Judith of Habsburg
Encyclopedia
Judith of Habsburg was the youngest daughter of Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I of Germany
Rudolph I was King of the Romans from 1273 until his death. He played a vital role in raising the Habsburg dynasty to a leading position among the Imperial feudal dynasties...

 and his wife Gertrude of Hohenburg
Gertrude of Hohenburg
Gertrude of Hohenzollern was the first Queen consort of Rudolph I of Germany.-Family:She was born to Burckhard III of Hohenzollern, Count of Hohenberg and his wife Mechtild of Tübingen....

. Judith was a member of the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...

 family.

Biography

When Judith was five, she became the object of her father's political plans. Her father signed the Vienna peace treaty with Premysl Otakar II of Bohemia, and they decided that Judith should marry Wenceslaus, son and heir of Premysl Otakar.

Judith's sisters also married powerful kings and dukes; her sister Klementia
Klementia of Habsburg
Clementia of Habsburg was a daughter of Rudolf I of Habsburg and Gertrude of Hohenberg. She was a member of the House of Habsburg.-Family:...

 married Charles Martel of Anjou
Charles Martel of Anjou
Charles Martel of the Angevin dynasty, also known as Charles I Martel, was the eldest son of king Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary, the daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary....

, son of Charles II of Naples
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...

, and her sister Matilda
Matilda of Habsburg
Matilda of Habsburg or Melchilde was the eldest daughter of Rudolph I of Germany and Gertrude of Hohenburg...

 married Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Louis II, Duke of Bavaria
Duke Louis II of Bavaria was Duke of Bavaria and Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1253. Born in Heidelberg, he was a son of duke Otto II and Agnes of the Palatinate...

.

The formal marriage (engagement) was in 1279 in Jihlava
Jihlava
Jihlava is a city in the Czech Republic. Jihlava is a centre of the Vysočina Region, situated on the Jihlava river on the ancient frontier between Moravia and Bohemia, and is the oldest mining town in the Czech Republic, ca. 50 years older than Kutná Hora.Among the principal buildings are the...

, the second marriage took place in early 1285 in Cheb
Cheb
Cheb is a city in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic, with about 33,000 inhabitants. It is situated on the river Ohře , at the foot of one of the spurs of the Smrčiny and near the border with Germany...

, and the bride was given a dowry "from the Duchy of Austria, Moravian border to the border of Danube". The wedding in Cheb was followed by "festive" wedding night, but soon after, Rudolph took Judith back to Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, since she was still of a young age.

Wenceslaus' coronation had to be cancelled because Judith was not present. She did eventually leave her family in Germany and came to Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

 to be with her husband. Like her father, Judith hated Zavish, Lord of Falkenstejn, stepfather of her husband. He had acted as regent with the Dowager Queen, Kunigunda of Slavonia
Kunigunda of Slavonia
Kunigunda Rostislavna was Queen consort of Bohemia and its Regent from 1278 until her death. She was a member of the House of Chernigov, and a daughter of the ruler of Slavonia....

, whom he secretly married. Judith helped bring Zavish to trial and he was eventually executed in 1290, five years after the death of Queen Kunigunda.

Judith tried to reconcile her husband and Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg was King of the Romans and Duke of Austria, the eldest son of German King Rudolph I of Habsburg and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenburg.-Life:...

, her brother. She also brought German influences to the Prague court, like the introduction of knights at court. She made Prague a cultural centre

They were crowned King and Queen of Bohemia in 1297. Judith wasn't in good health during the time of the coronation having just given birth to her tenth child. She died weeks later.

According to the family chronicles, Judith was described as beautiful, noble and virtuous. Judith helped to sort out problems between her husband and brother, Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Germany
Albert I of Habsburg was King of the Romans and Duke of Austria, the eldest son of German King Rudolph I of Habsburg and his first wife Gertrude of Hohenburg.-Life:...

. Judith also supported her husband's claim on Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...

.

Judith died 21 May 1297 in Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...

, aged only twenty six. She was having constant pregnancies over twelve years of marriage, almost one child per year. Worn out by childbirth, Judith died weeks after giving birth to her youngest child and namesake, Judith.

Her husband went onto marry Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
Elisabeth Richenza of Poland was a daughter and the only surviving child of Przemysl II of Poland and his second wife Richenza of Sweden, herself a daughter of Valdemar I of Sweden and Sofia of Denmark.Her name at birth was Richeza; she adopted the name Elisabeth after her first marriage...

 who bore him a daughter, Agnes
Agnes of Bohemia (1305–1337)
Agnes of Bohemia was the only child of King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia by his second wife, Elisabeth Richeza of Poland. She was a member of the Přemyslid dynasty.- Family :...

.

Issue

Wenceslaus and Judith had ten children:
  1. Přemysl Otakar ( 6 May 1288 – 19 November 1288).
  2. Wenceslaus III
    Wenceslaus III of Bohemia
    Wenceslaus III Premyslid was the King of Hungary , King of Bohemia and the king of Poland ....

     ( 6 October 1289 – 4 August 1306); King of Bohemia, King of Hungary
    King of Hungary
    The King of Hungary was the head of state of the Kingdom of Hungary from 1000 to 1918.The style of title "Apostolic King" was confirmed by Pope Clement XIII in 1758 and used afterwards by all the Kings of Hungary, so after this date the kings are referred to as "Apostolic King of...

     and King of Poland.
  3. Agnes ( 6 October 1289 - after 1292 before 1306), twin of Wenceslaus, betrothed to Rupert, son of Adolf, King of Germany but died young.
  4. Anna ( 10 October 1290 – 3 September 1313), married in 1306 to Henry of Carinthia.
  5. Elisabeth ( 20 January 1292 – 28 September 1330), married in 1310 to John I of Bohemia
    John I of Bohemia
    John the Blind was the Count of Luxembourg from 1309 and King of Bohemia from 1310 and titular King of Poland. He was the eldest son of the Holy Roman Emperor Henry VII and his wife Margaret of Brabant...

  6. Judith ( 3 March 1293 – 3 August 1294).
  7. John ( 26 February 1294 – 1 March 1295).
  8. John ( 21 February 1295 – 6 December 1296).
  9. Margareta
    Margaret of Bohemia (1296-1322)
    Margaret of Bohemia was a daughter of Wenceslaus II of Bohemia and his first wife, Judith of Habsburg. Her paternal grandparents were Ottokar II of Bohemia and Kunigunda of Slavonia, her maternal grandparents were Rudolph I of Germany and Gertrude of Hohenburg.-Biography:In 1308, Margaret married...

     ( 21 February 1296 – 8 April 1322), married to Bolesław III the Generous, Duke of Wrocław.
  10. Judith (born and died 21 May 1297).

Of the ten children only four lived to adulthood.

Family legacy

Wenceslaus and then Anna and Elisabeth succeeded their father as rulers of Bohemia
Bohemia
Bohemia is a historical region in central Europe, occupying the western two-thirds of the traditional Czech Lands. It is located in the contemporary Czech Republic with its capital in Prague...

. Elisabeth was the mother of Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles IV , born Wenceslaus , was the second king of Bohemia from the House of Luxembourg, and the first king of Bohemia to also become Holy Roman Emperor....

, his son was Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor
Sigismund of Luxemburg KG was King of Hungary, of Croatia from 1387 to 1437, of Bohemia from 1419, and Holy Roman Emperor for four years from 1433 until 1437, the last Emperor of the House of Luxemburg. He was also King of Italy from 1431, and of Germany from 1411...

.

Judith is also an ancestor of Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark
Anne of Denmark was queen consort of Scotland, England, and Ireland as the wife of King James VI and I.The second daughter of King Frederick II of Denmark, Anne married James in 1589 at the age of fourteen and bore him three children who survived infancy, including the future Charles I...

 who married James I of England
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...

, her children were Charles I of England
Charles I of England
Charles I was King of England, King of Scotland, and King of Ireland from 27 March 1625 until his execution in 1649. Charles engaged in a struggle for power with the Parliament of England, attempting to obtain royal revenue whilst Parliament sought to curb his Royal prerogative which Charles...

 and Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia
Elizabeth of Bohemia was the eldest daughter of King James VI and I, King of Scotland, England, Ireland, and Anne of Denmark. As the wife of Frederick V, Elector Palatine, she was Electress Palatine and briefly Queen of Bohemia...

; Elizabeth is one of Judith's successors as Queen of Bohemia
Royal Consorts of Bohemia
This is a list of the royal consorts of the rulers of Bohemia.The first Duchess of Bohemia was St. Ludmila, while the first Queen of Bohemia was Świętosława of Poland. Some of them were not crowned.There was only one queen regnant in Czech history - Maria Theresa...

.

Ancestry

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