Leopold III, Margrave of Austria

Leopold III, Margrave of Austria
Saint Leopold

Statue of Leopold, in the St. Leopold side chapel in the southern aisle of the Stephansdom.
Born 1050
Melk, Austria
Died November 15, 1136
Abbey of Klosterneuburg, Niederosterrich, Austria
Honored in Roman Catholic Church
Canonized 6 January 1485 by Pope Innocent VIII
Feast November 15
Attributes model of church
Patronage Austria; Vienna; Lower Austria; jointly with Saint Florian, of Upper Austria.

Saint Leopold III (1050 – November 15, 1136) was the Margrave of Austria in 1073–1136. He is the patron saint of Austria, of the city of Vienna, of Lower Austria, and, jointly with Saint Florian, of Upper Austria. His feast day is November 15.

Contents

Biography

Leopold was born in Melk, the son of Margrave Leopold II and Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg. He married twice. His first wife may have been one of the von Perg family, who died in 1105. His second wife was 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 margravate of Austria were granted. Also, Agnes had influential connections through her previous marriage, 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 of The Holy Roman Empire 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 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 monastery of Klosterneuburg 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 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 crown.

In 1663, under the rule of his namesake Emperor Leopold I, he was declared patron saint of Austria instead of Saint Koloman.

The brothers Joseph and Michael Haydn, 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 (1805) wrote a Mass in honour of Leopold, the Missa sub titulo Sancti Leopoldi.

Children

By his first marriage, possibly to a lady of the Perg family:

  • Adalbert or Albert II The Devout , Markgraf (1136–1137), d. 1137
Commemorative plaque on Leopoldsberg

By his second wife, Agnes of Germany, widow of Frederick I, Duke of Swabia:

According to the Continuation of the Chronicles of Klosterneuburg, there may have been up to seven others (possibly from multiple births) stillborn or died in infancy.

References

  • Karl Lechner, Die Babenberger, 1992.
  • Brigitte Vacha & Walter Pohl, Die Welt der Babenberger: Schleier, Kreuz und Schwert, Graz, 1995.

External links

Leopold III, Margrave of Austria
Born: 1073 Died: 1136
German royalty
Preceded by
Leopold II
Margrave of Austria
1095–1136
Succeeded by
Leopold IV

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать реферат

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Leopold II, Margrave of Austria — Leopold II (1050 ndash; October 12, 1095) was a Babenberg Margrave of Austria ruling from 1075 onwards. He was known as Leopold the fair . He was the son of Ernest the Brave and Adelheid, the daughter of Margrave Dedi (or Dedo) II of Meissen. In… …   Wikipedia

  • Leopold III — can refer to:*Leopold III, Margrave of Austria, (1073 1136), sixth Margrave of Austria *Leopold III, Duke of Austria (1351 1386), co Archduke of Austria and co Duke of Styria *Leopold III, Duke of Anhalt Dessau (1740 1817), first Duke of Anhalt… …   Wikipedia

  • Leopold VI, Duke of Austria — Leopold VI (1176 ndash; 28 July 1230), called the Glorious, from the House of Babenberg, was Duke of Austria from 1198 to 1230 and of Styria from 1194 to 1230.Leopold was the younger son of Duke Leopold V. In contravention of the provisions of… …   Wikipedia

  • Leopold III of Austria — can refer to either of:*Leopold III of Austria, the Saint (1073 ndash;1136), Margrave of Austria from the house of Babenberg, or *Leopold III of Austria, (1351 ndash;1386), Duke of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Vorderösterreich of the House of… …   Wikipedia

  • Leopold (ruler) — Leopold, as a hereditary ruler, may be: * Rulers in Austria: ** Leopold I, Margrave of Austria (died 994) ** Leopold II, Margrave of Austria (1050 1095), styled The Fair ** Leopold of Styria (died 1129), styled the Strong, margrave ** Leopold III …   Wikipedia

  • Henry III, Margrave of Meissen — Henry the Illustrious Margrave Henry of Meissen, Codex Manesse Margrave of Meissen Reign 1221 …   Wikipedia

  • Leopold IV, Duke of Bavaria — Leopold IV, the Generous (c. 1108 ndash;October 18, 1141) was Margrave of Austria from 1136 and Duke of Bavaria from 1139 until his death.He was one of the younger sons of Margrave Leopold III, the Holy. It is not known why he was originally… …   Wikipedia

  • Culture of Austria — Austrian culture has largely been influenced by its past and present neighbors: Italy, Poland, Germany, Hungary and Bohemia. Contents 1 The arts 1.1 Music 1.1.1 Classical music 1.1.1.1 First Viennese …   Wikipedia

  • Леопольд III (маркграф Австрии) — В Википедии есть статьи о других людях с именем Леопольд. Леопольд III Благочестивый нем. Leopold III der Heilige …   Википедия

  • Saint Leopold — may refer to: * Leopold III, Margrave of Austria * Leopold Mandićee also*São Leopoldo, city in Brazil *Leopold …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”