Catherine of Saxony (

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

: ''Katharina von Sachsen''; 24 July 1468 – 10 February 1524), a member of the

House of Wettin The House of Wettin () was a dynasty which included Saxon monarch, kings, Prince Elector, prince-electors, dukes, and counts, who once ruled territories in the present-day German federated states of Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia. The dynas ...

, 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 over F ...

and Regent of

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

Life

Born in

Grimma Grimma (; , ) 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 of Wurz ...

, 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 Culture and arts * Bohemianism, an unconventional lifestyle, originally practised by 19th–20th century European and American artists and writers. * Bohemian style, a ...

princess

Sidonie of Poděbrady Sidonie of Poděbrady (; 11 November 1449 – 1 February 1510) was a duchess consort of Saxony, as the wife of Albert III. She was a daughter of George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg. She was th ...

. 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 Prince-elector of Electorate of Saxony, Saxony from 1486 to 1525, who is mostly remembered for the protection given to his su ...

and Margaret of Austria, daughter of the

Habsburg The House of Habsburg (; ), also known as the House of Austria, was one of the most powerful dynasties in the history of Europe and Western civilization. They were best known for their inbreeding and for ruling vast realms throughout Europe d ...

duke Ernest the Iron. 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 (; ), was the sixteenth King of Bohemia, who ruled in 1458–1471. He was a leader of the Hussites, but moderate and tolerant toward the ...

and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg. Catherine had three surviving brothers George,

Henry Henry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters * Henry (surname) * Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone Arts and entertainmen ...

and

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

At the age of 16, in 1484 at the

Innsbruck Innsbruck (; ) is the capital of Tyrol (federal state), Tyrol and the List of cities and towns in Austria, fifth-largest city in Austria. On the Inn (river), River Inn, at its junction with the Wipptal, Wipp Valley, which provides access to the ...

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 Beau ...

, 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 on 4 March 1496, Catherine married the Welf duke Eric I of Brunswick-Lüneburg, ruler over the

Principality of Calenberg The Principality of Calenberg was a dynastic division of the House of Welf, Welf Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg established in 1432. Calenberg was ruled by the House of Hanover (from the Principality of Lüneburg) from 1635 onwards; the princes re ...

. 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. 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 duchesses consort Austrian consorts Albertine branch Daughters of dukes