Leopold VI (1176 28 July 1230), called the Glorious, from the House
of Babenberg, was Duke of Austria from 1198 to 1230 and of Styria
from 1194 to 1230. Leopold VI was the younger son of Duke Leopold V
and his wife, Helena of Hungary (daughter of Géza II of Hungary and
Euphrosyne of Kiev). In contravention of the provisions of the
Georgenberg Pact, the Babenberg reign was divided after the death
of Leopold V: Leopold VI's elder brother, Frederick I, was
given the Duchy of Austria (corresponding roughly to modern Lower
Austria and eastern Upper Austria), while Leopold VI himself became
Duke of Styria. Both duchies were reunified under Leopold VI when
Frederick died after only four years of rule. Leopold VI
participated in the Reconquista in Spain and in two crusades, the
Albigensian Crusade in 1212 and the failed Fifth Crusade from 1217
to 1221, and like his predecessors attempted to develop the land by
founding monasteries. His most important foundation is Lilienfeld
in the Lower Austrian valley of the Traisen river, where he was
buried after his death. Besides that, he supported the then highly
modern Mendicant Orders of the Franciscans and Dominicans.
