claim that she was in love with Vladislaus. After sending an army to Austria in order to pressure Duke Frederick II into agreeing to the union of Gertrude and Vladislaus, the two parties came to terms early in June 1245 in Verona. The rapid rise of Duke Frederick's political ambitions proved short-lived. On 15 June 1246 Frederick II was killed in battle. King Wenceslaus quickly arranged the formal marriage ceremony of Gertrude and his heir, Vladislaus. Per hoc Wladislaus habebat Austriae ducatum cheered Bohemia and, supported by the rights of his wife and the prospect of inheriting the Bohemian throne, Vladislaus was quickly recognized as Duke by the Austrian aristocracy. However, shortly after their marriage, Vladislaus died on 3 January 1247. In 1248, in order to bolster her claims, the 22-year-old Duchess married Herman VI, Margrave of Baden. The following year Gertrude gave birth to a son Frederick. In celebration of the happy event, Gertrude gave 30 people in Alland, the place of her son's birth, extended farm lands which became the foundation of the agrarian community of the Allander Urhausbesitzer. In 1250 Gertrude had a second child, a daughter, whom she named Agnes after her maternal grandmother. Frustrated ambitions Herman was able to maintain only minimal control in the duchies, failing ultimately to defeat the opposition of the Austrian aristocracy. As a result, Gertrude and her children fled to Meissen in Saxony and her relationship with Herman deteriorated significantly. Gertrude was suspected of poisoning Herman when he died on 4 October 1250. Gertrude lost the favour of the curia and with it the chance to recover the Babenberg dominions of Austria and Styria when she refused to marry the brother of Count William II of Holland, Floris, who was also the favored candidate of Pope Innocent IV. In the meantime, her aunt and competitor for the duchies of Austria and Styria, Margaret, married Ottokar of Bohemia, the second son and next heir of Wenceslaus I. The aristocracy accepted Margaret and Ottokar as the rulers of Austria. On 12 July 1252, having lost most of her support, Gertrude formed an alliance with Béla IV of Hungary and married his relative, Roman Danylovich, Prince of Halicz, a member of the Rurikid dynasty. In 1253, Gertrude gave birth to her only child from this union, Maria. However, after failing to establish himself as Duke of Austria, Roman left Gertrude and their daughter