poland on the east bank of the Olza River, and the administrative seat of Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodeship. The town has 33,500 inhabitan ...

by his wife Anna, daughter of Duke Bolesław IV of Warsaw.

Life

After her father's death in 1477, eight-year-old Hedwig was placed under the guardianship of her cousin, Casimir II. On 11 August 1483 she married the widower Stephen Zápolya, Lord of Trencsén (''Trenčín''). They had four children: János Zápolya (2 June 1487 – 22 July 1540), later

King of Hungary The King of Hungary ( hu, magyar király) was the ruling head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 (or 1001) to 1918. The style of title "Apostolic King of Hungary" (''Apostoli Magyar Király'') was endorsed by Pope Clement XIII in 175 ...

;

George Zápolya Count George Zápolya de Szepes ( hr, Juraj Zapolja, hu, Szapolyai György or Zápolya György, ro, Gheorghe Zápolya, sk, Juraj Zápoľský; c. 1488 – 29 August 1526) was a Hungarian magnate, son of Palatine Stephen Zápolya and younger br ...

(ca. 1494 – 29 August 1526), killed in action at

Mohács Mohács (; Croatian and Bunjevac: ''Mohač''; german: Mohatsch; sr, Мохач; tr, Mohaç) is a town in Baranya County, Hungary, on the right bank of the Danube. Etymology The name probably comes from the Slavic ''*Mъchačь'',''*Mocháč'': ...

; Barbara Zápolya (1495 – 2 October 1515),

Queen of Poland Poland was ruled at various times either by dukes and princes (10th to 14th centuries) or by kings (11th to 18th centuries). During the latter period, a tradition of free election of monarchs made it a uniquely electable position in Europe (16th ...

after her marriage to

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old ( pl, Zygmunt I Stary, lt, Žygimantas II Senasis; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the ...

; and Magdalena Zápolya (b. ca. 1499 – 1499), died young. Stephen Zápolya died on 23 December 1499. Hedwig remained in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

, where she managed the huge property left behind by her late husband. She was also a generous supporter of the

Carthusian The Carthusians, also known as the Order of Carthusians ( la, Ordo Cartusiensis), are a Latin enclosed religious order of the Catholic Church. The order was founded by Bruno of Cologne in 1084 and includes both monks and nuns. The order has i ...

monastery of ''Lapis Refugii'' in

Spiš Spiš (Latin: ''Cips/Zepus/Scepus/Scepusia'', german: Zips, hu, Szepesség/Szepes, pl, Spisz) is a region in north-eastern Slovakia, with a very small area in south-eastern Poland (14 villages). Spiš is an informal designation of the territory ...

. Hedwig died on 16 April 1521 in Trencsén Castle and was buried alongside her husband in the Zápolya family vault on the Szepes chapter house. {{Authority control 1469 births 1521 deaths 15th-century Polish people 16th-century Polish people 15th-century Hungarian people 16th-century Hungarian people Piast dynasty Hungarian people of Polish descent Zápolya family 16th-century Polish women 16th-century Hungarian women