Elisabeth of Wrocław ( Polish: Elżbieta wrocławska) (c. 1232 – 16 January 1265), also known as ''Elisabeth of Poland'', was a daughter of

Henry II the Pious Henry II the Pious ( pl, Henryk II Pobożny; 1196 – 9 April 1241) was Duke of Silesia and High Duke of Poland as well as Duke of South-Greater Poland from 1238 until his death. Between 1238 and 1239 he also served as regent of Sandomierz and ...

and his wife, Anna of Bohemia. She was a member of the

House of Piast The House of Piast was the first historical ruling dynasty of Poland. The first documented Polish monarch was Duke Mieszko I (c. 930–992). The Piasts' royal rule in Poland ended in 1370 with the death of king Casimir III the Great. Branc ...

and was Duchess consort of Greater Poland by

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

Family

Elisabeth was the seventh of ten children born to her parents. Her siblings included:

Bolesław II the Bald Boleslav or Bolesław may refer to: In people: * Boleslaw (given name) In geography: * Bolesław, Dąbrowa County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland * Bolesław, Silesian Voivodeship, ...

Mieszko, Duke of Lubusz Mieszko of Lubusz ( pl, Mieszko lubuski; – 1242), a member of the Silesian Piasts, was Duke of Lubusz from 1241 until his death. Life Mieszko was the second son of the Silesian duke Henry II the Pious (1196–1241), by his consort Anne (d. 1 ...

Henry III the White Henry III the White ( pl, Henryk III Biały) ( – 3 December 1266), a member of the Silesian Piasts, was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1248 until his death, as co-ruler with his brother Władysław. Life He was the third son of the Polish hi ...

Konrad I, Duke of Silesia-Glogau Konrad is a German (with variants ''Kunz'' and ''Kunze'') given name and surname that means "bold counselor" and may refer to: People Given name Surname *Alexander Konrad (1890–1940), Russian explorer *Antoine Konrad (born 1975), birth name ...

Ladislaus of Salzburg Władysław of Salzburg, also known as Władysław of Wrocław/Breslau ( pl, Władysław Wrocławski) or Władysław of Silesia (german: Wladislaus von Schlesien, cs, Vladislav Slezský; – 27 April 1270), a member of the Silesian Piasts, was ...

, Gertrude, Duchess of

Masovia Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...

and Constance, Duchess of Kujavia. Elisabeth's maternal grandparents were

Ottokar I of Bohemia Ottokar I ( cs, Přemysl Otakar I.; c. 1155 – 1230) was Duke of Bohemia periodically beginning in 1192, then acquired the title of King of Bohemia, first in 1198 from Philip of Swabia, later in 1203 from Otto IV of Brunswick and in 1212 (a ...

and his second wife,

Constance of Hungary Constance of Hungary (c. 1180 – 6 December 1240) was the second Queen consort of Ottokar I of Bohemia. Family Constance was a daughter of Béla III of Hungary and his first wife Agnes of Antioch. Her older siblings included Emeric, King of Hun ...

. Constance was daughter of

Béla III of Hungary Béla III ( hu, III. Béla, hr, Bela III, sk, Belo III; 114823 April 1196) was King of Hungary and Croatia between 1172 and 1196. He was the second son of King Géza II and Géza's wife, Euphrosyne of Kiev. Around 1161, Géza granted Béla a ...

and his first wife,

Agnes of Antioch Agnes of Antioch ( 1154 – c. 1184) was Queen of Hungary from 1172 until 1184 as the first wife of Béla III. The accidental discovery of her intact tomb during the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 has provided an opportunity for patriotic demonstr ...

. Elisabeth's paternal grandparents were

Henry I the Bearded Henry the Bearded ( pl, Henryk (Jędrzych) Brodaty, german: Heinrich der Bärtige; c. 1165/70 – 19 March 1238) was a Polish duke from the Piast dynasty. He was Duke of Silesia at Wrocław from 1201, Duke of Kraków and High Duke of all P ...

and his wife,

Hedwig of Andechs Hedwig of Silesia ( pl, Święta Jadwiga Śląska), also Hedwig of Andechs (german: Heilige Hedwig von Andechs, la, Hedvigis; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarian comital House of Andechs, was Duchess of Silesia from 1201 and ...

(later canonized a saint in the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Life events

Elisabeth spent her childhood in Sanctuary of St. Jadwiga in Trzebnica where she would have lived with her paternal grandmother Hedwig, who would have been a big influence to her granddaughter. It is not certain whether there was pressure for Elisabeth to join the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

. Elisabeth remained at Trzebnica until she was kidnapped by her brother

because her family wanted her to marry

Przemysł I of Greater Poland Przemysł I (4 June 1221 – 4 June 1257), a member of the Piast dynasty, was Duke of Greater Poland from 1239 until his death, from 1241 with his brother Bolesław the Pious as co-ruler. He was able to re-acquire large parts of Greater Poland, r ...

. The marriage was for political reasons like most royal marriages of the time. Przemysł wanted to regain some of his father's lost lands in

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

. The marriage helped the reincorporation of

Kalisz (The oldest city of Poland) , image_skyline = , image_caption = ''Top:'' Town Hall, Former "Calisia" Piano Factory''Middle:'' Courthouse, "Gołębnik" tenement''Bottom:'' Aerial view of the Kalisz Old Town , image_flag = POL Kalisz flag.svg ...

into Greater

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populou ...

. Little is known about the rule of Elisabeth as Duchess consort of her husband's lands. In 1250 she founded a

in Owińska. Some nuns were brought to it from her childhood home of

Trzebnica Trzebnica (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Trebnitz, cs, Třebnice, szl, Trzebńica) is a town in Lower Silesian Voivodeship in west-central Poland. It is the seat of Trzebnica County, and of the smaller administrative district (gmina) called G ...

. Elisabeth and Przemysł had five children: #

Constance of Greater Poland Constance of Greater Poland (also known as of Poznań) ( pl, Konstancja wielkopolska (poznańska)) (1245/46 – 8 October 1281) was a princess of Greater Poland, a member of the House of Piast, and by marriage a Margravine of Brandenburg– S ...

(1245/46 – 8 October 1281); married in 1260

Conrad, Margrave of Brandenburg-Stendal Margrave Conrad I of Brandenburg ( – 1304) was a member of the House of Ascania and a co-ruler of Brandenburg. Life Conrad I was the fourth of six children of Margrave John I of Brandenburg and his wife Sophia, daughter of King Valdemar ...

. #

Euphrosyne of Greater Poland Euphrosyne of Greater Poland ( pl, Eufrozyna wielkopolska; 1247/50 – 17/19 February 1298) was a Greater Poland princess, member of the House of Piast and abbess of St. Clara in Trzebnica. She was the second daughter of Przemysł I, Duke of Great ...

(1247/50 – 17/19 February 1298), Abbess of St. Clara in

. # Anna of Greater Poland (1253 – aft. 26 June 1295), Abbess at Owińska. #

Euphemia of Greater Poland Euphemia of Greater Poland ( pl, Eufemia Odonicówna) (c. 1230 – 15 February after 1281), was a Polish princess member of the House of Piast from the Greater Poland branch and by marriage was Duchess of Kalisz, Wieluń and Opole-Racibórz. Eu ...

(1253 – 5 September 1298), twin of Anna; a nun at St. Clara,

Wrocław Wrocław (; german: Breslau, or . ; Silesian German: ''Brassel'') is a city in southwestern Poland and the largest city in the historical region of Silesia. It lies on the banks of the River Oder in the Silesian Lowlands of Central Europe, r ...

. #

Przemysł II Przemysł II ( also given in English and Latin language, Latin as ''Premyslas'' or ''Premislaus'' or in Polish as '; 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296) was the Duke of Poznań from 1257–1279, of Greater Poland from 1279 to 1296, of Kraków f ...

(b. posthumously, 14 October 1257 – 8 February 1296). When Elisabeth's husband died on 4 June 1257, he left Elisabeth her

dower Dower is a provision accorded traditionally by a husband or his family, to a wife for her support should she become widowed. It was settled on the bride (being gifted into trust) by agreement at the time of the wedding, or as provided by law. ...

, in which was an estate in

Modrze Modrze is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Stęszew, within Poznań County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland. It lies approximately south-west of Stęszew and south-west of the regional capital Poznań ...

. Elisabeth died on her estate on 16 January 1265 and was buried in the Poznań cathedral. Elisabeth's granddaughter from her son was

Elisabeth Richeza of Poland Elizabeth Richeza of Poland ( cs, Eliška-Rejčka; pl, Ryksa-Elżbieta; 1 September 1288 – 19 October 1335), was a Polish princess member of the House of Piast and by her two marriages Queen consort of Bohemia and Poland and Duchess consor ...

who became the second wife of

Wenceslaus II of Bohemia Wenceslaus II Přemyslid ( cs, Václav II.; pl, Wacław II Czeski; 27 SeptemberK. Charvátová, ''Václav II. Král český a polský'', Prague 2007, p. 18. 1271 – 21 June 1305) was King of Bohemia (1278–1305), Duke of Cracow (1291–1 ...

Ancestry

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Elisabeth Of Wroclaw 1232 births 1265 deaths 13th-century Polish people 13th-century Polish women Duchesses of Greater Poland Formerly missing people Kidnapped Polish people Kidnapped children Missing person cases in Poland People from Trzebnica Polish people of French descent Polish people of German descent Polish people of Hungarian descent Polish people of Russian descent Year of birth uncertain

Family

Life events

See also

Ancestry

References