Elisabeth von Österreich

Elizabeth of Austria (9 July 1526–15 June 1545) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania through her marriage. A member of the House of Habsburg, she was the eldest of fifteen children of Ferdinand I, the future Holy Roman Emperor, and his wife, Anne of Bohemia and Hungary. Her short life was shaped by dynastic expectations, religious education, an unhappy marriage, and serious illness. Elizabeth was born after her parents had been married for five years. She spent most of her childhood at the Hofburg in Innsbruck. Together with her siblings, she received a demanding education from the humanist Kaspar Ursinus Velius. She learned German, Italian, and French and was raised as a strict Catholic. Her parents were devout Catholics; Ferdinand reacted with extreme harshness when he discovered that one of his children's tutors had Lutheran sympathies. In addition to religious and linguistic instruction, Elizabeth and her sisters were taught to dance and play keyboard instruments. From early childhood, Elizabeth was designated for a political marriage. The plan was connected to the dispute over the Hungarian crown following the death of King Louis of Hungary and Bohemia in 1526. Since Louis had died without an heir, both Elizabeth's father, Ferdinand, and John Zápolya claimed the Hungarian throne. The Polish king, Sigismund I the Old, and part of the Hungarian nobility supported Zápolya. A marriage between Elizabeth and Sigismund's son was intended to end Polish support for his rival and strengthen relations between the Habsburgs and Poland. Bona Sforza, the Polish queen and mother of the prospective bridegroom, opposed the match. She feared the growing influence of the Habsburgs and spent years trying to prevent the wedding. Nevertheless, in February 1530, the ten-year-old Sigismund II Augustus was crowned King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania while his father was still alive, in order to secure his eventual succession. A preliminary marriage treaty was concluded in Poznań in November of the same year. Elizabeth's dowry was to amount to 100,000 ducats; in return, several Polish cities were designated as her dower. Because Elizabeth and Sigismund II Augustus were closely related, the marriage required special papal permission. Pope Clement VII granted the dispensation in 1531. The final marriage treaty, however, was delayed until June 1538 because of Bona's opposition. The betrothal ceremony took place in Innsbruck in July of that year. Bona continued to advocate a different match for her son and instead proposed a French princess. Elizabeth was also prepared for her future role at court. In 1538, she traveled with her father and several of her siblings to Linz and Vienna to gain experience in courtly conduct and prepare for her Catholic confirmation. The confirmation took place in the royal chapel in 1539. A Venetian envoy served as her sponsor, and Girolamo Aleandro, who conducted the ceremony, described the young Habsburgs as resembling a choir of angels. In 1541, the family returned to Innsbruck. In April 1543, Elizabeth set out from Vienna for Poland with a twelve-member retinue. At Olomouc, she was received by the Bishop of Płock and about 1,500 knights. On 5 May, she entered Kraków and met Sigismund II Augustus for the first time. The following day, the sixteen-year-old Elizabeth married the twenty-two-year-old king in Wawel Cathedral and was crowned Queen of Poland. The celebrations lasted two weeks. At the Polish court, Elizabeth was referred to as the “Young Queen,” while Bona now held the position of the “Old Queen.” The marriage soon proved unhappy. Sigismund II Augustus already had several mistresses and continued his extramarital relationships after the wedding. Elizabeth had been raised in a strict household that emphasized obedience and was too shy to oppose her husband firmly. The long journey to Poland further weakened her already fragile health. She suffered from epileptic seizures, which became increasingly frequent during the marriage. Bona Sforza openly expressed her dislike of her daughter-in-law and continued seeking ways to break up the marriage. She even questioned the validity of the papal dispensation, prompting the issuance of a new authorization in May 1544. The Polish nobility, by contrast, sympathized with Elizabeth, a young and agreeable woman who was neglected by her husband and harassed by her ambitious mother-in-law. Her father-in-law, Sigismund I the Old, was also well disposed toward her but was too weak to protect her effectively from Bona. Only two months after the wedding, the plague reached Kraków. The royal family left the capital, and Sigismund II Augustus traveled to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. Elizabeth toured various Polish cities with Sigismund I and Bona. The couple did not see each other again until a year later, when they met in Brest. By then, Sigismund II Augustus had come to enjoy ruling independently in Lithuania and had persuaded his father to entrust him with governing the grand duchy. In the autumn of 1544, the couple moved to Vilnius. There, Sigismund initially tried to maintain the appearance of a functioning marriage for the sake of the Habsburgs. Soon, however, he neglected Elizabeth again and began a relationship with Barbara Radziwiłł. In April 1545, Elizabeth's condition deteriorated dramatically. Her epileptic seizures became increasingly painful. On 8 June, Sigismund II Augustus traveled to Kraków to receive Elizabeth's dowry, leaving his seriously ill wife alone in Vilnius. In Kraków, he inquired about possible treatments and asked Ferdinand I to send doctors. Help came too late. Elizabeth died on 15 June 1545 at the age of eighteen, exhausted by her numerous seizures. After her husband's return, she was buried on 24 July in Vilnius Cathedral beside his uncle, King Alexander Jagiellon. After Elizabeth's death, Sigismund II Augustus first married his mistress, Barbara Radziwiłł, and later Elizabeth's younger sister, Catherine of Austria. He had no surviving children with any of his three wives.