Background
Her paternal grandparents were Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Margaret of Austria, daughter of Ernest, Duke of Austria.
Her paternal grandparents were Frederick II, Elector of Saxony and Margaret of Austria, daughter of Ernest, Duke of Austria.
Catherine had three surviving brothers George, Henry and Frederick. At the age of 16, in 1484 in Innsbruck, Catherine became the second wife of the Archduke Sigismund, who was already 56 years old and was regarded as senile. The Archduke had previously been married to Eleanor of Scotland, who had left him no surviving children.
Catherine and Sigismund had no children.
Catherine played little part in the politics of Tyrol. The political style of the Archduke was no longer tenable, he was losing control of his Tyrolean Estate to Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor.
Therefore, constant quarrels with the Emperor followed because of the newly introduced limitations that the Archduke made. By 1490, Catherine had significantly less budget than before the limitations.
In 1496 Siegmund died.
Catherine married soon after the Archdukes death in 1496/97 to Eric I, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg. The marriage produced one short-lived daughter, Anna Maria. Catherine died in 1524 and was buried in Minden.
Eric remarried and had surviving children.
