Elisabeth Richeza of Poland
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| Elisabeth Richenza of Poland, Queen of Bohemia |
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|---|---|---|
| Reign | 1303 - 1305; 1306 - 1307 | |
| Born | 1 September 1286 | |
| Died | 18 October 1335 | |
| Predecessor | Jutta of Habsburg; Anna of Bohemia | |
| Successor | Anna of Bohemia; Anna of Bohemia | |
| Consort | Wenceslas II; Rudolph of Habsburg | |
| Issue | Agnes of Bohemia | |
| Royal House | House of Piast | |
| Father | Przemysl II of Poland | |
| Mother | Richenza of Sweden | |
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 Richenza, 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 as King of Bohemia.
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[edit] Life
Her father, crowned as a King of Poland, had left no other heirs, and got murdered when she was a young child, on 10 February 1296. Young Richenza became as the heiress / claimant of Poland 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, the boy however died soon.
[edit] First marriage
In 1300 Elisabeth Richeza (Eliska Ryksa) was married to a widower, King Venceslaus 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 subjugated Cracow already in 1291, Elisabeth's father's lifetime). The marriage wasn't fulfilled because of her young age 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 Richenza was unused and seen as strange in Bohemia). Her husband however died in Prague 21 June 1305 of tuberculosis. She acted as regent from August until October. Her stepson Wenceslaus III (also claimant of Hungary) succeeded the throne but was murdered in 1306 in Olomouc. The Kujavian branch of Piast dynasty acquired Polish throne.
Elisabeth Richenza had only one child, daughter Agnes of Bohemia (15 June 1305 - c 1337), who was born just a few days before her husband's death. She married a Silesian prince, Henry of Jauer, but remained childless. She did have a pregnancy, but it was teminated in the first trimester, when she rode her horse over hill and dale causing the early temination and kept her bed ridden for many months.
[edit] Second marriage
Secondly Elisabeth was 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 for a short time - Rudolph died already 4 July 1307 of dysenteria (he got ill during a siege of a revolting nobleman's fortress). In his testament he acknowledged Elisabeth's dowry towns and entailed her a huge amount of money.
[edit] Widowhood
Queen Elisabeth's widowhood in Bohemia took place in quarreled times, as Emperors attempted to gain Bohemia, and Elisabeth's stepdaughters' husbands 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 she left Prague and settled in Hradec Kralove (Königgrätz), one of her dowry towns that became the center of her domain. She stayed unmarried but lived with her lover, the powerful nobleman Henry of Lippe (Jindrich z Lipe), who was the governor of Bohemian kingdom in the absence of king John of Luxemburg. After Henry's death in 1329 she turned her attention to culture and religion - ordered building of several temples and cloisters, financed making of illustrated hymn-books. She died in Brno and was buried there at the side of her beloved Henry.
