Joanna of Bavaria (c. 1362 – 31 December 1386), a member of the House of Wittelsbach, was German queen from 1376 and

Queen of Bohemia This is a list of the royal consorts of the rulers of Bohemia. The first Duchess of Bohemia (''česká kněžna'') was St. Ludmila, while the first Queen of Bohemia (''česká královna'') was Świętosława of Poland. Some of them were (like ...

from 1378 until her death, by her marriage with the

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

king

Wenceslaus Wenceslaus, Wenceslas, Wenzeslaus and Wenzslaus (and other similar names) are Latinized forms of the Czech name Václav. The other language versions of the name are german: Wenzel, pl, Wacław, Więcesław, Wieńczysław, es, Wenceslao, russian ...

Life

Presumably born in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital o ...

, Joanna was the second child of Duke Albert I of Bavaria (1336–1404), by his first wife Margaret (1342–1386), a daughter of the

Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branche ...

duke Louis I of Brzeg. Her siblings included Count William VI of Holland,

Johanna Sophia of Bavaria Joanna Sophia of Bavaria (c. 1373 – 15 November 1410) was the youngest daughter of Albert I, Duke of Bavaria and his first wife Margaret of Brieg. She was a member of the House of Wittelsbach. On 13 June 1395, Joanna Sophia married Albert IV, ...

and

Margaret of Bavaria Margaret of Bavaria (1363 – 23 January 1424, Dijon) was Duchess of Burgundy by marriage to John the Fearless. She was the regent of the Burgundian Low Countries during the absence of her spouse in 1404–1419 and the regent in French Burgundy ...

. Her paternal grandparents were Emperor Louis IV and his consort Countess

Margaret II of Hainaut Margaret II of Avesnes (1311 – 23 June 1356) was Countess of Hainaut and Countess of Holland (as Margaret I) from 1345 to 1356. She was Holy Roman Empress and Queen of Germany by marriage to Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV the Bavarian. ...

From August 1370 Joanna travelled to

Prague Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...

, where she was married on 29 September 1370 to Wenceslaus, son and heir of Emperor Charles IV by his third wife, Anna of Swidnica. At the time of the wedding, Johanna was eight years' old, and Wenceslaus was nine. The emperor had to obtain a papal dispense due to the close relatedness of the couple. The marriage was not consummated until 1376. The conjugal bond suited the Luxembourg ruler to strengthen ties with the Bavarian duke, who held extensive estates in the

Low Countries The term Low Countries, also known as the Low Lands ( nl, de Lage Landen, french: les Pays-Bas, lb, déi Niddereg Lännereien) and historically called the Netherlands ( nl, de Nederlanden), Flanders, or Belgica, is a coastal lowland region in N ...

; nevertheless, Joanna was not the first choice of a bride for Wenceslaus. Charles IV had initially planned for him to marry the Hohenzollern princess

Elisabeth of Nuremberg Elisabeth of Nuremberg (135826 July 1411) was Queen of Germany and Electress Palatine as the wife of Rupert, King of the Romans. Life Elisabeth was born in 1358, the daughter of Frederick V, Burgrave of Nuremberg and his wife Elisabeth of Me ...

, but the marriage never took place, since Elisabeth married Rupert of the Palatinate instead. Charles had his son elected King of the Romans in 1376 and upon his death in 1378, Wenceslaus also inherited the

Kingdom of Bohemia The Kingdom of Bohemia ( cs, České království),; la, link=no, Regnum Bohemiae sometimes in English literature referred to as the Czech Kingdom, was a medieval and early modern monarchy in Central Europe, the predecessor of the modern Czec ...

. With Wenceslaus' accession, Joanna became Queen of both Bohemia and

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. She also became Electress of Brandenburg as successor to Wenceslaus' half-sister

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

Death

The marriage lasted for sixteen years, however the couple had no children (it is said that Wenceslaus was infertile due to his

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol that results in significant mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognized diagnostic entity. Predomi ...

). Joanna died in 1386 at the age of twenty-three or twenty-four,

Czech Wikipedia The Czech Wikipedia ( cs, Česká Wikipedie) is the Czech language edition of Wikipedia. This Wikipedia contains articles, active users, and administrators. It was created on May 3, 2002 (Translation: "The Czech version of Wikipedia starte ...

allegedly from the consequences of an attack by Wenceslaus' hunting dogs. Wenceslaus gave Johanna a magnificent funeral, which took place at Žebrák castle. According to custom, Joanna's body was exposed for a few days in Prague churches and was later buried in

Prague Castle Prague Castle ( cs, Pražský hrad; ) is a castle complex in Prague 1 Municipality within Prague, Czech Republic, built in the 9th century. It is the official office of the President of the Czech Republic. The castle was a seat of power for king ...

. Wenceslaus later married Joanna's cousin, Sofia of Bavaria, but this marriage also bore no issue. Wenceslaus was deposed from the throne of Germany in 1400 and was succeeded by Elisabeth of Nuremberg's husband, Rupert.

Ancestors

References and Sources

Translated article from Czech Wikipedia

Jeanne von Wittelsbach
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joanna Of Bavaria 1362 births 1386 deaths German queens consort Bohemian queens consort Italian queens consort House of Wittelsbach Women of medieval Bavaria Duchesses of Luxembourg Electresses of Brandenburg 14th-century German women 14th-century German nobility Burials at St. Vitus Cathedral Daughters of monarchs