Elisabeth Richeza of Poland

For other people named Elisabeth of Poland, see Elisabeth of Poland (disambiguation).

Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
Queen consort of Bohemia and Poland
Tenure	1303–1305; 1306–1307
Spouse	Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Rudolph I of Bohemia
Issue
Agnes of Bohemia
House	House of Piast
Father	Premislas II of Poland
Mother	Richeza of Sweden
Born	1 September 1286(1286-09-01) Poznań, Poland
Died	18 October 1335(1335-10-18) (aged 49) Brno, Moravia
Burial	Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, Brno

Elisabeth Richenza of Poland (Czech: Eliška Rejčka; Polish: Ryksa Elżbieta ) (1 September 1286 – 18 October 1335) was a daughter and the only surviving child of Przemysl II of Poland (originally prince of Greater Poland and Poznan) and his second wife Richenza of Sweden, herself a daughter of Valdemar I of Sweden and Sofia of Denmark.

Her name at birth was Richeza; she adopted the name Elisabeth after her first marriage. She became queen consort of Bohemia as the second wife of Wenceslaus II and remained such as wife of Rudolph of Habsburg who succeeded Wenceslaus as King of Bohemia.

Life

Her father, crowned as a King of Poland, was murdered on 10 February 1296 when she was a young child, and left no other heirs. Young Richeza, as the heiress / claimant of Poland, became an important participant in the dispute of Polish throne. As a child she was engaged to the young Otto, son of the Margrave of Brandenburg and relative of her stepmother Margaret of Brandenburg. However, the boy died soon after. In her early years she was cared for by Agrippina of Slavonia.

First marriage

Elisabeth Richeza (right) with her husband's first wife, Judith

In 1300 Elisabethb Richeza was married to a widower, King Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (1271–1305, reigned in Bohemia from 1278 and in parts of Poland from 1304), who wanted to use her succession rights in order to gain Poland. His first wife Judith of Habsburg, had already given him a son and three daughters. He had already subjugated Kraków in 1291, during the lifetime of Elisabeth's father. Because of her young age, the marriage was not celebrated until 26 May 1303, when she arrived in Prague and was crowned the Queen of Bohemia and Poland, adopting the name Elisabeth at the same time (as Richeza was unused and seen as strange in Bohemia). Her husband Wenceslaus II died in Prague 21 June 1305 of tuberculosis. She acted as regent from August until October. Her stepson Wenceslaus III (also a claimant to the throne of Hungary) succeeded the throne but was murdered in 1306 in Olomouc. The Kujavian branch of the Piast dynasty acquired Polish throne.

Elisabeth Richeza had only one child, a daughter Agnes of Bohemia (15 June 1305 - c 1337), who was born just a few days before her husband's death. Agnes married a Silesian prince, Duke Henry I of Jawor, but remained childless. Agnes did have a pregnancy, but it was terminated in the first trimester, when she rode her horse over hill and dale causing the early termination, and kept her bed ridden for many months.

Second marriage

Elisabeth was subsequently married 16 October 1306 to Rudolf I of Habsburg, son of Albert of Habsburg (King of Germany and Rome) who wanted to become king after her stepson. He was chosen Bohemia's king and Elisabeth remained queen. Yet only for a short time - Rudolph died 4 July 1307 of dysentery after becoming ill during the siege of the fortress of a nobleman in revolt. In his will Albert acknowledged Elisabeth dowry towns and entailed her a huge amount of money.

Widowhood

Queen Elisabeth's widowhood in Bohemia took place in quarreled times, as emperors attempted to gain Bohemia, and the husbands of Elisabeth's stepdaughters were elevated to kingship, but their tenure was uncertain until John of Luxemburg, husband of Elisabeth's youngest stepdaughter (also named Elisabeth), succeeded in establishing his position.

After her second husband's death Elisabeth left Prague and settled in Hradec Králové, one of her dowry towns, which became the center of her domain. She remained unmarried but lived with her lover, the powerful nobleman Jindřich of Lipá (Henry of Lipá), who was the Moravian Hetman and Governor of Bohemian kingdom in the absence of king John of Luxemburg. They moved to Brno and spent there ten happy years (1318–1329) until his death. Some sources believe the couple may have married in 1319. After Henry's death, Elisabeth turned her attention to culture and religion, built churches and Cistercian convents (from 1323), and financed the making of illustrated hymn books. She died in Brno and was buried under the floor of her cloister church at the side of her beloved Henry.

Ancestors

16. Odon of Poznań

8. Władysław Odonic

17. Viacheslavna Yaroslavna of Halych

4. Przemysł I

18. Mściwój I of Gdańsk

9. Jadwiga of Pomerania

19. Zwinisława

2. Przemysł II

20. Henry I the Bearded

10. Henry II the Pious

21. Hedwig of Andechs

5. Elisabeth of Wrocław

22. Ottokar I of Bohemia

11. Anna of Bohemia

23. Constance of Hungary

1. Elisabeth Richeza of Poland

24. Magnus Minniskiöld

12. Birger jarl

25. Ingrid Ylva

6. Valdemar of Sweden

26. Eric X of Sweden

13. Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden

27. Richeza of Denmark

3. Rikissa Valdemarsdotter of Sweden

28. Valdemar II of Denmark

14. Eric IV of Denmark

29. Berengária of Portugal

7. Sophia of Denmark

30. Albert I, Duke of Saxony

15. Jutta of Saxony

31. Agnes of Habsburg

References

Elisabeth Richeza of Poland Piast dynasty Born: 1 September 1286 Died: 18 October 1335
Royal titles
Preceded by Judith of Habsburg	Queen consort of Bohemia 1300–1305	Succeeded by Viola Elisabeth of Cieszyn
	Queen consort of Poland 1303–1305
Preceded by Viola Elisabeth of Cieszyn	Queen consort of Bohemia 1306–1307	Succeeded by Anne of Bohemia