Sidonie Of Poděbrady
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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 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 ...
,
King of Bohemia The Duchy of Bohemia was established in 870 and raised to the Kingdom of Bohemia in Golden Bull of Sicily, 1198. Several Bohemian monarchs ruled as non-hereditary kings and first gained the title in 1085. From 1004 to 1806, Bohemia was part of th ...
, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg. She was the twin sister of Catherine of Poděbrady, wife of
Matthias Corvinus of Hungary Matthias Corvinus (; ; ; ; ; ) was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458 to 1490, as Matthias I. He is often given the epithet "the Just". After conducting several military campaigns, he was elected King of Bohemia in 1469 and adopted the tit ...
.


Early life

Sidonie and Catherine were born on 11 November 1449 to the Bohemian king. The girls' mother, Kunigunde, died from complications of the birth. Sidonie's father eventually remarried; his second wife, Johanna of Rožmitál, bore George more children, including Ludmila of Poděbrady. Sidonie had four older siblings, but none of her brothers inherited
Bohemia Bohemia ( ; ; ) is the westernmost and largest historical region of the Czech Republic. In a narrow, geographic sense, it roughly encompasses the territories of present-day Czechia that fall within the Elbe River's drainage basin, but historic ...
from their father. The crown passed instead to
Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary Vladislav ( (', '); , ; Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Macedonian, sh-Cyrl, Владислав, ) is a male given name of Slavic origin. Variations include ''Volodislav'', ''Vlastislav'' and ''Vlaslav''. In the Czech Republic, Slovakia and ...
. Sidonie's paternal grandparents were Vítek of Poděbrady and his wife Anna of Vartenberk. Her maternal grandparents were Smil of Sternberg and his wife Barbara of Pardubice.


Marriage

A marriage contract was signed on 11 November 1459 for Sidonie's marriage to Albert, son of
Frederick II, Elector of Saxony Frederick II, The Gentle (''Friedrich, der Sanftmütige''; Frederick the Gentle; 22 August 1412 – 7 September 1464) was Elector of Saxony (1428–1464) and was Landgrave of Thuringia (1440–1445). Biography Frederick was born in Leipzig, th ...
. The couple married on 11 February 1464. Sidonie followed her husband to
Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
, and the consummation of their marriage took place in May 1464 at Castle Tharandt. Four months after their marriage, Albert's father died, and he became
Duke of Saxony This article lists dukes, electors, and kings ruling over different territories named Saxony from the beginning of the Saxon Duchy in the 6th century to the end of the German monarchies in 1918. The electors of Saxony from John the Steadfast ...
with Sidonie as Duchess consort. Sidonie was a pious Catholic woman who abhorred violence. She therefore refused to accompany her husband during his wars in
Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...
and
Friesland Friesland ( ; ; official ), historically and traditionally known as Frisia (), named after the Frisians, is a Provinces of the Netherlands, province of the Netherlands located in the country's northern part. It is situated west of Groningen (p ...
. In protest, she took her children to
Albrechtsburg The Albrechtsburg is a Late Gothic castle erected from 1471 till about 1495. It is located in the town centre of Meissen in the German state of Saxony. It is situated on a hill above the river Elbe, adjacent to the Meissen Cathedral. History ...
. In 1495 she founded the religious festival of the
Holy Lance The Holy Lance, also known as the Spear of Longinus (named after Longinus, Saint Longinus), the Spear of Destiny, or the Holy Spear, is alleged to be the lance that pierced the side of Jesus as he hung on the cross during his Crucifixion of Jes ...
, after being freed from a stone disease. Many of her letters of correspondence have been preserved, in which she pleads for the release of prisoners. On 12 September 1500, Albert died, leaving Sidonie a widow. She withdrew from the Saxon court and spent the rest of her years in
Tharandt Tharandt () is a municipality in Saxony, Germany, situated on the Weißeritz, southwest of Dresden. It has a Protestant Church and the oldest academy of forestry in Germany, founded as the Royal Saxon Academy of Forestry by Heinrich Cotta in 181 ...
. On 1 February 1510 she died there. Sidonie was buried at the cathedral of
Meissen Meissen ( ), is a town of approximately 30,000 about northwest of Dresden and 75 km (46 mi) west of Bautzen on both banks of the Elbe river in the Free State of Saxony, in eastern Germany. Meissen is the home of Meissen porcelain, th ...
.


Issue

Sidonie and Albert were married for thirty-six years, during which time they had nine children: * Katharina (b. Meissen, 24 July 1468 – d. Göttingen, 10 February 1524), married firstly on 24 February 1484 in Innsbruck to Duke
Sigismund of Austria Sigismund (26 October 1427 – 4 March 1496), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria from 1439 (elevated to Archduke in 1477) until his death. As a scion of the Habsburg Leopoldian line, he ruled over Further Austria and the ...
, and secondly on 1497 to Duke Eric I of Brunswick-Calenberg * Georg "the Bearded" (b. Meissen, 27 August 1471 – d. Dresden, 17 April 1539) * Heinrich V "der Fromme" (b. Dresden, 16 March 1473 – d. Dresden, 18 August 1541) *
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 ...
(b. Torgau, 26 October 1474 – d. Rochlitz, 14 December 1510), Grand Master of the
Teutonic Knights The Teutonic Order is a Catholic religious institution founded as a military society in Acre, Kingdom of Jerusalem. The Order of Brothers of the German House of Saint Mary in Jerusalem was formed to aid Christians on their pilgrimages to t ...
*Anna (b. Dresden, 3 August 1478 – d. Dresden, 1479) *Stillborn child (1479) *Louis (b. Torgau, 28 September 1481 – d. Torgau?, some days later / d. Torgau?, young after 1498) *John (b. and d. Torgau, 24 June 1484) *John (b. Torgau, 2 December 1498 – d. Torgau?, some days later / d. Torgau?, young in September of the same year as his brother Louis) Genealogical database by Herbert Stoyan
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References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sidonie of Podebrady 1449 births 1510 deaths Duchesses of Saxony Margravines of Meissen Podiebrad family 15th-century women from Bohemia 16th-century nobility from Bohemia 16th-century women from Bohemia 15th-century German people 15th-century German women 16th-century German nobility 16th-century German women ⚭Sidonie of Poděbrady Mothers of Saxon monarchs Holy Lance 15th-century nobility from Bohemia