1) Leopold III was born at Babenberg castle in
Gars am Kamp Lower Austria
Niederösterreich, in the year 1073 A.D., the son of Margrave
Leopold II and
Ida of Formbach-Ratelnberg
Leopold III's second wife was
Agnes, the widowed sister of Emperor
Henry V. Agnes had influential connections through her previous marriage, one of her sons being
Conrad III (Hohenstaufen dynasty) King of Germany.
Leopold III also founded the monasteries of
Heiligenkreuz,
Kleinmariazell and
Seitenstetten which developed a territory still largely covered by forest.
2) His father
, Leopold II (born 1050 A.D.) was a
Babenberg Margrave of
Austria ruling from 1075 onwards. He was known as
Leopold the 'Fair'.
3) Leopold the Fair was descended from
Ernest the Brave (born either 1026 or 1027 A.D.) and
Adelaide of Eilenburg, the daughter of Margrave
Dedo II of Meissen.
4) Ernest the Brave was descended from
Adalbert the Victorious (985 A.D.) who was
Margrave of
Austria from 1018 until his death. Adalbert extended the eastern border of the then small
Ostmark of Bavaria as far as the rivers
Morava/March and
Leitha and supported King
Henry III in his battles against
Hungary and
Bohemia
5)
Leopold I (died 994), also
Luitpold or
Liutpold, called
the Illustrious (
der Erlauchte), was the first
Margrave of
Austria from the
House of Babenberg. and the father of Ernest the Brave. Leopold was a count in the
Bavarian Donaugau shire and first appears in documents from the 960s as
Liupo, a faithful follower of Emperor
Otto I.
Otto I (November 23, 912 – May 7, 973), also known as
Otto the Great, was the founder of the
Holy Roman Empire, reigning from 936 until his death in 973. The oldest son of
Henry I the Fowler and
Matilda of Ringelheim, Otto was "the first of the Germans to be called the emperor of Italy".
Even though he is not mentioned in the
Babenberger Chronicle written by his Leopolds' descendant
Otto of Freising (which only starts with Leopold's grandson
Adalbert) Leopold is known as the progenitor of this dynasty
