Joanna of Bavaria

Joanna of Bavaria
Queen consort of Germany and Bohemia
Tenure 1378–1386
Spouse Wenceslaus, King of the Romans
House House of Wittelsbach (by birth)
House of Luxembourg (by marriage)
Father Albert I, Duke of Bavaria
Mother Margaret of Brieg
Born c. 1362
Died 31 December 1386 (aged 23–24)
Burial Prague Castle

Joanna of Bavaria (c. 1362–1386) was the second child of Albert I, Duke of Bavaria, by his first wife Margaret of Brieg. Her siblings included William VI, Count of Holland, Johanna Sophia of Bavaria and Margaret of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Holy Roman Emperor Louis IV and Margaret II, Countess of Hainault.

Marriage

Joanna married on 29 September 1370 to Wenceslaus, King of the Romans, son of Holy Roman Emperor Charles IV by his second wife, Anna of Swidnica. At the time of the wedding, Johanna was eight years' old, and Wenceslaus was nine.

Joanna was not the first choice of a bride for Wenceslaus; Charles IV had planned for him to marry Elisabeth of Nuremberg, but the marriage never took place, since Elisabeth married Rupert of Germany instead.

On Charles's death in 1378, Wenceslaus inherited the kingdom of Bohemia. With Wenceslaus' accession, Joanna became Queen of Bohemia, Germany, and Rome. and she also became Electress of Brandenburg as successor to Wenceslaus' half-sister Katharine of Bohemia.

Death

The marriage lasted for sixteen years, however the couple had no children (it is said that Wenceslaus was infertile. Joanna died in 1386 at the age of twenty-three or twenty-four.[1]

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 and was succeeded by Elisabeth of Nuremberg's husband, Rupert.

Ancestors

References and Sources

German royalty
Preceded by
Elizabeth of Pomerania
Queen consort of Germany
10 June 1376 – 31 December 1386
Vacant
Title next held by
Sofia of Bavaria
Queen consort of Bohemia
29 November 1378 – 31 December 1386
German nobility
Preceded by
Katharine of Bohemia
Electress consort of Brandenburg
2 October 1373 – 29 November 1378
Succeeded by
Mary of Hungary
Preceded by
Joanna of Brabant
Duchess consort of Luxembourg
29 November 1378 – 31 December 1386
Vacant
Title next held by
Agnes of Opole