Kunigunde of Sternberg (; 18 November 1425,

Konopiště Konopiště Castle (; , ) is a four-winged, three-storey castle located in Konopiště, now a part of the town of Benešov in Central Bohemian Region, Czech Republic. It has become famous as the last residence of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austr ...

– 19 November 1449,

Poděbrady Poděbrady (; ) is a spa town in Nymburk District in the Central Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 15,000 inhabitants. It lies on the Elbe River. The historic town centre is well preserved and is protected as an Cultural monument ...

) was the first wife of

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 ...

, who later became King of Bohemia.

Life

Kunigunde's parents were the Bohemian nobles Smil of Sternberg (d. 1431) and Barbara of Pardubice (d. 1433). In 1441 she married the 21-year-old George of Poděbrady, who had been captain of the old Bohemian circle of Stará Boleslav since 1440. This marriage produced three sons: * Boček (1442–1496) * Victor (1443–1500) and * Henry the Elder (1448–1498) and three daughters: * Barbara (1446–1474), married first with Henry of Lipé (''Jindřich z Lipé'', d. 1469), and second with Jan Křinecký of Ronov *

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

(1449–1464), married Matthias, King of Hungary; and * Zdenka (1449–1510) (also known as Sidonie of Poděbrady; Catherine's twin) In 1444 Kunigunde founded a hospital in Poděbrady. It was named after her and remained in operation until the beginning of the 20th century. She also established a foundation for youth education, school construction and rehabilitation of prisoners. She died in 1449, the day after her twenty-fourth birthday and 9 days after giving birth to twin daughters. She was buried in the parish church ''Exaltation of the Holy Cross'' in Poděbrady.

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kunigunde Of Sternberg Sternberg Sternberg Deaths in childbirth Podiebrad family Sternberg family 15th-century nobility from Bohemia 15th-century women from Bohemia