Leopold I Habsburg ^{1 2 3}

  General Notes:

Holy Roman emperor (1658–1705), king of Bohemia (1656–1705) and of Hungary (1655–1705), second son and successor of Ferdinand III.

Upon his elder brother’s death (1654), Leopold, who had been educated for the church, became Ferdinand’s heir. During his reign the Holy Roman Empire was menaced by the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) in the east and by King Louis XIV of France in the west. The Turkish invasions of Hungary were temporarily checked by the imperial commander Montecucculi, but by the Treaty of Vasvar (1664) the Turks kept their conquests and their suzerainty over Transylvania. In the west, Leopold joined the anti-French coalition in the third (1672–78) of the Dutch Wars. A revolt in Hungary against Hapsburg rule reopened war with the Ottomans, who supported the rebel leader Thököly. The Turks besieged Vienna (1683), which Leopold saved with the aid of King John III of Poland and the imperial general Charles V of Lorraine. Other victories followed. However, Leopold’s attempts to stop French aggression divided his energies and postponed the successful conclusion of war with the Turks. In 1686 he formed a defensive alliance against France known as the League of Augsburg. In 1688, Louis XIV invaded the Palatinate and war broke out. The Treaty of Ryswick with Louis XIV temporarily halted French expansion. In the east the triumph of Eugene of Savoy over the Turks at Zenta (1697) led to the Treaty of Karlowitz by which Leopold obtained nearly all of Hungary. War with France over the succession to the Spanish throne ensued in 1701. After Leopold’s death the war continued under Joseph I, his son and successor. During Leopold’s reign Vienna became a cultural center. His particular interest was music, and he was a fair composer.

The emperor was married three times. His first wife was Margaret Theresa (d. 1673), daughter of Philip IV of Spain (the young infanta depicted in Diego Velasquez' "Las Meninas"), his second Archduchess Claudia Felicitas (d. 1676), the heiress of Tirol and his third Eleanora, a princess of the Palatinate (German: Pfalz). By his first two wives he had no sons, but his third wife bore him two Joseph and Charles, both of whom became emperors. He had also four daughters.

  Noted events in his life were:

• He was a King of Hungary and Bohemia.

• Acceded: Holy Roman Emperor, Cir 1657-1658.

Leopold married Margaret Teresa Habsburg, daughter of Philip IV of Spain Habsburg and Mariana of Austria Habsburg, on 12 Dec 1666. (Margaret Teresa Habsburg was born on 12 Jul 1651 and died on 12 Mar 1673.)

Leopold next married Eleanor Magdalene of Neuburg Wittelsburg, daughter of Philip William of Neuburg Wittelsburg and Unknown, on 14 Dec 1676.