Leopold III (, , 1073 – 15 November 1136), known as Leopold the Good, was the
Margrave of Austria
From 976 until 1246, the Margraviate of Austria and its successor, the Duchy of Austria, was ruled by the House of Babenberg. At that time, those states were part of the Holy Roman Empire. From 1246 until 1918, the duchy and its successor, the Ar ...
from 1095 to his death in 1136. He was a member of the
House of Babenberg. He was canonized on 6 January 1485 and became the
patron saint
A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...
of
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
,
Lower Austria
Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...
,
Upper Austria
Upper Austria ( ; ; ) is one of the nine States of Austria, states of Austria. Its capital is Linz. Upper Austria borders Germany and the Czech Republic, as well as the other Austrian states of Lower Austria, Styria, and Salzburg (state), Salzbur ...
and
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
. His
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context does n ...
is 15 November.
[Lingelbach 1913, pp. 90–91.]
Biography
Leopold was born at Babenberg castle in
Gars am Kamp, the son of Margrave
Leopold II and
Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg. The Babenbergs had come to Austria from Bavaria where the family had risen to prominence in the 10th century. He grew up in the diocese of Passau under the influence of the reformer bishop
Altmann of Passau.
In 1096, Leopold succeeded his father as margrave of Austria at the age of 23. He married twice. His first wife, who died in 1105, may have been one of the von Perg family. The following year he married
Agnes, the widowed sister of Emperor
Henry V whom he had supported against her father
Henry IV. This connection to the
Salians raised the importance of the
House of Babenberg, to which important royal rights over the margraviate of Austria were granted. Also, Agnes had influential connections through her previous marriage to
Frederick of Hohenstaufen,
[ one of her sons being Conrad III of Germany.
Leopold called himself "Princeps Terræ", a reflection of his sense of territorial independence. He was considered a candidate in the election of the ]Kaiser
Kaiser ( ; ) is the title historically used by German and Austrian emperors. In German, the title in principle applies to rulers anywhere in the world above the rank of king (). In English, the word ''kaiser'' is mainly applied to the emperors ...
of the Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
in 1125, but declined this honour.
He is mainly remembered for the development of the country and, in particular, the founding of several monasteries. His most important foundation is Klosterneuburg (1108).[ According to legend, the ]Virgin Mary
Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Saint Joseph, Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under titles of Mary, mother of Jesus, various titles such as Perpetual virginity ...
appeared to him and led him to a place where he found the veil of his wife Agnes, who had lost it years earlier. He established the Klosterneuburg Monastery there. He subsequently expanded the settlement to become his residence.
Leopold also founded the monasteries of Heiligenkreuz, Kleinmariazell and Seitenstetten which developed a territory still largely covered by forest. All of these induced the church to canonize him in 1485.
Leopold also fostered the development of cities, such as Klosterneuburg, Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
and Krems. The last one was granted the right to mint but never attained great importance.
The writings of Henry of Melk and Ava of Göttweig, which are the first literary texts from Austria, date back to Leopold's time.
He is buried in the Klosterneuburg Monastery, which he founded. His skull is kept in an embroidered reliquary, which leaves the forehead exposed; it also wears an archducal hat.
In 1663, under the rule of his namesake Emperor Leopold I, he was declared patron saint of Austria instead of Coloman of Stockerau.
The brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn
Johann Michael Haydn (; 14 September 1737 – 10 August 1806) was an Austrian composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period, the younger brother of Joseph Haydn.
Life
Michael Haydn was born in 1737 in the Austrian village of Rohra ...
, each of whom sang in the choir of St. Stephen's Cathedral, both sang in that capacity at Klosterneuburg on this day. Joseph Haydn later became the more famous composer of the two. Michael Haydn later (in 1805) wrote a mass in honour of Leopold, the ''Missa sub titulo Sancti Leopoldi.''
Since the death of Emperor Leopold I, the King's Feast is celebrated in Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
on Leopold's feast day.
Children
His first marriage, to Maria/Adelheid von Perg, was childless.
By his second wife, Agnes of Germany Agnes of Germany may refer to:
* Agnes of Poitou (died 1077), wife of King Henry III of Germany
* Agnes of Waiblingen (died 1143), daughter of King Henry IV of Germany
{{hndis ...
, widow of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia:
* Adalbert
* Henry II Jasomirgott (1107–1177)
* Leopold IV ( 1108 – 1141)
* Berta, m. Henry III, Burgrave of Regensburg
Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the ...
* Agnes (c. 1108/13 – c. 1160/63), m. Władysław II of Poland
* Ernst
* Uta, m. Luitpold I, Count of Plain
* Otto of Freising
Otto of Freising (; – 22 September 1158) was a German churchman of the Cistercian order and chronicled at least two texts which carry valuable information on the political history of his own time. He was the bishop of Freising from 1138. Ot ...
(c. 1114 – 1158), Bishop of Freising, and biographer of his nephew (from his mother's first marriage), Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa
Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...
* Conrad, Bishop of Passau and Archbishop of Salzburg
* Elisabeth, m. Hermann II of Winzenburg
* Judith
The Book of Judith is a deuterocanonical book included in the Septuagint and the Catholic Church, Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Christianity, Christian Old Testament of the Bible but Development of the Hebrew Bible canon, excluded from the ...
, m. William V of Montferrat
* Gertrude, m. Duke (later King) Vladislaus II of Bohemia
According to the ''Continuation of the Chronicles of Klosterneuburg'', there may have been up to seven others (possibly from multiple births) stillborn or who died in infancy.
In 2013, documentation regarding the results of DNA testing of the remains of the family buried in Klosterneuburg & Heiligenkreuz strongly favor that Adalbert was the son of Leopold and Agnes.
Gallery
File:Leopold III, Margrave of Austria.jpg, Leopold III seal
File:Saint Leopold III Margrave of Austria (Church at Gaaden).jpg, Stained glass, Gaaden, Lower Austria
File:Hl Leopold (Österreich 18 Jh).jpg, Österreichische Schule, eighteenth century
File:Wien.Stephansdom60.jpg, Saint Leopold Altar, Stephansdom
File:Schaedelreliquie des heiligen Leopold.jpg, Saint Leopold's skull relic, Klosterneuburg Monastery
See also
* List of rulers of Austria
References
Sources
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External links
Leopold III., Heiliger, Babenberger-Markgraf
a
AEIOU
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold Iii, Margrave Of Austria
Leopold 3 of Austria (Babenberg)
Leopold 3 of Austria (Babenberg)
11th-century margraves of Austria
12th-century margraves of Austria
12th-century Christian saints
Austrian Roman Catholic saints
German Roman Catholic saints
People from Melk
Roman Catholic royal saints
Founders of Christian monasteries