Leopold III known as “the Pious” or Saint-Léopold born in 1073 and died on près de Klosterneuburg, fut margrave d’Autriche de 1095 à sa mort. Issu de la maison de Babenberg, il est le fondateur des abbayes de Klosterneuburg et de Heiligenkreuz, un saint catholique fêté le , as well as the patron saint of Austria in general, of Vienna and of the State of Lower Austria.
Saint Leopold III of Austria known as The Pieu (der Heilige or der Fromme)
A native of Melk or Gars am Kamp, the residence of the Babenbergs at that time, Leopold III was the son of Leopold II of Babenberg, known as the beautiful, and his wife Ida de Cham. His father governed the margraviate of Austria from 1075, at the time of the bitter Investiture quarrel between King Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII. The margrave distanced himself from the king; it is also less and less dependent on central power.
Leopold III became sixth Margrave of Austria upon the death of his father ; He was called princeps terrae and pursued the objectives of achieving the greatest possible autonomy in its areas. Around 1104, he married Countess Adelaide of Perg and two years later, in his second marriage, Agnes of Franconia, the second daughter of Emperor Henry IV, which gave him great prestige. Agnes was also the widow of Duke Frederick Ier from Swabia, from the house of Hohenstaufen.
In 1125, on the death of Emperor Henry V, the last of the Franconian dynasty, the princes offered him the imperial crown, but Leopold declined the offer in view of his advanced age, preferring to devote himself to the Danubian principality. Instead, Duke Frederick of Swabia's sons, Frederick II and Conrad III of Hohenstaufen, vied for succession, initially in vain. In 1127, Conrad III was elected anti-king opposing Lothair of Supplinburg.
Leopold established his authority over Vienna, the future capital of Austria, while residing in Klosterneuburg where he founded a convent of canons in 1114. During his forty years of reign, when Bernard of Clairvaux was still alive, he facilitated the spread of religious institutes and introduced Cistercian monasticism in Austria. In 1133, the margrave founded the Cistercian monastery of Heiligenkreuz in the Wienerwald mountains. Leopold also founded the Cistercian abbey of Klein-Mariazell near Altenmarkt. He favored the cities of Vienna, Klosterneuburg and Krems; the works of Heinrich von Melk and Ava von Göttweig were produced during his reign.
Margrave Leopold III died of the after-effects of a hunting accident on , at the age of 63, and was buried at the Klosterneuburg Abbey which he had founded. He leaves the memory of a good administrator, and leaves the clergy with rich donations. Praised by the pope upon his death, he was canonized on . At the instigation of his namesake Léopold Ier, he will become the patron of Austria in 1663.
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Austrians celebrate Saint Leopold, known as Leopold III of Austria known as the Pious. He died on November 15, 1136 at the abbey he himself founded in Klosteneuburg. He contributed to the spread of religious institutes in Austria and developed the city of Vienna which would become the future capital. #mythology #myth #legend #calendar #15November 1TP5Austria #leopoldIII #saintleopold
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