Gertrude of Austria facts for kids
Gertrude of Austria (also known as Gertrude of Babenberg) was an important noblewoman who lived from 1226 to 1288. She was a member of the House of Babenberg, a powerful family in Austria. Gertrude was the Duchess of Mödling. Later, she was also called the Duchess of Austria and Styria, though her claim to these titles was often challenged. Her uncle, Frederick II, Duke of Austria, was the last male ruler of the Babenberg family. According to an old rule called the Privilegium Minus, Gertrude was next in line to inherit the Duchies of Austria and Styria after Frederick died without children. However, her aunt Margaret also claimed these lands.
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Gertrude's Early Life and Family
Gertrude was the only child of Henry II, Duke of Mödling. Her mother was Agnes, the daughter of Hermann I, Landgrave of Thuringia. Henry of Mödling was the second son of Duke Leopold VI of Austria. In 1216, after his older brother Leopold died, Henry became the heir to his father's lands.
Henry died young, at only twenty years old, in 1228. He had no sons. Two years later, in 1230, Gertrude's grandfather Duke Leopold VI also died. Leopold was succeeded by his third son, Frederick II. Because the Babenberg lands in Austria could be inherited by women, Gertrude argued that she should be the ruler. She was the only child of Leopold VI's oldest son. However, her uncle Frederick II became Duke instead.
Even though she didn't become Duchess of Austria right away, Gertrude did inherit her father's Duchy of Mödling. Her uncle, Frederick II, became her guardian. Frederick had been married twice but had no children. This meant that Gertrude was the main heir to all the Babenberg lands in Austria and Styria.
Marriages and Claims to Power
Duke Frederick II of Austria often had disagreements with Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1245, things changed, and Frederick II of Austria became an important ally of the Emperor. They began talks about making Vienna a bishopric and Austria (including Styria) a kingdom. One condition for this was that Gertrude, who was 19 years old, would marry the 51-year-old Emperor. He had been a widower three times.
However, Gertrude refused to marry the Emperor. She said it was because the Pope had recently removed him from the church. Some stories also say she was in love with Vladislaus, the eldest son of Wenceslaus I of Bohemia. King Wenceslaus sent an army to Austria to make Duke Frederick II agree to Gertrude marrying Vladislaus. They finally agreed in June 1245.
Duke Frederick's plans for more power didn't last long. On June 15, 1246, he was killed in battle. King Wenceslaus quickly arranged for Gertrude and Vladislaus to marry. People in Bohemia were happy, believing Vladislaus would now rule Austria. The Austrian nobles quickly accepted Vladislaus as Duke because of his wife's rights and his chance to inherit the Bohemian throne. But Vladislaus died soon after their marriage, on January 3, 1247.
In 1248, to strengthen her claims, Gertrude, now 22, married Herman VI, Margrave of Baden. The next year, Gertrude gave birth to a son named Frederick. To celebrate, Gertrude gave land to 30 people in Alland, where her son was born. In 1250, Gertrude had a second child, a daughter named Agnes, after her grandmother.
Challenges and Loss of Support
Herman struggled to keep control of the duchies. He couldn't defeat the Austrian nobles who opposed him. Because of this, Gertrude and her children moved to Meissen in Saxony. Her relationship with Herman became very difficult. Herman died in October 1250.
Gertrude lost support from the church when she refused to marry Floris, the brother of Count William II of Holland. Floris was the favorite choice of Pope Innocent IV.
Meanwhile, Gertrude's aunt Margaret, who also wanted to rule Austria and Styria, married Ottokar of Bohemia. Ottokar was the second son of King Wenceslaus I. The nobles in Austria accepted Margaret and Ottokar as their rulers. On July 12, 1252, Gertrude had lost most of her support. She then formed an alliance with Béla IV of Hungary and married his relative, Roman Danylovich, a prince from the Rurikid family. In 1253, Gertrude had her only child with Roman, a daughter named Maria. However, Roman failed to become Duke of Austria. He left Gertrude and their daughter to return to Hungary. Their marriage was soon officially ended.
In 1254, Gertrude finally received a part of Styria. She also got 400 silver marks each year and the towns of Voitsberg and Judenburg as her homes. In 1267, King Ottokar II took away Gertrude's lands. This was because neither Gertrude nor her son Frederick gave up their claim to Styria and Austria. Ottokar wanted to marry into the Hungarian royal family, and Margaret was older and couldn't have children. That same year, Margaret died, making Gertrude the only direct heir to the Babenberg family.
Later Life and Legacy
On September 8, 1268, Gertrude's son Frederick was captured in Italy. He had gone with Conradin on an expedition. Frederick was held in prison in Naples and then publicly beheaded in October. The next year, Gertrude was sent away from her lands and lost her claim to Windisch-Feistritz. She found safety again with her family in Meissen.
Gertrude's other claims to the duchies were finally lost in 1282. This was when Rudolf I of Germany gave the duchies to his own sons. Six years later, on April 24, 1288, Gertrude died in a convent near Seusslitz in Meissen. She was buried there.
Her daughter Agnes of Baden became the heir to her mother and brother. But in 1279, Agnes gave up her rights to Baden and the Duchies of Austria and Styria. Agnes had five children from her second marriage. Her eldest daughter, Katharina, married a nobleman from Styria. Their son, Frederick I of Cilli, eventually inherited his grandfather's estates. He founded the House of Cilli. This family included Holy Roman Empress Barbara of Cilli, whose daughter married into the House of Habsburg.
Gertrude's youngest daughter, Maria Romanovna of Halicz, married Joachim Gutkeled in the 1260s. He was an important official in Hungary. They had one daughter, Clara, who married Roland Borsa. They did not have any children.
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