future succession disputes and would help keep Hungary out of the hands of the Habsburgs. It seems the plan was developed around 1510 by Jan Łaski, Grand Chancellor of the Crown, and Krzysztof Szydłowiecki, Marshal of the Court. Before deciding on Barbara, Sigismund also considered Catherine of Mecklenburg, but that plan was interrupted by renewed hostilities between Poland and Bogdan III the One-Eyed, Voivode of Moldavia. Wedding In April 1511, Sigismund sent Piotr Tomicki as his envoy to Hungary. Tomicki informed King Vladislaus that his brother sought to wed a Hungarian noblewoman and asked for his assistance in locating a suitable candidate. Vladislaus' trusted physician, bribed by the Polish delegation, suggested Barbara Zápolya and Vladislaus agreed. The ruse worked to secure Vladislaus' approval for the marriage. The marriage treaty was signed on 2 December 1511. Barbara, escorted by her family and Polish nobles (Bishop Jan Lubrański, Krzysztof Szydłowiecki, Andrzej Krzycki), departed to Poland in January 1512. Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor, attempted to interrupt the wedding with a last-minute proposal for Sigismund to marry one of the daughters of Francesco II Gonzaga, Marquess of Mantua. On 6 February 1512, Sigismund met Barbara in Łobzów, now a district of Kraków. That way 17-year-old Barbara and 45-year-old Sigismund entered Kraków together. The wedding and coronation ceremony took place on 8 February. Her dowry was 100,000 red złoty, which was a very large sum. Sigismund's youngest sister Elisabeth, who married three years later, brought only 20,000 złoty as her dowry. The celebrations, financed by a loan from Jan Boner, cost another 34,365 złoty. This showed not only the riches of the Zápolya family but also the importance of a royal wedding to their family. In exchange for the dowry, Barbara received the towns of Nowy Korczyn, Wiślica, Żarnowiec, Radom, Jedlnia, Kozienice, Chęciny, Stężyca, and others as well as income from custom taxes of several cities and an annual sum of 200 Hungarian florins from the Wieliczka Salt Mine. Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania 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