Sidonie of Poděbrady | |
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Duchess consort of Saxony and Margravine consort of Meissen | |
Sidonie and Albert
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Tenure | 1464–1500 |
Born | 14 November 1449 |
Died | 1 February 1510 (aged 60) Tharandt |
Burial | Meissen |
Spouse | Albert III, Duke of Saxony |
Issue |
Catherine, Duchess of Austria George, Duke of Saxony Henry IV, Duke of Saxony Frederick, Duke of Saxony |
House | Podiebrad |
Father | George of Poděbrady |
Mother | Kunigunde of Sternberg |
Religion | Roman Catholicism |
Sidonie of Poděbrady (Czech: Zdenka z Poděbrad; 14 November 1449 – 1 February 1510) was a daughter of George of Poděbrady, King of Bohemia, and his first wife Kunigunde of Sternberg. She was the twin sister of Catherine of Poděbrady, wife of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary.
Sidonie and Catherine were born on 11 November 1449 to the Bohemian king. The girl's mother, Kunigunde, died from complications of the birth. Sidonie's father eventually remarried; his second wife, Johana of Rožmitál, bore George more children, including Ludmila of Poděbrady.
Sidonie had four older siblings, but none of her brothers inherited Bohemia from their father. The crown passed instead to Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary.
Sidonie's paternal grandparents were Vítek of Poděbrady and his wife Anna of Vartenberk. Her maternal grandparents were Smil of Sternberg and his wife Barbara of Pardubice.
A marriage contract was signed on 11 November 1459 for Sidonie's marriage to Albert, son of Frederick II, Elector of Saxony. The couple married on 11 May 1464. Sidonie followed her husband to Meissen, and the consummation of their marriage took place in May 1464 at Castle Tharandt. Four months after their marriage, Albert's father died, and he became Duke of Saxony with Sidonie as Duchess consort.
Sidonie was a pious Catholic woman who abhorred violence. She therefore refused to accompany her husband during his wars in Groningen and Friesland. In protest, she took her children to Albrechtsburg.