Hedwig of Silesia

Life events

1. Born — 1174

   Hedwig was born at Andechs Castle in Bavaria as the daughter of Count Berthold IV of Andechs, margrave of Carniola and Istria, and his second wife Agnes of Wettin.

2. Educated

   Hedwig received her early education at the Benedictine Abbey of Kitzingen in Franconia, where her younger sister Matilda (Mechtild) later served as abbess.

3. Other — 1186

   At the age of twelve, Hedwig married Henry I the Bearded, son and heir of Piast duke Boleslaus the Tall of Silesia; upon Henry's succession in 1201 she became Duchess of Silesia.

4. Other — 1202

   Henry I founded Trzebnica Abbey in 1202 at Hedwig's request; it became the first Cistercian women's monastery in Polish lands and eventually the burial site for both Henry and Hedwig.

5. Other — 1229

   When Henry I was captured and imprisoned at Płock Castle by Duke Konrad I of Masovia, Hedwig traveled to Płock and personally negotiated his release.

6. Tonsured — 1238

   Following Henry I's death in 1238, Hedwig moved into Trzebnica Abbey — governed by her daughter Gertrude — assuming the Cistercian religious habit as a lay sister without taking formal vows.

7. Died — 1243

   Hedwig died on 15 October 1243 and was buried at Trzebnica Abbey alongside Henry I; relics were later preserved at Andechs Abbey and St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin.

8. Other — 1267

   Pope Clement IV canonized Hedwig in 1267 at the suggestion of her grandson Prince-Archbishop Władysław of Salzburg; she was declared patroness of Silesia and of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Wrocław.

Relationships

Documented claims

• According to tradition, Hedwig went barefoot even in winter; when the Bishop of Wrocław urged her to wear shoes, she carried them in her hands rather than putting them on. (legendary)
• Hedwig's sisters Agnes and Gertrude married King Philip II of France and King Andrew II of Hungary respectively, making Hedwig the aunt of Elizabeth of Hungary. (likely)
• After witnessing her son Henry II the Pious killed at the Battle of Legnica on 9 April 1241, Hedwig and her daughter-in-law Anna of Bohemia founded a Benedictine abbey at the battle site in Legnickie Pole. (likely)
• In March 2020, Hedwig's remains — missing for centuries — were reported discovered in her sanctuary at Trzebnica in a silver casket bearing a lead tablet confirming her identity. (likely)
• In 1773 Frederick the Great commissioned St. Hedwig's Cathedral in Berlin for Catholic Upper Silesian immigrants; since 1930 it has served as the cathedral of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Berlin. (likely)