At the time of her birth, her father ruled the Franconian margraviate of Brandenburg-Ansbach and also inherited the neighbouring Principality of Kulmbach, upon the death of his elder brother Margrave John the Alchemist.

The marriage contract stipulated that, in case of the duke's death without issue, his Duchy of Głogów was to be passed to his wife, with reversion to her Hohenzollern family.

This death left Duchess Barbara of Głogów, with the Duchy of Crossen and Kożuchów, but a long succession war erupted: The Silesian duchy had been a Bohemian fief since 1331, therefore, not only did Henry XI's closest male relative, his cousin Jan II the Mad, former Duke of Żagań, claim the whole inheritance, but also King Vladislaus II of Bohemia and the Anti-King Matthias Corvinus of Hungary.

The wedding, performed by proxy with the Silesian duke Henry I of Münsterberg-Oels acting, took place in the Brandenburg city of Frankfurt (Oder) on 20 August 1476.

His furious rival, King Matthias Corvinus, supplied Duke Jan II the Mad with an army to occupy the Głogów lands; however, he was defeated by John Cicero's troops near Crossen in October 1478.

Shortly after, King Vladislaus II determined that his unconsummated and only juridical marriage with the Brandenburg princess was useless and began to seek legal separation.