Leopold III, Duke of Austria

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 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