Leopold III, Duke of Austria

Leopold III, Duke of Austria
Spouse(s)	Viridis Visconti
Noble family	House of Habsburg
Father	Albert II of Austria
Mother	Johanna of Pfirt
Born	1 November 1351 Vienna
Died	9 July 1386 (aged 34) Sempach
Buried	Saint Paul in Lavanttal Abbey
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Duke Leopold III of Austria (November 1, 1351 – July 9, 1386) from the Habsburg family, was Duke of Austria from 1365 to 1379, and Duke of Styria, Carniola and Carinthia (Inner Austria) in 1365–1386.

Life

Born in Vienna, Leopold was a younger son of Duke Albert the Wise, and younger brother of the Dukes Rudolf the Founder and Albert the Pigtail. His mother, Joanna of Pfirt, was 51 when she gave birth to him and died shortly after. He was firstly the administrator of Tyrol, and was jointly charged with the rule of the Habsburg lands with Albert after Rudolf's death. However, by the Treaty of Neuberg of September 9, 1379, he became the exclusive ruler of Styria (including Wiener Neustadt), Carinthia, Carniola, the Windic March, Gorizia, the Habsburgs' possessions in Friuli, Tyrol and Further Austria. In 1368 he acquired Freiburg im Breisgau, in 1375 Feldkirch and in 1382 Trieste.

However, his attempts to expand his position in Switzerland and Swabia failed, when he died in the Battle of Sempach in 1386.

Family and children

He was married, on 23 February 1365, to Viridis Visconti (1352–1414), second daughter of Barnabò Visconti, Lord of Milan, and Beatrice Regina della Scala, and had the following children:

1. William the Courteous
2. Leopold the Fat
3. Ernest the Iron
4. Frederick of the Empty Pockets
5. Elisabeth (1378–1392)
6. Catherine (1385–?), Abbess of St. Klara in Vienna

He was succeeded by his eldest son William. Other sons included Leopold, future Duke of Further Austria, Ernest the Iron, future Duke of Inner Austria, and Frederick, future Duke of Further Austria.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Leopold III, Duke of Austria

16. Albert IV, Count of Habsburg               8. Rudolph I of Germany                       17. Hedwig of Kyburg               4. Albert I, Duke of Austria                             18. Burkhard V, Count of Hohenburg               9. Gertrude of Hohenburg                       19. Mechtild of Tübingen               2. Albert II, Duke of Austria                                   20. Meinhard I of Gorizia-Tyrol               10. Meinhard, Duke of Carinthia                       21. Adelheid of Tyrol               5. Elisabeth of Gorizia-Tyrol                             22. Otto II Wittelsbach, Duke of Bavaria               11. Elisabeth of Bavaria                       23. Agnes of the Palatinate               1. Leopold III, Duke of Austria                                         24. Ulrich II of Pfirt               12. Theobald II of Pfirt                       25. Agnes of Vergy               6. Ulrich III of Pfirt                             13. Catherine of Klingen                       3. Johanna of Pfirt                                   28. Hugh III, Count of Burgundy               14. Reginald of Burgundy                       29. Adelaide, Countess Palatine of Burgundy               7. Joanna of Burgundy                             30. Amadeus, Count of Neufchâtel               15. Guillemette of Neufchâtel                       31. Jordanna of Arberg