Anne of Bohemia (1204–1265)
| Anna of Bohemia | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| High Duchess consort of Poland | |
| Reign | 1238–1241 |
| Born | 1203/1204 |
| Died | 26 June 1265 (aged 60–61) |
| Spouse | Henry II the Pious |
| Issue | Gertrude, Duchess of Masovia Constance, Duchess of Kuyavia Bolesław II the Bald Mieszko, Duke of Lubusz Henry III the White Konrad I, Duke of Silesia-Glogau Elisabeth, Duchess of Greater Poland Ladislaus of Salzburg Agnes Hedwig |
| House |
Premyslid Dynasty (by birth) House of Piast (by marriage) |
| Father | Ottokar I of Bohemia |
| Mother | Constance of Hungary |
Anna of Bohemia (Czech: Anna Lehnická, Polish: Anna Przemyślidka) (1203/1204 – 26 June 1265) was the Duchess of Silesia by marriage to Henry II the Pious. She was celebrated by the community of Franciscan nuns at St Clara of Prague Abbey in Wrocław (Breslau) as their founder and patron.
Anna was born in Prague. She was the daughter of Ottokar I, King of Bohemia, and his second wife, Constance of Hungary. Her maternal grandparents were Béla III of Hungary and his first wife, Agnes of Antioch. Her paternal grandparents were Vladislaus II, Duke of Bohemia, and Judith of Thuringia. Around the age of twelve she was married (1216) to Henry II the Pious, Duke of Silesia. She was the sister of the Franciscan nun Agnes of Bohemia. She was widowed in 1241, as her husband died at the Battle of Legnica. The following years were mainly marked by her occupation as a regent for her sons.
Anna was a generous benefactor of the Franciscan nuns in Wrocław. In 1256, Pope Alexander IV wrote to the Bishops of Wrocław and Lubiąż, explaining that Anna had proposed the construction of a monastery that would house a community of Franciscan nuns, fulfilling her desire, and her dead husband’s desire, to build such an institution. In 1257, the construction of the monastery began. Anna donated many goods to the monastery, but made sure that her donations did not violate the vow of voluntary poverty that the nuns had taken; in 1263, a papal bull issued by Pope Urban IV to the nuns at Wrocław states that Anna wanted the nuns to use the property that she had given them only in times of need. The Notæ Monialium Sanctæ Claræ Wratislaviensium names Anna as the founder of the monastery of St Clare at Wrocław. Her vita, written in the first half of the fourteenth century, links her closely with her mother-in-law Hedwig of Silesia, who is portrayed as the main influence on Anna's religious life.
...
Wikipedia