Leopold V, Duke of Austria
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Leopold V (1157 – December 31, 1194), the Virtuous, was a Babenberg duke of Austria from 1177 to 1194 and Styria from 1192 to 1194.
Leopold was the son of Henry II Jasomirgott and his Byzantine wife Theodora Comnena. In 1172 he married Helena, daughter of King Geza II of Hungary, and their sons were Frederick I and Leopold VI.
He is mainly remembered for his participation in the Third Crusade, where he quarreled with the English king Richard Lionheart outside Acre; Richard and Philip II of France had raised their flags in Acre, but Richard removed Leopold's flag when he attempted to do the same (see Siege of Acre). He was also suspected of involvement in the murder of Leopold's cousin Conrad of Montferrat, shortly after his election as King of Jerusalem. On his journey back to England in 1192, Richard had to stop in Vienna, where he was recognized (supposedly because of his signet ring) and was arrested in the Erdberg district (modern Landstraße). For some time the king was imprisoned in Dürnstein, and was then brought before Emperor Henry VI. The immense ransom, supposedly six thousand buckets of silver, became the foundation for the mint in Vienna, and was used to build new city walls for Vienna, as well as to build Wiener Neustadt. However, the duke was excommunicated by Pope Celestine III for having taken a fellow crusader prisoner.
On August 17, 1186 the Georgenberg Pact was negotiated, by which Styria and the central part of Upper Austria were amalgamated into Austria after 1192. This was the first step towards the creation of modern Austria.
In 1194 he died in Graz after a fall from a horse at a tournament, without having been absolved of the excommunication.
| Preceded by: Henry II | Duke of Austria | Succeeded by: Frederick I |
| Preceded by: Ottokar IV | Duke of Styria | Succeeded by: Leopold VI |
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