Henry II, Duke of Austria

Henry II
Duke of Austria, Duke of Bavaria, Count Palatine of the Rhine
Heiligenkreuz Abbey, Lower Austria, c. 1290
Duke	1140–1156
Predecessor	Leopold IV
Successor	Leopold V
Spouse	Gertrude of Süpplingenburg Theodora Comnena
Issue Agnes of Austria Leopold V, Duke of Austria Henry I, Duke of Mödling
Family	House of Babenberg
Father	Leopold III, Margrave of Austria
Mother	Agnes of Germany
Born	1112
Died	13 January 1177(1177-01-13) Vienna, Austria

Henry II (German: Heinrich, 1112 – 13 January 1177), called Jasomirgott, was the Count Palatine of the Rhine from 1140 to 1141, the Margrave of Austria from 1141 to 1156, the Duke of Bavaria from 1141 to 1156 as Henry XI, and the Duke of Austria from 1156 to 1177. He was a member of the House of Babenberg.

As the son of Margrave Leopold III, he first became Count Palatine of the Rhine until being appointed Duke of Bavaria and Margrave of Austria when his brother Leopold IV unexpectedly died.

In the course of the dispute between the Welfen and Staufen dynasties in the Holy Roman Empire, the duchy of Bavaria had been taken away from the Welf Henry the Proud by the emperor and given to the Babenberg dynasty. The new Emperor, Frederick I, tried to reach a compromise with the Welfs and endowed the son of Henry the Proud, Henry the Lion, with Bavaria in 1156. A replacement had to be found for the Babenberg family, namely the Privilegium Minus, by which Austria was elevated to a duchy and gained complete independence from Bavaria.

Unlike his father, who resided in Klosterneuburg most of the time, Henry moved his residence to Vienna in 1145. Only by this act could the modern Austrian capital surpass cities such as Krems, Melk or Klosterneuburg. Since then, it has remained the capital of the country. Also in 1147, St. Stephen's Cathedral was completed, which became a visible landmark of the city, showing its prominence. In 1155, Henry founded the Schottenstift monastery in Vienna, in the courtyard of which a statue of him stands to this day.