Skip Navigation

We are closed today.

Elizabeth A.Sackler Center for Feminist Art

Hedwig

b. 1174, Andechs, Germany; d. 1243, Trzebnica, Poland

Hedwig of Andechs was born into a noble family and married Henry I the Bearded, who later became the duke of Greater Poland. Upon his death in 1238, she gave her entire fortune to charity and entered the convent in Trzebnica, where she remained until her death in 1243. An extremely pious woman, Hedwig spent most of her life working with the poor and caring for the sick by founding hospitals. She was canonized in 1266.