page_title: Barbara Zápolya
section_title: Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania
hierarchical_section_title: Barbara Zápolya / Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania
caption_attribution_description: Sigismund Chapel/Kaplica Zygmuntowska, Wawel, Kraków
context_page_description: Barbara Zápolya was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the first wife of King Sigismund I the Old. Marriage to Barbara represented an alliance between Sigismund and the House of Zápolya against the Habsburgs in succession disputes over the throne to the Kingdom of Hungary. The alliance was short-lived as the renewed Muscovite–Lithuanian War forced Sigismund to look for Habsburg allies. The marriage was loving, but short. Barbara was the mother of Hedwig, Electress of Bradenburg, but died soon after the birth of her second daughter Anna.
context_section_description: Despite the age difference, the marriage was happy. The couple traveled together, even when Barbara was late in her pregnancy. Their first daughter Hedwig was born on 15 March 1513 in Poznań. After two months, Sigismund and Barbara departed towards Vilnius to attend to the renewed war with the Grand Duchy of Moscow. The two-month-old Hedwig was sent to Kraków. The couple separated for the first time in July–September 1514 when Sigismund organized the army against Moscow. Sigismund returned to his wife in Vilnius after the victory in the Battle of Orsha. In February 1515, the couple returned to Kraków where Barbara was reunited with her daughter after almost two years. Barbara, pregnant with her second child, remained in Kraków while Sigismund traveled to Bratislava and then Vienna from March to August 1515. This was the second time that the couple separated.
  During that time, they exchanged frequent letters (20 letters by Sigismund and only two letters by Barbara survive) expressing their warm feelings for each other. Sigismund particularly expressed his care and worry Barbara and her well-being, reminding her to take good care of her health and encouraging her to keep up her spirits.< Contemporary sources almost universally praised Barbara for her virtues. Marcin Bielski wrote of her devotion to god, obedience to husband, kindheartedness and generosity to paupers. Marcin Kromer even attributed the victory at Orsha to her Catholic piety and devotion, while Justus Ludwik Decjusz did not doubt that Barbara would join ranks of saints in the heaven.
  Despite husband's affection and public support, Barbara did not have stronger political influence. For example, her mother and brother urged her to prevent Piotr Tomicki, a known sympathizer with the Habsburgs, from becoming Bishop of Przemyśl and Vice-Chancellor of the Crown. Tomicki was promoted to the posts regardless and, after learning of Zápolyas' interference, became even stronger supporter of the Habsburgs. Marriage to Barbara also did not stop Sigismund from supporting the wedding between Louis II of Hungary and Maria of Castile, granddaughter of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor. Sigismund's shift to pro-Habsburg policies was caused by the war with the Grand Duchy of Moscow – Sigismund did not feel confident enough to fight two strong enemies and sought an alliance with the Emperor.
  Their second daughter Anna was born on 1 July 1515. After the childbirth, Barbara became ill. It is unclear if it was childbed fever or some other disease. On 1 October 1515, Barbara suffered what was described as apoplexy, but a it is impossible to determine the actual cause. She died the next day and was buried at Wawel Cathedral. In 1517, Sigismund ordered the construction of the Sigismund's Chapel at the Cathedral. Barbara and her daughter Anna, who died at the age of 5, were reburied in the completed chapel on 13 June 1533.
caption: Sigismund's Chapel at Wawel Castle was originally constructed for Barbara Zápolya
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