Katharina of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg

Who was Katharina of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg?

Katharina of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg was the wife of Count Reinhard IV of Hanau-Münzenberg.

She was a daughter of Günther XXXVIII of Schwarzburg-Blankenburg and Catherine of Querfurt.

Katharina and Reinhard married on 13 February 1496. As her dowry, she brought 4000 guilders into the marriage, plus the share held by Schwarzburg in the mortgage on the imperial city of Gelnhausen. With this share, the count acquired a power base in the Kinzig valley, which connected "Upper Hanau", around Schlüchtern and Steinau an der Straße and "Lower Hanau" around the city of Hanau.

Katharina died on 27 November 1514 and was buried in the Church of St. Mary in Hanau. A picture of her can be found on the side of a seat in the choir of the church, opposite a picture of her husband.