thigh and hurting her back in the collapse of a floor at a hunting lodge, Hedwig spent the last 22 years of her life crippled. The accident signified the collapse of her marriage, which was already damaged by differences in religion and language. Hedwig was replaced by her husband's mistress, Anna Sydow, whom Joachim treated as his wife and who was recognized publicly. Hedwig died in Neuruppin on 7 February 1573, two years after her husband. She is one of the characters on the famous painting by Jan Matejko, Prussian Homage. Issue Hedwig and Joachim had six children: Elisabeth Magdalena (6 September 1537 – 22 August 1595); married Francis Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Sigismund (2 December 1538 – 14 September 1566), Bishop of Magdeburg and Halberstadt. Hedwig (2 March 1540 – 21 October 1602); married Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. Sophia (14 December 1541 – 27 June 1564); married of Wiliam of Rosenberg. Joachim (1543 – 23 March 1544) Ancestry References |- 1513 births 1573 deaths Jagiellonian dynasty House of Hohenzollern Polish princesses 16th-century Polish nobility 16th-century Polish people 16th-century Polish women 16th-century German people 16th-century German women Electresses of Brandenburg Daughters of kings