Dagmar of Bohemia - Queen Dagmar

Queen Dagmar

Before his first marriage, Valdemar had been betrothed to Richeza of Bavaria, daughter of the Duke of Saxony. When that engagement fell through, he married Markéta in 1205 in Lübeck. She quickly won over the hearts of the Danes. In 1209, the new queen, now known as Dagmar, gave birth to her son Valdemar.

Not many things are known about Dagmar as a person. According to Rydårbogen (1250), queen Dagmar influenced Valdemar to release one of his most fervent enemies, Bishop Valdemar of Slesvig, in 1206. Most of the image of Dagmar comes from later folksongs, myths and legends, designed to present her as an ideal Christian Queen; mild, patient and universally loved, in contrast to her unpopular successor, Queen Berengaria.

Queen Dagmar died on 24 May 1212/13 while giving birth to her second son. Old folk ballads say that on her deathbed she begged Valdemar to marry Kirsten, the daughter of Karl von Rise, and not the "beautiful flower" Berengária of Portugal (Danish: Bengerd). In other words, she predicted a struggle for the Danish throne between the sons of Berengaria.

After Dagmar's death, in order to build good relations with Flanders (a commercially important territory to the west of Denmark's hostile southern neighbours), Valdemar married Berengária of Portugal in 1214.

Queen Dagmar is buried in St. Bendt's Church in Ringsted, Denmark, on one side of Valdemar II, with Queen Berengária buried on the other side of the King.

Valdemar II elevated his son with Dagmar as co-king at Schleswig in 1218. Prince Valdemar was accidentally shot while hunting at Refsnæs in 1231.