Sabina Bavarian (German Sabina von Bayern; May 3, 1492, Munich – August 30, 1564, Nürtingen) – Bavarian princess from the house of Wittelsbach, daughter of Albrecht IV the Wise, Duke of Bavaria. Married Duchess of Württemberg.
Biography
early years
Sabina of Bavaria was born on April 24, 1492 in Munich. She was the daughter of Albrecht IV the Wise, Duke of Bavaria and Kunigunda, Archduchess of Austria, daughter of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Leonora of Portugal.
In 1498, the six-year-old princess was betrothed to Ulrich (8.2.1487-1519), Duke of Württemberg, who was eleven years old. The marriage pursued political goals. Thus, her father and uncle, the future emperor Maximilian I, hoped to strengthen the alliance with the Duchy of Württemberg against Switzerland and the French kingdom.
In 1508, Sabine of Bavaria was sixteen years old. This age was considered sufficient for marriage. However, the duke turned out to be in love with Elizabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach, who was staying with him in Nürtingen. In January 1509, he appeared in Munich and confirmed the legitimacy of the marriage contract, but was in no hurry with its execution. In 1510, Elizabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach was married to Ernst of Baden-Durlachsky. Then, by decision of Emperor Maximilian I, the date of the wedding of his niece and duke was set for March 2, 1511. The wedding celebrations lasted two weeks. More than seven thousand guests were invited to them. Around the castle in Stuttgart, all citizens were treated for free. Under the terms of the marriage contract, having married, Sabina of Bavaria renounced her paternal and maternal inheritance.
Marriage
The marriage of Sabina of Bavaria was not happy. Both spouses were prone to anger and domestic violence. In this marriage, only two children were born, a daughter and a son:
- Anna (01/13/1513 – 06/28/1530), Princess of Württemberg, died unmarried;
- Christoph (12.5.1515 – 28.12.1568), Duke of Württemberg, was married on February 24, 1544 with Anna (28.12.1526 – 20.5.1589), Princess of Brandenburg-Ansbach.
The Duchess lived in the Urach castle. Soon after the birth of children, the duke entered into a relationship with Ursula von Gutten, née Thumb von Neuburg, the wife of his equestrian Hans von Gutten. When the husband found out about his wife’s betrayal, the duke killed him.
Relations between Sabina and Ulrich escalated after the duke to unite his court in Stuttgart with his wife’s court in Urach. He feared the deposition and proclamation of his son as the new duke during the regency of the duchess. Sabina turned for support to her uncle, Emperor Maximilian I. She accused Ulrich of inappropriate behavior. The emperor supported his niece and invited her to leave her husband. In the fall of 1515, the Duchess went with two children from Urach to Stuttgart. In Nürtingen, she stayed with Elizabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach, widow of Eberhard II, Duke of Württemberg. Here the Duchess met the Duke and agreed to move to Stuttgart. The day before moving, Sabina fled from the castle in Nürtingen. The escape was organized by Dietrich Spat on the orders of Emperor Maximilian I. The Duchess fled without children first to Ehingen, from where she moved to Munich.
Sabina wrote a letter to Elizabeth of Brandenburg-Ansbach, in which she apologized for her hasty departure and asked to take care of her children and her younger sister. The feudal lords and landtags of the Bavarian and Würtmeberg duchies were involved in the conflict between husband and wife. In a conversation with the duke, the emperor denied his involvement in organizing the escape of his niece, and said that he wished the spouses a speedy reconciliation. The Landtag of the Duchy of Württemberg supported Ulrich. In December 1515, Sabina, in a letter to the Landtag, explained the reasons for her flight. Ulrich stated that the charges brought against him by his wife are bogus. Nevertheless, the Landtag of the Duchy of Bavaria, at the request of Sabina, began an investigation into the abuse of her husband, sending emissaries to the cities of Stuttgart, Urach, Kirchheim and Tübingen for information.
The dispute ended on October 11, 1516, when Emperor Maximilian I declared the duke under imperial disgrace for breaking the peace caused by the murder of Hans von Hutten and disrespect for the duchess. Ulrich was forced to sign the Blaubeurer contract, one of the points of which was the of material compensation to Sabina for the moral damage caused to her. However, the relationship between the spouses did not improve, as the duke categorically refused to plead guilty to the misfortunes of their marriage. In January 1519, after the death of Emperor Maximilian I, Ulrich attacked the city of Reutlingen, which provoked a war against the Swabian Union, which ended in his expulsion.
In April 1519, the children were returned to Sabine, who had previously been in the Hohentübingen castle. Together with them, she returned from Munich to Urach. The new emperor, Charles V, took Christoph to the imperial court in Innsbruck, and left Anna with her mother in Urach. In 1521 Sabina made significant donations to the abbeys of Zwifalten and Untermarchtal.
Later years
When her son Christoph became the new Duke of Württemberg in 1551, she returned and settled in Nürtingen, where the official residence of the Dowager Duchess of Württemberg was located.
Sabina of Bavaria was an educated woman. At her small court in Nürtingen, of Protestantism gathered in Württemberg.
