Constance of Babenberg

Who was Constance of Babenberg?

Constance of Babenberg was the daughter of Duke Leopold VI of Austria and his wife, Theodora Angelina.

On 1 May 1234 she married Margrave Henry "the Illustrious" of Meissen. The wedding took place in Vienna rather than in the old Hofburg. It is believed that the conversion of the Imperial Palace had not been completed, or perhaps it was too small. There are three sources for information about the wedding itself. Two of them report that the wedding happened in campo inuxta Stadelowe, in other words, in Stadlau. The third source reports that the wedding took place in aput Ringlense, a name which has fallen into disuse and was used instead of today's Floridsdorf. The two sources reporting the location as Stadlau also published a list of wedding guests. Present at the wedding were the kings of Hungary and Bohemia, the Archbishop of Salzburg and the bishops of Passau, Bamberg, Freising and Seckau. The secular aristocracy were represented by the Margrave of Moravia, the dukes of Saxony and Carinthia and the Landgrave of Thuringia. This guest list suggests the importance of the Duke of Babenberg.

Henry and Constance had two sons: Albert II, the Degenerate and Dietrich of Landsberg.