Background
Hedwig married in 1110 to Louis, the son of Count Louis the Springer of Thuringia.
Hedwig married in 1110 to Louis, the son of Count Louis the Springer of Thuringia.
Her husband was elevated to Landgrave of Thuringia in 1131. In 1122, Hedwig"s mother, Kunigunde of Bilstein remarried to Henry Raspe I, who was Louis I"s younger brother. Kunigunde thus became her daughter"s sister-in-law.
Via these two marriages, the Thuringian counts inherited an extensive triple heritage:
The possessions of the Gisones dynasty to the North of Marburg, including the bailiwick of Wetter
A large part of the Lordship of Bilstein south of Marburg, plus the bailiff of Hersfeld Abbey
The possessions of the Counts of Werner.
This family had died out in 1121 and Hedwig"s parents had inherited their possessions. These include the County of Maden-Gudensberg and the post of bailiff of the Fritzlar Cathedral, Hasungen Abbey and Breitenau Abbey
In 1140, Louis I died and King Conrad III enfeoffed twelve-year-old Louis II with Thuringia.
While he was a minor, Hedwig acted as regent. A settlement grew between this abbey and the former Franconian royal court Chasalla (from Latin: Castellum, "castle"), on the left bank of the Fulda and this settlement developed into the city of Kassel, which became the capital of Hesse in the 13th century.