Agnes was the eldest child of the Babenberg duke
Henry II of Austria and his second wife, the
Byzantine princess
Theodora Komnene.
Queen In 1166, Duke Henry II, who was mediating a peace between King
Stephen III of Hungary and Emperor
Manuel I Komnenos, proposed a marriage between his daughter, Agnes and the young king. However, the King decided to marry Princess
Yaroslavna of Halych (1167); nevertheless, this marriage ended soon: the princess was repudiated and sent back to her father in 1168. The negotiations with Austria were renewed and Agnes was married to King Stephen III in the same year.
Later life Just after her husband's funeral, the widowed Agnes left for the
Duchy of Austria with her father. One year later (1173) she was married again, to the
Sponheim duke Herman of Carinthia. They had two sons:
Ulrich II (born in 1176) and
Bernhard II (born in 1180) who were later Dukes of Carinthia. Duke Herman died in 1181. Agnes survived him only one year. She was buried in the Crypt of the
Schottenstift in
Vienna, next to her parents. ==References==