Catherine of Saxony (Katharina von Sachsen; 24 July 1468 – 10 February 1524), a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () is a dynasty of German kings, prince-electors, dukes, and counts that once ruled territories in the present-day German states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynasty is one of the oldest in Europe, and its ori ...

, was the second wife of

Sigismund, Archduke of Austria Sigismund (26 October 1427 – 4 March 1496), a member of the House of Habsburg, was List of rulers of Austria, Duke of Austria from 1439 (elevated to Archduke in 1477) until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian line, he ruled ov ...

and Regent of

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

Life

Born in

Grimma Grimma ( hsb, Grima) is a town in Saxony, Central Germany, on the left bank of the Mulde, southeast of Leipzig. Founded in 1170, it is part of the Leipzig district. Location The town is in northern Saxony, southeast of Leipzig and south o ...

, Catherine was the eldest child of Duke Albert III of Saxony and his wife, 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 ...

princess

Sidonie of Poděbrady Sidonie of Poděbrady ( cs, Zdenka z Poděbrad; 11 November 1449 – 1 February 1510) was a duchess consort of Saxony. She was a daughter of George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg. She was the twin sis ...

. Her paternal grandparents were Elector

Frederick III of Saxony Frederick III (17 January 1463 – 5 May 1525), also known as Frederick the Wise (German ''Friedrich der Weise''), was Elector of Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the worldly protection of his subject Martin Luther. Freder ...

and Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Habsburg duke

Ernest the Iron Ernest the Iron (; 1377 – 10 June 1424), a member of the House of Habsburg, ruled over the Inner Austrian duchies of Styria, Carinthia and Carniola from 1406 until his death. He was head of the Habsburg Leopoldian line from 1411. Biograp ...

. Her maternal grandparents were King

George of Poděbrady George of Kunštát and Poděbrady (23 April 1420 – 22 March 1471), also known as Poděbrad or Podiebrad ( cs, Jiří z Poděbrad; german: Georg von Podiebrad), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the ...

and his first wife

Kunigunde of Sternberg Kunigunde of Sternberg ( cs, Kunhuta ze Šternberka; 18 November 1425, Konopiště – 19 November 1449, Poděbrady) was the first wife of George of Poděbrady, who later became King of Bohemia. Life Kunigunde's parents were the Bohemian noble ...

. Catherine had three surviving brothers

George George may refer to: People * George (given name) * George (surname) * George (singer), American-Canadian singer George Nozuka, known by the mononym George * George Washington, First President of the United States * George W. Bush, 43rd Presid ...

Henry Henry may refer to: People *Henry (given name) * Henry (surname) * Henry Lau, Canadian singer and musician who performs under the mononym Henry Royalty * Portuguese royalty ** King-Cardinal Henry, King of Portugal ** Henry, Count of Portugal, ...

and

Frederick Frederick may refer to: People * Frederick (given name), the name Nobility Anhalt-Harzgerode *Frederick, Prince of Anhalt-Harzgerode (1613–1670) Austria * Frederick I, Duke of Austria (Babenberg), Duke of Austria from 1195 to 1198 * Frederick ...

. At the age of 16, in 1484 at the Innsbruck court, Catherine became the second wife of Archduke Sigismund, who was already 56 years old and regarded as senile. The archduke had previously been married to Princess

Eleanor of Scotland Eleanor of Scotland (1433 – 20 November 1480) was an Archduchess of Austria by marriage to Sigismund, Archduke of Austria, a noted translator, and regent of Austria in 1455-58 and 1467. She was a daughter of James I of Scotland and Joan Be ...

, who had left him no surviving children. Likewise, the marriage of Catherine and Sigismund remained childless. Catherine played little part in the politics of Tyrol; moreover, a former lover of Sigismund intrigued against the young bride and falsely claimed in 1487 that Catherine was trying to poison her husband. As the political style of the archduke was no longer tenable, he was gradually losing control over his Tyrolean possessions to his cousin Emperor Frederick III. Constant quarrels with local nobles followed due to the newly introduced limitations Sigismund made. By his resignation in 1490, his wife Catherine had significantly less budget than before. In 1496 Sigismund died. Soon after the archduke's death, in 1496/97, Catherine married 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 Eric I of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler over the

Principality of Calenberg The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the Welf duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover from 1635 onwards; the princes received the ninth electoral dignity of the Holy Roman ...

. The marriage produced one short-lived daughter, Anna Maria. Catherine died in 1524 and was buried in St. Blaise's Church, Münden; her tombstone was created by

Loy Hering Loy Hering (b. 1484–85 in Kaufbeuren, d. 1 June 1564 in Eichstätt) was a German Renaissance sculptor. He began his career as an apprentice to Hans Beierlein in Augsburg. Between 1511 and 1512 he settled in Eichstätt, where in 1519 he was e ...

. Duke Eric remarried Elisabeth of Brandenburg and had surviving children. Zikmund tyrolsko

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Catherine Of Saxony, Archduchess Of Austria 1468 births 1524 deaths House of Wettin Remarried royal consorts Austrian royal consorts Albertine branch