Presumably born in
The Hague, Joanna was the second child of Duke
Albert I of Bavaria (1336–1404), by his first wife
Margaret (1342–1386), a daughter of the
Piast duke
Louis I of Brzeg. Her siblings included Count
William VI of Holland,
Johanna Sophia of Bavaria and
Margaret of Bavaria. Her paternal grandparents were Emperor
Louis IV and his consort Countess
Margaret II of Hainaut. From August 1370 Joanna travelled to
Prague, where she was married on 29 September 1370 to Wenceslaus, son and heir of Emperor
Charles IV by his third wife,
Anna of Swidnica. The emperor had to obtain a papal dispense due to the close relatedness of the couple. The marriage was not consummated until 1376. The conjugal bond suited the Luxembourg ruler to strengthen ties with the
Bavarian duke, who held extensive estates in the
Low Countries; nevertheless, Joanna was not the first choice of a bride for Wenceslaus. Charles IV had initially planned for him to marry the
Hohenzollern princess
Elisabeth of Nuremberg, but the marriage never took place, since Elisabeth married
Rupert of the Palatinate instead. Charles had his son elected
King of the Romans in 1376 and upon his death in 1378, Wenceslaus also inherited the
Kingdom of Bohemia. With Wenceslaus' accession, Joanna became Queen of both Bohemia and
Germany. She also became
Electress of Brandenburg as successor to Wenceslaus' half-sister
Catherine. ==Death==