Editing Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor

{{Other uses|Leopold II (disambiguation)}}
{{Short description|Holy Roman Emperor from 1790 to 1792}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name         = Leopold II
| title        = [[Imperator Romanorum]]
| image        = File:Mengs, Anton Raphael - Pietro Leopoldo d'Asburgo Lorena, granduca di Toscana - 1770 - PradoFXD.jpg
| caption      = Leopold as [[Grand Duke of Tuscany]], portrait by [[Anton Raphael Mengs]], 1770
| succession   = [[Holy Roman Emperor]]
| moretext     = ([[Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor#Regnal titles|more...]])
| reign        = 30 September 1790 – {{Nowrap|1 March 1792}}
| coronation   = 9 October 1790<br/>[[Frankfurt Cathedral]]
| cor-type     = [[Coronation of the Holy Roman Emperor#German royal coronation|Coronation]]
| predecessor  = [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]]
| successor    = [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]]
| regent       = {{List collapsed|title=''See list''|
[[Maria Christina, Duchess of Teschen|Maria Christina of Austria]] & [[Albert Casimir, Duke of Teschen]] (1790-1792)
}}
| reg-type     = [[List of governors of the Habsburg Netherlands|Governors<br/><small>(in Habsburg Netherlands)</small>]]
| birth_date   = {{Birth date|1747|5|5|df=y}}
| birth_place  = [[Vienna]], [[Archduchy of Austria]], [[Holy Roman Empire]]
| death_date   = {{Death date and age|1792|03|01|1747|05|05|df=y}}
| death_place  = Vienna, Archduchy of Austria, Holy Roman Empire
| spouse       = {{marriage|[[Maria Luisa of Spain]]|16 February 1764}}{{efn|By proxy. Leopold and Maria Luisa only got married in person on 5 August 1765.}}
| issue        = {{ubli|[[Maria Theresa of Austria (1767–1827)|Maria Theresa, Queen of Saxony]]|[[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor]]|[[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany]]|[[Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (born 1770)|Archduchess Maria Anna]]|[[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]]|[[Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria|Archduke Alexander Leopold, Palatine of Hungary]]|[[Archduke Joseph of Austria (Palatine of Hungary)|Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary]]|[[Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria|Archduchess Maria Clementina, Duchess of Calabria]]|[[Archduke Anton Victor of Austria|Archduke Anton Victor]]|[[Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780–1798)|Archduchess Maria Amalia]]|[[Archduke John of Austria|Archduke Johann]]|[[Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria|Archduke Rainer Joseph]]|[[Archduke Louis of Austria|Archduke Louis]]|[[Archduke Rudolf of Austria|Archduke Rudolf]]
}}
| full name    = {{Plainlist|
* {{Langx|en|Peter Leopold Joseph Anthony Joachim Pius Gotthard}}
* {{Langx|de|Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard}}}}
| house        = [[House of Habsburg-Lorraine|Habsburg-Lorraine]]
| father       = [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor]]
| mother       = [[Maria Theresa]]
| religion     = [[Roman Catholicism]]
| succession1     = {{ubl|[[List of rulers of Austria|Archduke of Austria]],|[[List of Hungarian monarchs|King of Hungary]], [[List of rulers of Croatia|Croatia]],}} [[List of rulers of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia and Lodomeria]] and [[King of Bohemia|Bohemia]]
| reign1          = 20 February 1790 – {{nowrap|1 March 1792}}
| coronation1  = 15 November 1790
| cor-type1    = [[Coronation of the Hungarian monarch|Coronation]]
| predecessor1    = [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]]
| successor1      = [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]]
| succession2  = [[Grand Duke of Tuscany]]
| reign2       = 18 August 1765 – 22 July 1790
| predecessor2 = [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II Stephen]]
| successor2   = [[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinand III]]
| date of burial = 
| place of burial = [[Imperial Crypt]]
| signature    = Signatur Leopold II. (HRR).PNG
}}
'''Leopold II''' (Peter Leopold Josef Anton Joachim Pius Gotthard; 5 May 1747 – 1 March 1792) was the penultimate [[Holy Roman Emperor]], as well as [[King of Hungary]], Croatia and [[King of Bohemia|Bohemia]], and [[List of rulers of Austria|Archduke of Austria]] from 1790 to 1792, and [[List of rulers of Tuscany|Grand Duke of Tuscany]] from 1765 to 1790.<ref name=":0">{{Cite encyclopedia |title=Leopold II {{!}} Holy Roman emperor |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Leopold-II-Holy-Roman-emperor |access-date=2018-10-04 |language=en}}</ref> He was a son of Empress [[Maria Theresa]] and Emperor [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis I]], and the brother of Queen [[Marie Antoinette]] of France, Queen [[Maria Carolina of Austria|Maria Carolina]], Duchess [[Maria Amalia of Parma]], and [[Emperor Joseph II]]. Leopold was a moderate proponent of [[enlightened absolutism]] like his brother [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]].<ref>Eberhard Weis, "Enlightenment and Absolutism in the Holy Roman Empire: Thoughts on Enlightened Absolutism in Germany", ''The Journal of Modern History'', vol. 58, Supplement pp. S181–S197, 1986.</ref> He granted the [[Accademia_dei_Georgofili|Academy of Georgofili]] his protection. Unusually for his time, he opposed the [[death penalty]] and [[torture]] and abolished it in [[Grand Duchy of Tuscany|Tuscany]] on 30 November 1786 during his rule there, making it the first nation in modern history to do so. This act has been commemorated since 2000 by a regional custom known as the Feast of Tuscany, held every 30 November.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Grziwotz |first=Herbert |date=30 Nov 2016 |title=Ohne Todesstrafe: die fortschrittliche Toskana von 1786 |url=https://www.lto.de/recht/feuilleton/f/criminalgesetz-toskana-1786-erste-abschaffung-todesstrafe-weltweit |access-date=2020-10-30 |website=Legal Tribune Online |language=de}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |title=Feast of Tuscany |url=https://en.comune.fi.it/export/sites/comune_multilingue/materiali/tradizioni_popolari/11._Feast_of_tuscany.pdf |access-date=2023-11-24}}</ref> Despite his brief reign, he is highly regarded. The historian [[Paul W. Schroeder]] called him "one of the most shrewd and sensible monarchs ever to wear a crown".<ref>''The Transformation of European Politics, 1763–1848'' (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1994), p. 64.</ref>

==Youth==
[[File:Archduke Peter Leopold, later Leopold II, 1762 by Liotard.jpg|thumb|left|upright|''Young Leopold drawing fortifications'', [[Jean-Étienne Liotard]], 1762]] 

Leopold was born in [[Vienna]] as his parents' third son. Initially selected for a clerical career, he received an education with a focus on [[theology]]. In 1753, he was engaged to [[Maria Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Massa|Maria Beatrice d'Este]], heiress to the [[Duchy of Modena]]. 

The marriage was never consummated and Maria Beatrice instead married Leopold's brother, [[Ferdinand, Duke of Breisgau|Archduke Ferdinand]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Leopold II |url=https://www.biography.com/people/leopold-ii-9379672 |website=Biography |language=en-us |access-date=2018-10-04}}</ref>

Upon the early death of his older brother [[Archduke Charles Joseph of Austria (1745–1761)|Archduke Charles]] in 1761, the family decided that Leopold was going to succeed his father as [[Grand Duke of Tuscany]]. Tuscany had been envisioned and designated as a [[secundogeniture]], a territory and title bestowed upon the second born son, which was greater than an [[appanage]]. On 5 August 1765, Leopold married [[Maria Luisa of Spain|Maria Luisa]], daughter of King [[Charles III of Spain]] and [[Maria Amalia of Saxony]]; however, they were already married by proxy on 16 February 1764 in [[Madrid]], more than a year before their in-person marriage. Upon the death of his father, Francis I, on 18 August 1765, he became Grand Duke of Tuscany.

==Grand Duke of Tuscany==
[[File:Pompeo Batoni 002.jpg|thumb|left|Leopold (left) with his brother [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Joseph II]]. ''[[Emperor Joseph II and Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo of Tuscany]]'' by [[Pompeo Batoni]], 1769, [[Vienna]], [[Kunsthistorisches Museum]]]]

For five years, Leopold exercised little more than nominal authority, under the supervision of counselors appointed by his mother. In 1770, he made a journey to Vienna to secure the removal of this vexatious guardianship and returned to Florence with a free hand. During the twenty years that elapsed between his return to Florence and the death of his eldest brother [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]] in 1790, he was employed in reforming the administration of his small state. The reformation was carried out by the removal of the ruinous restrictions on industry and personal freedom imposed by his predecessors of the [[House of Medici]] and left untouched during his father's life, by the introduction of a rational system of taxation (reducing the rates of taxation), and by the execution of profitable public works, such as the drainage of the [[Valdichiana]].<ref name=";)Emperor)1873">{{Cite book |last1=Joseph II ((empereur germanique ;) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jJU3zQEACAAJ |title=Joseph II., Leopold II. und Kaunitz: Ihr Briefwechsel |last2=Leopold II (Holy Roman Emperor) |publisher=W. Braumüller |year=1873}}</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=459}}

As Leopold had no army to maintain, and as he suppressed the small naval force kept up by the Medici, the whole of his revenue was left free for the improvement of his state. Leopold was never popular with his Italian subjects. His disposition was cold and retiring. His habits were simple to the verge of sordidness, though he could display splendour on occasion, and he could not help offending those of his subjects who had profited by the abuses of the Medicean régime.<ref name="Ingrao2000">{{Cite book |last=Charles W. Ingrao |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ccMmAAAAQBAJ |title=The Habsburg Monarchy, 1618–1815 |year=2000 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-26869-2}}</ref>{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=459}}

But his steady, consistent, and intelligent administration, which advanced step by step, brought the grand duchy to a high level of material prosperity. His ecclesiastical policy, which disturbed the deeply rooted convictions of his people and brought him into collision with the Pope, was not successful. He was unable to secularize the property of the religious houses or to put the clergy entirely under the control of the lay power.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=459}} However, his abolition of [[capital punishment]] was the first permanent abolition in modern times. On 30 November 1786, after having ''de facto'' blocked capital executions (the last was in 1769), Leopold promulgated the reform of the penal code that abolished the death penalty and ordered the destruction of all the instruments for capital execution in his land. [[Torture]] was also banned.<ref>In 2000 Tuscany's regional authority instituted an annual holiday on 30 November to commemorate the event. The November event is also commemorated by 300 cities around the world as [[Cities for Life Day]].</ref><ref name="Emperor)Crome1795">{{Cite book |last1=Leopold II (Holy Roman Emperor) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=df94WAE1yO4C |title=Die Staatsverwaltung von Toskana unter der Regierung seiner Königlichen Majestät Leopold II |last2=August Friedrich Wilhelm Crome |publisher=Stahel |year=1795}}</ref>

In line with the theories of the [[Age of Enlightenment]], he enlarged [[La Specola]] with medical waxworks and other exhibits, aiming to educate Florentines in the empirical observation of natural laws.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why these anatomical models are not disgusting |url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160526-why-these-anatomical-models-are-not-disgusting |last=Macdonald |first=Fiona |website=bbc.com |access-date=25 March 2018}}</ref>

Leopold also approved and collaborated on the development of a political constitution, said to have anticipated by many years the promulgation of the French constitution and which presented some similarities with the [[Virginia Declaration of Rights|Virginia Bill of Rights]] of 1778. Leopold's concept of this was based on respect for the political rights of citizens and on a harmony of power between the executive and the legislative. However, it could not be put into effect because Leopold moved to Vienna to become emperor in 1790, and because it was so radically new that it garnered opposition even from those who might have benefited from it.<ref name="Mora1959" />

Leopold developed and supported many social and economic reforms. [[Smallpox]] inoculation was made systematically available, and an early institution for the rehabilitation of juvenile delinquents was founded. Leopold also introduced radical reforms to the system of neglect and inhumane treatment of those deemed [[history of mental disorders|mentally ill]]. On 23 January 1774, the "legge sui pazzi" (law on the insane) was established, the first of its kind to be introduced in Europe, allowing steps to be taken to hospitalize individuals deemed insane. A few years later Leopold undertook the project of building a new hospital, the {{Interlanguage link multi|Bonifacio Hospital|it|3=Ospedale Bonifacio}}. He used his skill at choosing collaborators to put a young physician, [[Vincenzo Chiarugi]], at its head. Chiarugi and his collaborators introduced new humanitarian regulations in the running of the hospital and caring for the mentally ill patients, including banning the use of chains and physical punishment, and in so doing have been recognized as early pioneers of what later came to be known as the [[moral treatment]] movement.<ref name="Mora1959">Mora, G. (1959) [https://web.archive.org/web/20100724052551/http://jhmas.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/citation/XIV/10/424 Vincenzo Chiarugi (1759–1820) and his psychiatric reform in Florence in the late 18th century (on the occasion of the bi-centenary of his birth)] J Hist Med. Oct;14:424–33.</ref>

During the last few years of his rule in Tuscany, Leopold had begun to be frightened by the increasing disorders in the German and Hungarian dominions of his family, which were the direct result of his brother's strict methods. He and Joseph II were tenderly attached to one another and met frequently both before and after the death of their mother. The portrait by [[Pompeo Batoni]] in which they appear together shows that they bore a strong personal resemblance to one another. But it may be said of Leopold, as of [[Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle|Fontenelle]], that his heart was made of brains. He knew that he had to succeed his childless eldest brother in Austria, and he was unwilling to inherit his unpopularity. When, therefore, in 1789 Joseph, who knew himself to be dying, asked him to come to Vienna and become co-regent, Leopold evaded the request.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=459}}

He was still in Florence when Joseph II died at Vienna on 20 February 1790, and he did not leave his Italian capital until 3 March 1790.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|pp=459–460}} Following the principle of [[secundogeniture]] which had allowed him to rule Tuscany, Leopold entrusted the grand duchy to his younger son [[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinand III]], who ruled until the French invasion in 1797 and then again from 1814 to 1824.

==Holy Roman Emperor==
{{refimprove|section|date=November 2019}}
[[File:II. Lipót koronázása 1790-ben.jpg|thumb|Leopold's [[Coronation of the Hungarian monarch|coronation]] as [[King of Hungary]] in [[Bratislava|Pressburg]], by [[Carl Schütz]].]]

Leopold, during his government in Tuscany, had shown a speculative tendency to grant his subjects a constitution. When he succeeded to the Austrian lands, he began by making large concessions to the interests offended by his brother's innovations. He recognized the Estates of his different dominions as "the pillars of the monarchy", pacified the Hungarians and Bohemians, and divided the insurgents in the [[Austrian Netherlands]] (now Belgium) by means of concessions. When these failed to restore order, he marched troops into the country and re-established his own authority, and at the same time the historic franchises of the Flemings. Yet he did not surrender any part that could be retained of what Maria Theresa and Joseph had done to strengthen the hands of the state. He continued, for instance, to insist that no [[papal bull]] could be published in his dominions without his consent (''placetum regium'').{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}} One of the harshest actions Leopold took to placate the noble communities of the various Habsburg domains was to issue a decree on 9 May 1790 that forced thousands of Bohemian serfs freed by his brother Joseph back into servitude.

Leopold lived for barely two years after his accession as Holy Roman Emperor, and during that period he was hard pressed by peril from west and east alike. The growing revolutionary disorders in France endangered the life of his sister [[Marie Antoinette]], the queen of [[Louis XVI]], and also threatened his own dominions with the spread of subversive agitation. His sister sent him passionate appeals for help, and he was pestered by the royalist émigrés, who were intriguing to bring about armed intervention in France.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}}

From the east he was threatened by the aggressive ambition of [[Catherine II of Russia]] and by the unscrupulous policy of [[Prussia]]. Catherine would have been delighted to see Austria and Prussia embark on a crusade in the cause of kings against the [[French Revolution]]. While they were busy beyond the [[Rhine]], she would have annexed what remained of Poland and made conquests against the [[Ottoman Empire]]. Leopold II had no difficulty in seeing through the rather transparent cunning of the Russian empress, and he refused to be misled.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}}

To his sister, he gave good advice and promises of help if she and her husband could escape from Paris. The émigrés who followed him pertinaciously were refused audience, or when they forced themselves on him, were peremptorily denied all help. Leopold was too purely a politician not to be secretly pleased at the destruction of the power of France and of her influence in Europe by her internal disorders. Within six weeks of his accession, he displayed his contempt for France's weakness by practically tearing up the treaty of alliance made by Maria Theresa in 1756 and opening negotiations with [[Kingdom of Great Britain|Great Britain]] to impose a check on Russia and Prussia.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}}

Leopold put pressure on Great Britain by threatening to cede his part of the Low Countries to France. Then, when sure of British support, he was in a position to baffle the intrigues of Prussia. A personal appeal to [[Frederick William II of Prussia|Frederick William II]] led to a conference between them at [[Treaty of Reichenbach (1790)|Reichenbach]] in July 1790, and to an arrangement which was in fact a defeat for Prussia: Leopold's coronation as King of Hungary on 11 November 1790, preceded by a settlement with the [[Diet of Hungary|Diet]] in which he recognized the dominant position of the [[Magyars]]. He had already made an eight months' truce with the Turks in September, which prepared the way for the termination of the [[Austro-Turkish War (1788–1791)|war]] begun by Joseph II. The pacification of his eastern dominions left Leopold free to re-establish order in Belgium and to confirm friendly relations with Britain and the [[Dutch Republic|Netherlands]].{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}}

During 1791, the emperor remained increasingly preoccupied with the affairs of France. In January, he had to dismiss the Count of Artois (afterwards [[Charles X of France]]) in a very peremptory way. His good sense was revolted by the folly of the French émigrés, and he did his utmost to avoid being entangled in the affairs of that country. The insults inflicted on Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, however, at the time of their attempted [[flight to Varennes]] in June, stirred his indignation, and he made a general appeal in the [[Padua Circular]] to the sovereigns of Europe to take common measures in view of events which "immediately compromised the honour of all sovereigns, and the security of all governments." Yet he was most directly interested in negotiations with Turkey, which in June led to a final peace, the [[Treaty of Sistova]] being signed in August 1791.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}}

On 25 August 1791, he met the King of Prussia at [[Pillnitz Castle]], near [[Dresden]], and they drew up the [[Declaration of Pillnitz]], stating their readiness to intervene in France if and when their assistance was called for by the other powers. The declaration was a mere formality, for, as Leopold knew, neither Russia nor Britain was prepared to act, and he endeavored to guard against the use which he foresaw the émigrés would try to make of it. In face of the reaction in France to the Declaration of Pillnitz, the intrigues of the émigrés, and attacks made by the French revolutionists on the rights of the German princes in [[Alsace]], Leopold continued to hope that intervention might not be required. When Louis XVI swore to observe the constitution of September 1791, the emperor professed to think that a settlement had been reached in France. The attacks on the rights of the German princes on the left bank of the Rhine, and the increasing violence of the parties in Paris which were agitating to bring about war, soon showed, however, that this hope was vain.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}} Leopold meant to meet the challenge of the revolutionists in France with dignity and temper; however, the effect of the Declaration of Pillnitz was to contribute to the radicalization of their political movement.

Like his parents before him, Leopold had sixteen children, the eldest of his eight sons being his successor, Emperor [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]]. Some of his other sons were prominent personages in their day. Among them were: [[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany]]; [[Archduke Charles, Duke of Teschen]], a celebrated soldier; [[Archduke Johann of Austria]], also a soldier; [[Archduke Joseph, Palatine of Hungary]]; and [[Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria|Archduke Rainer]], Viceroy of Lombardy-Venetia.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|p=460}}

Leopold died suddenly from [[pneumonia]] in Vienna on 1 March 1792. He was buried in the Tuscan Crypt within the Imperial Crypt in Vienna.{{CN|date=May 2024}}

==Patronage of the arts==
As a patron of the arts, Leopold II had an impact on the arts and culture of both Tuscany and Vienna. He was particularly passionate about Italian [[opera]] as practiced in the city of Florence. While the Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1765 to 1790, he was a major patron of the composer [[Tommaso Traetta]] and subsidized the costs of staging many new innovative operas by that composer; including the first staging in Florence of Traetta's 1763 masterwork ''Ifigenia in Tauride''. He also was a patron of the opera singers [[Giovanni Manzuoli]], [[Giusto Fernando Tenducci]], and [[Tommaso Guarducci]].<ref name="Grove">{{Cite encyclopedia |date=2002 |title=Leopold II [Pietro Leopoldo]|encyclopedia=[[The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians|Grove Music Online]] |series=Oxford Music Online |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]|author=John A. Rice|doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.O005887}}</ref>

Upon his succession to Holy Roman Emperor in 1790, Leopold II brought his passion for Florentine opera to the Vienna court, and brought with him many of the musicians and opera singers he enjoyed in Tuscany to Vienna. Many of the previously active singers, librettists, and composers at the Vienna court, such as librettist [[Lorenzo Da Ponte]], were dismissed by Leopold II as he significantly changed the staffing of artists in the Vienna court.<ref name="Grove"/> 

Before Leopold II [[opera buffa]] had been the center of the Vienna court, but after his succession and by Leopold's direction [[opera seria]] and ballet became the central repertoire of both the [[Burgtheater]] and [[Theater am Kärntnertor|Kärntnertortheate]].<ref name="Grove"/> Following this shift, [[Mozart]], who had previously written the opera buffas ''[[The Marriage of Figaro]]'' (1786), ''[[Don Giovanni]]'' (1787), and ''[[Così fan tutte]]'' (1790) with Da Ponte, created the opera seria ''[[La clemenza di Tito]]'' which was commissioned by the Estates of [[Bohemia]] for the festivities that accompanied Leopold's coronation as king of Bohemia in [[Prague]] on 6 September 1791.<ref>A complete discussion of Leopold's involvement with the coronation and its musical performances is found in [[Daniel E. Freeman]], ''Mozart in Prague'' (2021), pp. 193–230.</ref> This shift toward opera seria and ballet continued in Vienna beyond Leopold II's reign decades into the 19th century.<ref name="Grove"/>


<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
Image:Johann Zoffany 005.jpg|Leopold as Grand Duke of Tuscany together with his family
File:Kaiser Leopold II in Feldmarschallsuniform c1790.jpg|Portrait of Leopold as Grand Duke of Tuscany shortly before becoming Holy Roman Emperor, {{circa|1790}}
File:Frankfurt am Main 1.5 Ducat 1790 Silver Strike Coronation Coin Leopold II.jpg|Coronation in Frankfurt am Main 9 October 1790. Silver strike of a coronation coin with Leopold's [[motto]] "pietate et concordia" above the [[Imperial Regalia]].
File:Heinrich Friedrich Füger 007.png|Portrait of Emperor Leopold II shortly before his death, by [[Heinrich Friedrich Füger]]
File:Sarcophagus Emperor Leopold II.jpg|Sarcophagus of Leopold II in [[Kapuzinergruft]], in Vienna, Austria
</gallery>

==Issue==
His mother Empress Maria Theresa was the last Habsburg, and he was one of 16 children. His brother Joseph II died without any surviving children, but Leopold in turn had 16 children, just like his mother, and became the founder of the main line of the [[House of Habsburg-Lorraine]]. 

Children with his wife [[Infanta Maria Luisa of Spain]] (also known as ''Maria Ludovica of Spain''):

{| border="1" style="border-collapse: collapse;"
|- bgcolor="cccccc"
!Name!!Birth!!Death!!Notes
|-
| [[Maria Theresa of Austria (1767-1827)|Archduchess Maria Theresa]] || 14 January 1767 || 7 November 1827 (aged 60) || Married [[Anthony Clement of Saxony|Anton I of Saxony]] in 1787; no surviving issue.
|-
| [[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor]] || 12 February 1768 || 2 March 1835 (aged 67) || Married (1) [[Duchess Elisabeth of Württemberg]] in 1788; no surviving issue. Married (2) [[Maria Theresa of Naples and Sicily|Princess Maria Teresa of Naples and Sicily]] in 1790; had issue. Married (3) [[Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este|Archduchess Maria Ludovika of Austria-Este]] in 1808; no issue. Married (4) [[Caroline Augusta of Bavaria]] in 1816; no issue. Franz II would be the last Holy Roman Emperor.
|-
| [[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany]] || 6 May 1769 || 18 June 1824 (aged 55) || Married (1) [[Princess Luisa of Naples and Sicily]] in 1790; had issue. Married (2) [[Princess Maria Ferdinanda of Saxony]], daughter of [[Maximilian, Crown Prince of Saxony]], in 1821; no issue.
|-
| [[Archduchess Maria Anna of Austria (1770–1809)|Archduchess Maria Anna]] || 22 April 1770 || 1 October 1809 (aged 39) || Never married. Became an Abbess at the Theresian Convent in Prague.
|-
| [[Archduke Charles of Austria|Archduke Charles]] || 5 September 1771 || 30 April 1847 (aged 75) || Married [[Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg]] in 1815; had issue.
|-
| [[Archduke Alexander Leopold of Austria|Archduke Alexander Leopold]] || 14 August 1772 || 12 July 1795 (aged 22) || Never married. Accidentally burned to death from a mishap while conducting a [[fireworks]] show.
|-
| Archduke Albrecht Johann Joseph || 19 September 1773 || 22 July 1774 (aged 10 months) || Died in infancy.
|-
| Archduke Maximilian Johann Joseph || 23 December 1774 || 10 March 1778 (aged 3) || Died in childhood.
|-
| [[Archduke Josef Anton of Austria|Archduke Joseph]] || 9 March 1776 || 13 January 1847 (aged 70) || Married (1) [[Grand Duchess Alexandra Pavlovna of Russia]] in 1799; no surviving issue. Married (2) [[Princess Hermine of Anhalt-Bernburg-Schaumburg-Hoym]] in 1815; had issue. Married (3) [[Duchess Maria Dorothea of Württemberg]] in 1819; had issue. He and his eldest son were the last two [[Palatine of Hungary|Counts palatine of Hungary]].
|-
| [[Archduchess Maria Clementina of Austria|Archduchess Maria Clementina]] || 24 April 1777 || 15 November 1801 (aged 24) || Married the Duke of Calabria, later King [[Francis I of the Two Sicilies]], in 1797. Her only surviving issue, [[Marie-Caroline of Bourbon-Two Sicilies, Duchess of Berry|Marie-Caroline]], married [[Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry|the Duke of Berry]], and was the mother of French [[pretender]] [[Henri, Count of Chambord]].
|-
| [[Archduke Anton Victor of Austria|Archduke Anton Victor]] || 31 August 1779 || 2 April 1835 (aged 55) || Never married; became [[Prince-Bishop of Münster]], [[Grand Master of the Teutonic Order]], [[Duke of Westphalia]] and titular [[Prince-Elector]]-[[Archbishop of Cologne]].
|-
| [[Archduchess Maria Amalia of Austria (1780-1798)|Archduchess Maria Amalia]] ||17 October 1780||25 December 1798 (aged 18) || Never married.
|-
| [[Archduke John of Austria|Archduke John]] || 20 January 1782 || 11 May 1859 (aged 77) || Married [[Morganatic marriage|morganatically]] to Countess [[Anna Plochl]] in 1829 and had issue. The counts of Meran descend from him.
|-
| [[Archduke Rainer Joseph of Austria|Archduke Rainer]] || 30 September 1783 || 16 January 1853 (aged 69) || Married [[Princess Elisabeth of Savoy-Carignan]], sister of King [[Charles Albert of Sardinia]], in 1820; had issue.
|-
| [[Archduke Louis of Austria|Archduke Louis]] || 13 December 1784 || 21 December 1864 (aged 80) || Never married.
|-
| [[Rudolph of Austria (Cardinal)|Archduke Rudolph]] || 8 January 1788 || 24 July 1831 (aged 43) || Never married. Became Archbishop of [[Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Olomouc|Olmütz]]; created Cardinal on 4 June 1819.
|}
===Illegitimate children===
*With Livia Raimondi, a ballerina, he had:
**Luigi von Grün (1788–1814)

==Coat of Arms==

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:1em auto; text-align:center;"
| [[File:Middle Coat of Arms of Leopold II and Francis II, Holy Roman Emperors.svg|185px]]<br /> Middle Coat of arms
| [[File:Greater coat of arms of Leopold II and Francis II, Holy Roman Emperors.svg|185px]]<br /> Greater Coat of arms
| [[File:Coat of Arms of Leopold II and Francis II, Holy Roman Emperors-Or shield variant.svg|150px]]<br /> Greater Coat of arms (Shield variant)
| [[File:Ornamented Coat of Arms of Leopold II and Francis II, Holy Roman Emperors.svg|250px]]<br /> Greater Coat of arms (Shield variant with supporters)
|}

==Ancestors==
{{ahnentafel
|collapsed=yes |align=center |ref=<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AINPAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1 |title=Genealogie ascendante jusqu'au quatrieme degre inclusivement de tous les Rois et Princes de maisons souveraines de l'Europe actuellement vivans |publisher=Frederic Guillaume Birnstiel |year=1768 |location=Bourdeaux |page=1 |language=fr |trans-title=Genealogy up to the fourth degree inclusive of all the Kings and Princes of sovereign houses of Europe currently living}}</ref>
| boxstyle_1 = background-color: #fcc;
| boxstyle_2 = background-color: #fb9;
| boxstyle_3 = background-color: #ffc;
| boxstyle_4 = background-color: #bfc;
| 1 = 1. '''Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor'''
| 2 = 2. [[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor]]
| 3 = 3. [[Maria Theresa|Maria Theresa of Austria]]
| 4 = 4. [[Leopold, Duke of Lorraine]]
| 5 = 5. [[Élisabeth Charlotte of Orléans]]
| 6 = 6. [[Charles VI, Holy Roman Emperor]]
| 7 = 7. [[Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick]]
| 8 = 8. [[Charles V, Duke of Lorraine]]
| 9 = 9. [[Eleonore of Austria, Queen of Poland|Eleonore of Austria]]
| 10 = 10. [[Philippe I, Duke of Orléans]]
| 11 = 11. [[Elizabeth Charlotte, Madame Palatine|Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate]]
| 12 = 12. [[Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor]]
| 13 = 13. [[Eleonore Magdalene of Neuburg]]
| 14 = 14. [[Louis Rudolph, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel]]
| 15 = 15. [[Christine Louise of Oettingen-Oettingen]]
}}

==See also==
* [[Kings of Germany family tree]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

''' Attribution'''
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Leopold II. (emperor)|volume=16|pages=459–460}}

==Bibliography==
* Vovk, Justin C. (2010).  ''In Destiny's Hands: Five Tragic Rulers, Children of Maria Theresa''. iUniverse: Bloomington, Ind.  {{ISBN|978-1-4502-0081-3}}.
* ''Gentlemen's Magazine'', London, March 1792, pp.&nbsp;281–282, detailed account of the death at Vienna of his Imperial Majesty Leopold II.
* Rice, John A. "Emperor and Impresario: Leopold II and the Transformation of Viennese Musical Theater, 1790–1791. PhD diss., University of California, Berkeley, 1987.

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
{{Wikisource|Leopold II.|Leopold II}}
* {{Nömuseum|p|716}}
* {{DNB-Portal|118571877|NAME=Leopold II}}
* {{DDB|Person|118571877}}
* Work describing Leopold's coronation: [http://digitalna.kniznica.info/s/sXgMZqR4Xb ''Beschreibung der königl. hungarischen Krönung als Seine Apostolische Majestät Leopold der Zweyte zu Pressburg zum hungarischen Könige gekrönt wurde ...''] Wien: Hieronymus Löschenkohl, 1790. 57 p. Available at [[University Library in Bratislava Digital Library|ULB´s Digital Library]] 
* [https://www.academia.edu/7023440/Grand_Duke_Pietro_Leopoldos_Musical_Patronage_in_Florence_1765_1790_as_Reflected_in_the_Ricasoli_Collection John A. Rice, "Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo's Musical Patronage in Florence, 1765–1790, as Reflected in the Ricasoli Collection"]

===Regnal titles===
{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[House of Habsburg-Lorraine]]|5 May|1747|1 March|1792|House of Lorraine}}
{{s-reg}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis Stephen]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Grand Duke of Tuscany]]|years=1765–1790}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany|Ferdinand III]]}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Joseph II]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Holy Roman Emperor]]<br>[[List of German monarchs|King in Germany]]<br>[[King of Hungary]], [[King of Croatia|Croatia]], and [[King of Bohemia|Bohemia]];<br>[[List of rulers of Austria|Archduke of Austria]];<br>[[Duke of Brabant]], [[Duke of Limburg|Limburg]],<br> [[Duke of Lothier|Lothier]], [[Duke of Luxembourg|Luxembourg]] and [[Duke of Milan|Milan]];<br>[[Count of Flanders]], [[Count of Hainaut|Hainaut]] and [[Count of Namur|Namur]]|years=1790–1792}}
{{s-aft|after=[[Francis II, Holy Roman Emperor|Francis II]]}}
{{s-end}}
{{Holy Roman Emperors}}
{{Monarchs of Bohemia}}
{{Hungarian kings}}
{{German monarchs}}
{{Croatian kings}}
{{Monarchs of Luxembourg}}
{{Rulers of Austria}}
{{Austrian archdukes}}
{{tuscan princes}}
{{Grand Dukes of Tuscany}}
{{Age of Enlightenment}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leopold 02, Holy Roman Emperor}}
[[Category:1747 births]]
[[Category:1792 deaths]]
[[Category:18th-century Holy Roman Emperors]]
[[Category:18th-century archdukes of Austria]]
[[Category:18th-century monarchs of Bohemia]]
[[Category:18th-century grand dukes of Tuscany]]
[[Category:18th-century dukes of Milan]]
[[Category:18th century in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany]]
[[Category:18th-century Hungarian monarchs]]
[[Category:18th-century dukes of Brabant]]
[[Category:18th-century dukes of Limburg]]
[[Category:18th-century monarchs of Luxembourg]]
[[Category:18th-century counts of Flanders]]
[[Category:18th-century counts of Hainaut]]
[[Category:18th-century margraves of Namur]]

[[Category:Grand masters of the Order of the Golden Fleece]]
[[Category:Knights of the Golden Fleece of Austria]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Military Order of Maria Theresa]]
[[Category:Grand Crosses of the Order of Saint Stephen of Hungary]]
[[Category:Nobility from Vienna]]
[[Category:Burials at the Imperial Crypt]]
[[Category:Burials at St. Stephen's Cathedral, Vienna]]
[[Category:Children of Maria Theresa]]
[[Category:Sons of emperors]]
[[Category:Leopold II, Holy Roman Emperor| ]]
[[Category:Habsburg monarchs of Bohemia]]
[[Category:Kings of Hungary]]
[[Category:Kings of Croatia]]
[[Category:Monarchs of Galicia and Lodomeria]]
[[Category:Sons of kings]]
[[Category:Sons of queens regnant]]