Archduke Leopold Wilhelm was born on 5 January 1614. He was the brother of Emperor Ferdinand III and thus the paternal uncle of Emperor Leopold I.
Throughout his life, Leopold Wilhelm’s professional engagements were shaped by family traditions and dynastic needs, as well as by his own personal inclinations. As a younger son, he was educated for an ecclesiastical career. He never took holy orders, although he held the position of a secular prince-bishop. In times of urgent military need, he was required to command Imperial troops—reluctantly and with poor results. He proved far more successful as an administrator, however, governing the Austrian Netherlands for nearly ten years.
The true passion of Leopold Wilhelm’s heart was art. In Brussels, he assembled an outstanding collection of Italian and Dutch masters, impressive both in its size and its quality. Today, it forms an important part of the collections of the Kunsthistorisches Museum in Vienna.
Leopold Wilhelm never married and thus did not contribute to the Habsburgs’ already scant pool of male heirs. Eighty years after his death, the extinction of the direct father-to-son line led to the War of the Austrian Succession and the accession of Maria Theresa.
Access to the Metatext via placing an order for an augmented product. See Terms of Use
