Joanna of Bavaria

Joanna of Bavaria
Queen consort of Germany and Bohemia
Tenure	1378–1386
Born	c. 1362
Died	31 December 1386 (aged 23–24)
Burial	Prague Castle
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

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 third 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.

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

Family of Joanna of Bavaria

16. Otto II, Duke of Bavaria 8. Louis II, Duke of Bavaria 17. Agnes of the Palatinate 4. Louis IV, Holy Roman Emperor 18. Rudolph I of Germany 9. Matilda of Habsburg 19. Gertrude of Hohenburg 2. Albert I, Duke of Bavaria 20. John II, Count of Hainaut 10. William I, Count of Hainaut 21. Philippa of Luxembourg 5. Margaret II, Countess of Hainault 22. Charles of Valois 11. Joan of Valois 23. Margaret, Countess of Anjou 1. Joanna of Bavaria 24. Casimir I of Poland 12. Bolesław III the Generous 25. Maria Dobroniega of Kiev 6. Ludwik I the Fair 26. Wenceslaus II of Bohemia 13. Margaret of Bohemia 27. Judith of Habsburg 3. Margaret of Brieg 28. Henry III, Duke of Głogów 14. Henry IV the Faithful 29. Matilda of Brunswick-Lüneburg 7. Agnes of Głogów 30. Herman, Margrave of Brandenburg-Salzwedel 15. Matilda of Brandenburg 31. Anne of Austria

References and Sources

• Translated article from Czech Wikipedia
• Jeanne von Wittelsbach