Leopold VI, Duke of Austria
Leopold VI (15 October 1176 – 28 July 1230[1]), known as Leopold the Glorious, was Duke of Styria from 1194 and Duke of Austria from 1198 to his death in 1230. He was a member of the House of Babenberg.
Leopold VI
1198–1230
1194–1230
15 October 1176
28 July 1230
San Germano
- Margaret, Queen of Bohemia
- Gertrude of Austria
- Agnes of Austria
- Leopold of Austria
- Henry II, Duke of Mödling
- Frederick II, Duke of Austria
- Constance, Margravine of Meissen
Biography[edit]
Leopold VI was the younger son of Duke Leopold V and his wife, Helena of Hungary (daughter of Géza II of Hungary and Euphrosyne of Kiev).[2] He was betrothed to the Damsel of Cyprus in 1193, but the marriage never took place.[3]
In contravention of the provisions of the Georgenberg Pact, the Babenberg reign was divided after the death of Leopold V: Leopold VI's elder brother, Frederick I, was given the Duchy of Austria (corresponding roughly to modern Lower Austria and eastern Upper Austria), while Leopold VI himself became Duke of Styria. The duchies were reunified under Leopold VI when Frederick died after only four years of rule.
Leopold VI participated in the Reconquista in Spain[4] and in two crusades, the Albigensian Crusade in 1212[5] and the failed Fifth Crusade from 1217 to 1221,[6] and—like his predecessors—attempted to develop the land by founding monasteries. His most important foundation is Lilienfeld in the Lower Austrian valley of the Traisen River, where he was buried after his death. Besides that, he supported the then highly modern mendicant Orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans. He elevated Enns to the status of a city in 1212, and Vienna in 1221, the territory of which was nearly doubled.
Under Leopold's rule, the Gothic style began to reach Austria - the Cappella Speciosa in his temporary residence of Klosterneuburg is known as the first building influenced by it in the Danube area - a reconstruction of it can be seen today in the palace gardens of Laxenburg.
Leopold's court is known as a center of the Minnesang, e.g., Walther von der Vogelweide, Neidhart von Reuental and Ulrich von Liechtenstein were active here. Also, the Nibelungenlied may have been written in his court.
Babenbergian Austria reached the zenith of its prestige under Leopold's rule. Evidence of this is given by his marriage to the Byzantine princess Theodora Angelina[2] and his attempt to end the War of the Keys by mediating between Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II and Pope Gregory IX. This is what he was working on when he died in 1230 at San Germano.