Born on 9 June 1640 in Vienna, Leopold received the traditional program of education in the liberal arts, history, literature, natural science and astronomy. He was particularly interested in music, as his father emperor … See more

The Ottoman Empire often interfered in the affairs of Transylvania, always an unruly district, and this interference brought on a war with the See more

The emperor himself defined the guidelines of the politics. Johann Weikhard of Auersperg was overthrown in 1669 as the leading minister. … See more

On 12 September 1683, the allied army fell upon the enemy, who was completely routed, and Vienna was saved. The imperial forces, among whom See more

Leopold's first war was the Second Northern War (1655–1660), in which King Charles X of Sweden tried to become King of Poland with the aid of allies including György II Rákóczi, Prince of Transylvania. Leopold's predecessor, Ferdinand III, had allied with King See more

French expansion increasingly threatened the Empire, especially the seizure of the strategic Duchy of Lorraine in 1670, followed by the 1672 Franco-Dutch War. By mid June, the Dutch Republic tethered at the brink of destruction, which lead Leopold to agree to … See more

The Peace of Westphalia in 1648 had been a political defeat for the Habsburgs. It ended the idea that Europe was a single Christian empire; governed spiritually by the See more