Poland / Austria common history.
Constance Renate Habsburg of Austria; Polish: Konstancja Rakuszanka or Habsburżanka (1588 in Graz-1631 in Warsaw) was Queen of Poland as the second wife of King Sigismund III Vasa and the mother of King John II Casimir.
Portrait of Archduchess Constance of Austria by Joseph Heintz the Elder. The Archduchess was portraited in Spanish dress saya. Current location Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute.
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Constance was a daughter of Charles II of Austria and Maria Anna of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor and Anna of Bohemia and Hungary (1503–1547). Anne was the only daughter of King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and Hungary and his wife Anne de Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Albert V, Duke of Bavaria and Anne Habsburg of Austria. Constance was also a younger sister of Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor, Margaret of Austria, Leopold V of Austria and Anna of Austria. Her older sister Anna was the first wife of king Sigismund III Vasa. After her death Constance and Sigismund III Vasa were married on December 11, 1605.
Autograph of Constance of Austria
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Queen Constance was an ambitious politician. Immediately after the wedding, she made efforts to influence policy. She built a strong faction of followers by arranging marriages between her handmaidens to powerful nobles.
Portrait of Sigismund III Vasa (Polish: Zygmunt III Waza) King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Artist Marcello Bacciarelli.
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She represented the interests of the Habsburg family in Poland, and influenced the appointments of positions in the court, government and church. Her closest confidant was Urszula Meyerin who was "gynacei gubernatrix" and (perhaps) a mistress of King Sigismund. She was the daughter of Anna, a Bavarian burgher lady, and (probably) one of the Habsburgs.
Alleged portrait of Urszula Meyerin, Detail from "Our Lady of the Rosary".
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Constance was proficient in Spanish, Latin and Italian. She learned Polish after the wedding but did not like using it. She was very religious and went to Mass twice a day. She also was a patron of clerics, painters and architects. She financed the buildings of several palaces for her children, but she was also described as an economic person.
Altar of Constance of Austria. The central plaque depicts two scenes - the Washing of the Feet (upper part) and the Last Supper (lower part). Current location Muzeum Diecezjalne w Płocku.
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In 1623 Constance bought Żywiec from Mikołaj Komorowski, which was forbidden by law to the members of the Royal Family and caused misunderstandings with the Parliament. Some time later (in 1626) she made it forbidden for Jews to settle in the city (de non tolerandis Judaeis).
Warsaw's Castle Square And Sigismund's Column, Poland
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Constance wished to secure the succession of her own son to the throne rather than the son of her husband's earlier marriage, but she did not succeed. She died of a stroke and buried in Wawel Castle Catherdal in Cracow.
Source: Wikipedia and Internet. Photos: Public Domain.
Constance Renate Habsburg of Austria; Polish: Konstancja Rakuszanka or Habsburżanka (1588 in Graz-1631 in Warsaw) was Queen of Poland as the second wife of King Sigismund III Vasa and the mother of King John II Casimir.
Portrait of Archduchess Constance of Austria by Joseph Heintz the Elder. The Archduchess was portraited in Spanish dress saya. Current location Sterling & Francine Clark Art Institute.
Autograph of Constance of Austria
Queen Constance was an ambitious politician. Immediately after the wedding, she made efforts to influence policy. She built a strong faction of followers by arranging marriages between her handmaidens to powerful nobles.
Portrait of Sigismund III Vasa (Polish: Zygmunt III Waza) King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania. Artist Marcello Bacciarelli.
Alleged portrait of Urszula Meyerin, Detail from "Our Lady of the Rosary".
Constance was proficient in Spanish, Latin and Italian. She learned Polish after the wedding but did not like using it. She was very religious and went to Mass twice a day. She also was a patron of clerics, painters and architects. She financed the buildings of several palaces for her children, but she was also described as an economic person.
Altar of Constance of Austria. The central plaque depicts two scenes - the Washing of the Feet (upper part) and the Last Supper (lower part). Current location Muzeum Diecezjalne w Płocku.
Warsaw's Castle Square And Sigismund's Column, Poland
Constance wished to secure the succession of her own son to the throne rather than the son of her husband's earlier marriage, but she did not succeed. She died of a stroke and buried in Wawel Castle Catherdal in Cracow.
Source: Wikipedia and Internet. Photos: Public Domain.