Leopold III.

clever tactician

Leopold III, Margrave from 1095-1136, is a clever tactician. In 1105, as Emperor Henry IV and his son (later Emperor Henry V) oppose one another as enemies on the banks of the Regen in East Bavaria, Leopold sides with the son at the last second. The deciding battle is never fought - history doesn’t tell us whether this is down to Leopold or not.

Nevertheless it seems that Henry V is in his debt since Leopold marries his sister Agnes shortly afterwards, thereby ascending to the first rank of the aristocracy. Leopold and Agnes have 18 children. One son, Otto von Friesing, becomes one of the most important chroniclers of the 12th century.

Leopold is recognised as a prince of the Holy Roman Empire and put on the short list for a kingship in 1122. He declines on the grounds that at 50, he is already too old for the job and also because of his many sons. This might lead to considerable conflict upon his death. But from his main residence at Klosterneuburg he extends his political and clerical power with an eye on Vienna in the east. His over 40 year reign is one of the most decisive phases in Austria’s development. Leopold III dies in 1136, is canonised in 1485 and named patron saint of Lower Austria in 1663.