Joanna of Bavaria

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Joanna of Bavaria
Bohemia
Tenure1370–1386
Born1356
The Hague (?)
Died31 December 1386 (aged 30-31)
Prague
Burial
Spouse
Wenceslaus, King of Germany and Bohemia
(m. 1370)
HouseHouse of Wittelsbach
FatherAlbert I, Duke of Bavaria
MotherMargaret of Brieg

Joanna of Bavaria (1356 – 1386), a member of the

Queen of Germany from 1376 and Queen of Bohemia from 1378 until her death, by her marriage with the Luxembourg king Wenceslaus.[1]

Life

Presumably born in

Johanna Sophia of Bavaria and Margaret of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Emperor Louis IV and his consort Countess Margaret II of Hainaut
.

Joanna's itinerary to the Prague court, 1370

From August 1370 Joanna travelled to Prague, where she was married on 29 September 1370 to Wenceslaus, son and heir of Emperor Charles IV by his third wife, Anna of Swidnica. The emperor had to obtain a papal dispense due to the close relatedness of the couple. The marriage was not consummated until 1376.

The conjugal bond suited the Luxembourg ruler to strengthen ties with the

Rupert of the Palatinate
instead.

Charles had his son elected King of the Romans in 1376 and upon his death in 1378, Wenceslaus also inherited the Kingdom of Bohemia. With Wenceslaus' accession, Joanna became Queen of both Bohemia and Germany. She also became Electress of Brandenburg as successor to Wenceslaus' half-sister Catherine.

Death

The marriage lasted for sixteen years, however the couple had no children (it is said that Wenceslaus was infertile due to his alcoholism). Joanna died in 1386 at the age of thirty or thirty-one,[2] allegedly from the consequences of an attack by Wenceslaus' hunting dogs.

Wenceslaus gave Johanna a magnificent funeral, which took place at Žebrák castle. According to custom, Joanna's body was exposed for a few days in Prague churches and was later buried in Prague Castle.

Wenceslaus later married Joanna's cousin,

Sofia of Bavaria
, but this marriage also bore no issue. Wenceslaus was deposed from the throne of Germany in 1400 and was succeeded by Elisabeth of Nuremberg's husband, Rupert.

Ancestors

References and sources

German royalty
Preceded by
Queen consort of Germany

1376 – 1386
Vacant
Title next held by
Sofia of Bavaria
Queen consort of Bohemia

1378 – 1386