Świętosława of Poland

Świętosława of Poland
Świętosława depicted by Jan Matejko, 1886.
Queen consort of Bohemia
Reign	1062–1092
Born	c. 1046–1048
Died	1 September 1126 (aged c. 78–80) Bohemia, Czech Republic
Spouse	Vratislaus II of Bohemia
Issue	Boleslaus Bořivoj II of Bohemia Vladislaus I of Bohemia Soběslav I of Bohemia Judith of Bohemia
House	House of Piast
Father	Casimir I of Poland
Mother	Maria Dobroniega of Kiev

Świętosława of Poland (Czech: Svatava Polská (c. 1046-1048 – 1 September 1126)) was the third wife of Duke (later King) Vratislaus II of Bohemia and the first Queen of Bohemia as of 1085.

Świętosława was the daughter of Duke Casimir I of Poland and his wife Maria Dobroniega of Kiev. She was related to the House of Přemysl, the family of her future husband, through her great-grandmother Dobrawa of Bohemia. Her brothers Boleslaus II the Bold and Vladislaus I Herman were rulers of Poland.

Vratislaus married Świętosława in 1062, one year after the death of the previous duchess, Vratislaus' second wife Adelaide of Hungary. His first wife Maria had died after the birth of their stillborn child. According to German historians, Świętosława was 15 years' old at the time of their marriage, while according to Oswald Balzer, she was aged 19 to 22.

With this marriage, the neutrality of Bohemia was ensured in the Polish-German conflict. In addition, Vratislaus demonstrated friendly relationships with Boleslaus II the Bold, but at a later date they disputed the Czech-Polish borders.

The new duchess gave birth to four children; Vratislaus had four other ones already. The youngest son, Soběslav, was probably born in 1075. Her sons Vladislaus and Soběslav became dukes in the unquiet years after the death of their father, while her daughter Judith was married to Wiprecht, his ally and friend.

There is little information about this duchess, although she was crowned together with her husband as King and Queen in 1085 by archbishop Egilbert. They reigned for the next seven years.