Editing Richeza of Lotharingia (section)

==Legacy==

The most important of Richeza's projects was the rebuilding of the Abbey of Brauweiler. Her parents had founded Brauweiler, but the original church was modestly furnished, which was incompatible with the dynasty's territorial objectives. After Otto's death, Richeza decided to make Brauweiler the centre of Ezzonen memory. Since the original building didn't suit this purpose, Richeza built a new abbey, which remains in good condition. When the construction began a three-aisled pillared [[basilica]] was planned with a projecting transept to the east [[apse]] across a crypt. The aisles were groined vaults with flat ceilings in the central [[nave]]. Inside, the nave had five {{lang|de|Pfeilerjoche}}, each of which was half as large as the square crossing. Throughout the Abbey the cross-vaulted ceiling could be seen (for example in the aisles, pillars or the crypt), which can be found in many Ezzonen buildings. The crypt was consecrated on 11 December 1051. The rest of the construction was consecrated on 30 October 1063, seven months after Richeza's death.

The building has distinct references to the Church of [[St. Maria im Kapitol]] in [[Cologne]], founded by Richeza's sister Ida. Both crypts are laid out identically, the two bays in Brauweiler, however, were shorter. In the upper church, there are clear references. Brauweiler is seen as a copy of the [[Cologne Cathedral]], probably thanks to the influence of Richeza's brother Hermann II, who in 1040 consecrated [[Stavelot Abbey]]. Richeza planned to make Brauweiler the Ezzonen family crypt, in 1051 interring the remains of her sister Adelaide, Abbess of Nivelles. In 1054 she transferred the remains of her father from Augsburg to be buried next to her sister.

The [[Gospel Book]] of Queen Richeza (today in possession of the Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Darmstadt), comes from St. Maria ad Gradus, where Richeza had a space reserved in the central nave, normally occupied by the Donors. It is not clear whether this was done at the behest of Anno II, or by Richeza. An indication of the latter thesis, however, is the Gospel Book. The manuscript is made of 153 pages in the pergamin style in an 18 x 13.5&nbsp;cm format. In 150 of the pages of the book, a prayer is recorded, which suggests a high-born owner. The following pages contain entries about the Ezzonen memorial. In addition to Richeza, Anno II and her parents were named. The entries can be counted among drawings in the [[Codex]] style recognized around 1100. The Codex itself was built around 1040, probably in [[Maasland]], with incomplete ornamentation: the [[Mark the Evangelist|Mark]] and [[Luke the Evangelist|Luke]] are drawn completely, but only in a preliminary sketch. [[Matthew the Apostle|Matthew]] wasn't drawn. Another possible indication is the Codex date: After 1047, Richeza took her monastic vows and had no need for a personal representative signature. It is unknown whether it remained in her possession and was used together with other relics of Anno II from her estate of St. Maria ad Gradus, or had already been donated to her brother before her death.