Early years Born in
Poznań,
Ryksa was the only child born from her parents' marriage. so her stepmother was also her future sister-in-law. Although Margaret received parts of Greater Poland as her
dower, shortly after her husband's death, and for unknown reasons, she returned to Brandenburg, taking Ryksa with her. Otto's unexpected death on 11 March 1299 ended the betrothal. Despite this, Ryksa remained for next few years with her stepmother's family.
Engagement and marriage with Wenceslaus II The death of Otto of Brandenburg complicated again Ryksa's situation, because as the only child of the last male member of the Piast Greater Poland line and the first King in almost two centuries, she was the perfect match for every contender to the Polish crown. King
Wenceslaus II of Bohemia (a widower since 1297) received from the lords of Greater Poland the offer of marriage with the princess and before his coronation as King of Poland on 25 July 1300 in
Gniezno, Ryksa was sent to
Prague. Because of her youth, Wenceslaus II decided to delay the wedding until Ryksa was fifteen years old. He had previously been married to
Judith of Habsburg and had four surviving children (
Wenceslaus III of Bohemia,
Anna of Bohemia,
Elisabeth of Bohemia and
Margaret of Bohemia). probably of
tuberculosis. The seventeen-year-old Elizabeth, now Queen Dowager, received a pension and 20,000 talents of fine silver and the royal towns in East Bohemia of
Hradec Králové,
Vysoké Mýto,
Chrudim,
Polička and
Jaroměř.
Short government of Wenceslaus III and marriage with Rudolph of Habsburg Elizabeth's stepson
Wenceslaus III (also a claimant to the throne of Hungary) succeeded to the thrones of both Bohemia and Poland but was murdered on 4 August 1306 in
Olomouc, and with him the
Přemyslid dynasty became extinct. The Kujavian branch of the
Piast dynasty ascended to the Polish throne. With the death of her stepson, the position of Elizabeth again changed considerably, because as Queen Dowager, she was involved in the fight for the vacant Bohemian throne. Duke
Rudolph III of Austria and Styria, son of King
Albert I of Germany, finally could take the crown thanks to his father's help. In order to strengthen his position, he arranged his marriage to Elizabeth, both widow and stepmother of the last two
Premyslid Kings. The marriage took place in
Prague on 16 October 1306. Elizabeth's second time as Queen consort was short-lived. King Rudolph died on 4 July 1307 of
dysentery According to a chronicle by an anonymous Austrian author from
Leoben, Elizabeth was pregnant by Rudolph at the time of his death, and she afterward gave birth to a
posthumous son. His fate is not mentioned in the source, but historians assume that he died young if he indeed existed.
Rule over Hradec Králové After her second husband's death, Elizabeth left Prague and settled in
Hradec Králové, one of her dower towns, which became the center of her domains as her widow seat. In order to weaken the position of the powerful nobility, in 1315, King John deprived Henry of all his offices and imprisoned him. However, the position and popularity of the Dowager Queen was so strong in Bohemia that John, fearing a civil war, released him in April 1316.
Alliance with Henry I of Jawor, peace with King John of Bohemia and sale of Hradec Králové Despite her conciliatory gestures toward King John, Elizabeth Richeza continued to dictate her own independent policies, as was evidenced in 1317, when she arranged the betrothal of her only daughter, Agnes, to the Piast Silesian Duke
Henry I of Jawor, who in order to secure his future mother-in-law's patrimony and with her consent, entered Hradec Králové with his army and began expeditions and raids in support of rebels against King John. and, in 1323, the couple founded the
Cistercian convent of St. Mary by securing the endowment of the community. Afterward, the relations between the Bohemia King John and Elizabeth Richeza were peaceful, to the point that a certain weakness could be interpreted by King John's actions, made evident in his approval of grants to the
Cistercian convent in Moravia in response to the request of the Dowager Queen. The formal marriage between Agnes and Henry I of Jawor took place in 1319; after a miscarriage some time later, the couple remained childless.
Death of Henry of Lipá and last years in
Old Brno Henry of Lipá died in Brno on 26 August 1329. After his loss, Elizabeth Richeza moved into the local convent that was under her patronage; she did not, however, become nun herself. The Dowager Queen turned her attention to culture and religion, building churches and
Cistercian convents, and financing the crafting of illuminated hymn books. Four years later, and together with her daughter Agnes, she went on a long pilgrimage to the shrines of the
Rhine, returning a few months later. Elizabeth Richeza, Dowager Queen of Poland and Bohemia (known in Bohemian literature as a "beautiful Polish girl"), died on 19 October 1335 in the
Cistercian monastery at Brno which she had founded. According to her wishes she was buried under the floor of her cloister church,
Basilica of the Assumption of Our Lady, Brno, next to her beloved Henry of Lipá. In her will she made several donations to ecclesiastical institutions in both Bohemia and Poland (especially in Poznań, her birthplace). == References ==