Margaret of Austria, Electress of Saxony
| Margaret of Austria | |
|---|---|
Portrait, about 1580
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| Electress of Saxony | |
| Tenure | 3 June 1431 – 7 September 1464 |
| Predecessor | Catherine of Brunswick-Lüneburg |
| Successor | Elisabeth of Bavaria |
| Born |
c. 1416 Innsbruck, Tyrol |
| Died | February 12, 1486 Altenburg, Saxony |
| Spouse | Frederick II, Elector of Saxony |
| Issue more... |
Amalia, Duchess of Bavaria Anna, Electress of Brandenburg Ernest, Elector of Saxony Albert III, Duke of Saxony Hedwig, Abbess of Quedlinburg |
| House | House of Habsburg |
| Father | Ernest, Duke of Austria |
| Mother | Cymburgis of Masovia |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Margaret of Austria (c. 1416 – 12 February 1486), a member of the House of Habsburg, was Electress of Saxony from 1431 until 1464 by her marriage with the Wettin elector Frederick II. She was a sister of Emperor Frederick III.
Born in Innsbruck, Margaret was the eldest daughter of the Inner Austrian duke Ernest the Iron (1377–1424) and his second wife, the Piast princess Cymburgis of Masovia (1394/97–1429). Upon her father's death, she and her siblings were raised under the tutelage of their uncle Duke Frederick IV of Austria.
At Wiener Neustadt, young Margaret was betrothed to Elector Frederick II, heir of both the Saxe-Wittenberg electorate and the Margravate of Meissen, not long after his accession in 1428; the wedding took place on 3 June 1431 in Leipzig. The conjugal bond with the Habsburgs strengthened her husband's position, particularly when Margaret's brother Duke Frederick V of Austria was elected King of the Romans in 1440 (as Frederick III). The electoral couple accompanied the new king to his coronation at Aachen Cathedral two years later. Margaret evolved plans to marry her first-born son Frederick to Elizabeth of Austria, daughter of her cousin King Albert II of Germany, however, the twelve-year-old boy died in 1451.
Margaret went on to reside at the Meissen court, where she had a significant impact on her husband's government: in 1432 she had all Jews expelled from the former margravate. In the Saxon Fratricidal War over the 1445 Division of Altenburg, she helped to reconcile her husband with his rebellious brother, Landgrave William III of Thuringia. Margaret received her own coinage (Margarethengroschen) and a mint in the Saxon burgraviate of Colditz, which caused further trouble with her brother-in-law William. Nevertheless, the minting privilege was finally confirmed by Emperor Frederick III in a 1463 deed.
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