Leopold V, Archduke of Further Austria (October 9, 1586 – September 13, 1632) was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria, and the younger brother of Emperor Ferdinand II, father of Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Further Austria. He was

Bishop of Passau The Diocese of Passau is a Roman Catholic diocese in Germany that is a suffragan of the Archdiocese of Munich and Freising.Strasbourg, until he resigned to get married, and Archduke of

Further Austria Further Austria, Outer Austria or Anterior Austria (german: Vorderösterreich, formerly ''die Vorlande'' (pl.)) was the collective name for the early (and later) possessions of the House of Habsburg in the former Swabian stem duchy of south-we ...

including Tirol.

Biography

Leopold was born in

Graz Graz (; sl, Gradec) is the capital city of the Austrian state of Styria and second-largest city in Austria after Vienna. As of 1 January 2021, it had a population of 331,562 (294,236 of whom had principal-residence status). In 2018, the popu ...

, and was invested as bishop in 1598, as a child, even though he had not been ordained as a priest; he became

Bishop of Strasbourg {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 These persons were bishop, archbishop or prince-bishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Strasbourg (including historically Prince-Bishopric of Strasbourg): Bishops and prince-bishops * Amandus *Justinu ...

in 1607, a post which he held until 1626. From 1609 onwards he fought with his

mercenaries A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

in the War of the Jülich succession, and in the

Brothers' Quarrel The Brothers' Quarrel (german: Bruderzwist) was a conflict between Rudolf II, Holy Roman Emperor and his brother, Matthias in the early 17th century. Their other brothers Maximilian III and Albert VIIand their cousinsespecially Ferdinand II and ...

within the Austrian Habsburg dynasty against Maximilian III, Archduke of Further Austria in

Tyrol Tyrol (; historically the Tyrole; de-AT, Tirol ; it, Tirolo) is a historical region in the Alps - in Northern Italy and western Austria. The area was historically the core of the County of Tyrol, part of the Holy Roman Empire, Austrian Emp ...

, and 1611 for Rudolf II in Bohemia. In 1614, he financed the construction of the Church of the Jesuit College of Molsheim, within which his

coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achievement, which in it ...

is still prominently displayed. In 1619, upon the death of his kinsman and former rival, he became governor of Maximilian's inheritance:

and Tyrol, where he attained the position of ruler as Archduke of Further Austria from 1626 to his death in 1632. In 1626 he resigned his ecclesiastical positions and married Claudia de' Medici. He had the

custom house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting ...

and the Jesuit church built in Innsbruck. He fought for the

Veltlin Valtellina or the Valtelline (occasionally spelled as two words in English: Val Telline; rm, Vuclina (); lmo, Valtelina or ; german: Veltlin; it, Valtellina) is a valley in the Lombardy region of northern Italy, bordering Switzerland. Toda ...

and defended Tyrol against the Swedes in 1632. He died in Schwaz, Tyrol. 1 thaler Leopold V of Austria - 1621

Issue

With his wife Claudia de' Medici, he became the founder of a sideline of the Habsburg family, which persisted until 1665 - the most recent line of Archdukes of Further Austria. His children were: * Maria-Eleonora 1627–1629 * Ferdinand Charles (1628–1662); married Anna de' Medici * Isabella-Clara (1629–1685); married

Charles III, Duke of Mantua Charles Gonzaga, Duke of Mantua and Montferrat (31 October 1629 – 14 August 1665) was the son of Charles of Gonzaga-Nevers (d. 1631) of Rethel, Nevers, Mantua, and Montferrat; and Maria Gonzaga. He followed his grandfather Charles I, Duke of ...

* Sigismund Francis (1630-1665); married

Hedwig of the Palatinate-Sulzbach Marie Hedwig Auguste of Sulzbach (german: Marie Hedwig Auguste von Sulzbach; born: 15 April 1650 in Sulzbach; died: 23 November 1681 in Hamburg) was a Countess Palatine of Sulzbach by birth and by marriage, Archduchess of Austria and by her sec ...

* Maria Leopoldine (1632–1649); married Emperor Ferdinand III

Ancestors

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold V, Archduke Of Austria Leopold V of Austria Leopold V of Austria 17th-century archdukes of Austria Counts of Tyrol 17th-century Roman Catholic bishops in the Holy Roman Empire Roman Catholic bishops of Passau Bishops of Strasbourg Knights of the Golden Fleece