Anna von Österreich

Anna of Austria, also known as Anna of Luxembourg in French-speaking regions, was born on April 12, 1432, in Vienna and died on November 14, 1462, in Eckartsberga, Thuringia. In her own right, she was Duchess of Luxembourg, and through her marriage to William the Brave she became Landgravine of Thuringia. She also claimed the titles of Queen of Hungary and Bohemia until her death. Anna was the firstborn child of Duke Albert V of Austria, who later ruled as King of Germany, Hungary, and Bohemia, and Elisabeth of Luxembourg. Through her mother, she was the granddaughter of King and Emperor Sigismund and Barbara of Cilli. Her ancestry thus connected several important ruling houses of Central Europe. On both her father’s and her mother’s sides, her lineage reached back to the Hungarian Árpád dynasty. Through Elisabeth, Anna was also a descendant of King Béla IV, and through her maternal grandmother, Barbara of Cilli, a descendant of King Stephen V. Her birth was especially significant for the Viennese court. Elisabeth had not become pregnant until ten years after her marriage and gave birth to Anna at the age of 22. Since women could not inherit in Austria at that time, Anna could not inherit there directly. In Hungary, she stood second in the line of succession after her mother. During Elisabeth’s pregnancy, it also emerged that the marriage of Anna’s parents still lacked the necessary papal dispensation. Albert and Elisabeth were related because both descended from King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia. Pope Eugene IV issued the required authorization, thereby securing the legal status of their marriage and the legitimacy of their child. The birth of the first daughter was celebrated at court with festivities and tournaments. Anna was drawn into dynastic politics soon after her birth. A marriage between her and Władysław, the eldest son of King Władysław II Jagiełło of Poland, was initially discussed. He later became Władysław III of Poland and King Ulászló I of Hungary. The negotiations first failed because of Sigismund’s conditions. After Anna’s sister Elisabeth was born in 1437, a double marriage project was considered: Anna would marry Władysław, while Elisabeth would marry his brother Casimir. Sigismund’s death and the disputes over his inheritance temporarily turned the parties involved into opponents. A renewed attempt in 1439 also failed because of opposition from German princes, who supported a match between Anna and the Saxon prince William. While her sister was brought from Vienna to Hungary in 1439 to be near their mother, Anna was sent to the Saxon court, into the family of the man whom the German princes favored as her future bridegroom. After her father’s death in October 1439, the conflicts over the Hungarian succession intensified. Władysław III was elected King of Hungary in 1440, but the birth of Anna’s younger brother, Ladislaus, known as Ladislaus Postumus, changed the political situation. His supporters did not wish to legitimize the Jagiellonian claims through a marriage. At the same time, the Hungarian estates regarded Anna’s mother Elisabeth as the lawful heir and urged her to marry Władysław. Elisabeth appeared to consent, but after the birth of her son she withdrew her promise and declared that she had agreed only under duress. The country split into opposing camps until an agreement, promoted through papal mediation, was finally reached. On December 13, 1442, as part of this settlement, Anna was betrothed to Władysław, while her sister Elisabeth was to marry Casimir. The fact that Anna was already promised to William of Saxony and living at the Saxon court did not fundamentally prevent the arrangement, since multiple betrothals for political reasons were possible at the time. Elisabeth of Luxembourg’s unexpected death a few days later, however, placed severe limits on the agreement. Władysław fell at the Battle of Varna in 1444, so the planned marriage to Anna never took place. Only her sister’s marriage to Casimir was later realized. After Władysław’s death, Anna was betrothed to William once again. They finally married in 1446, when Władysław’s return and survival were no longer considered likely. Their marriage produced two daughters: Margaret, who later married the Brandenburg elector John Cicero, and Catherine, who married Duke Henry II of Münsterberg. Through Margaret, Anna was among the ancestors of Brandenburg Elector Joachim I, Anna of Hohenzollern, and Albert, Archbishop of Mainz. When Anna’s brother Ladislaus Postumus died on November 23, 1457, she assumed, as his lawful heir, the titles of born Queen of Hungary, Bohemia, Croatia, and Dalmatia, as well as Duchess of Austria and Luxembourg and Margravine of Moravia. Her husband William styled himself her lawful guardian and attempted to secure the Hungarian and Bohemian crowns in her name. His effort against the Hungarian king Matthias Corvinus was unsuccessful. William sent no representatives to the Hungarian royal election in January 1458, instead turning to Emperor Frederick III, who had formerly been Anna’s guardian. This course of action angered the Hungarian estates and cost valuable time. It also provoked Frederick III because William additionally claimed the Austrian inheritance, even though it could be inherited only through the male line. Although Anna was unable to enforce her political claims, she continued to use the title “Queen of Hungary and Bohemia” until her death in 1462.