Elizabeth Richeza of Poland

Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
Reign	1303 - 1305; 1306 - 1307
Predecessor	Jutta of Habsburg; Anna of Bohemia
Successor	Anna of Bohemia; Anna of Bohemia
Burial	Church of the Assumption of Virgin Mary, Brno
Issue	Agnes of Bohemia
House	House of Piast
Father	Przemysl II of Poland
Mother	Richeza of Sweden

Elisabeth Richeza 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 Richeza 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 Wenceslas II and remained such as wife of Rudolph of Habsburg who succeeded Wenceslas 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.

First marriage

In 1300 Elisabeth Richeza (Eliška Rejčka) 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. He had already subjugated Cracow 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 of Bohemia 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, Henry of Jauer, 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 Rudolph 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 Elizabeth's 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 Elizabeth'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 spend here ten happy years (1318-1329) until his death. In this period she turned her attention to culture and religion - builded churches and cistercian convent (from 1323), financed 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

Władysław Odonic

Przemysł I

Jadwiga of Gdańsk

Przemysł II

Henry II the Pious

Elisabeth of Wrocław

Anna of Bohemia

Elisabeth Ryksa of Poland

Birger jarl

Valdemar of Sweden

Ingeborg Eriksdotter of Sweden

Ryksa (Rikissa) of Sweden

Eric IV of Denmark

Sofia of Denmark

Judith of Saxony