Leonhard von Keutschach

Leonhard von Keutschach (c. 1442 – 8 June 1519) was Prince-Archbishop of Salzburg from 1495 until his death, the last to rule in the feudal style.

He was probably born at Viktring in Carinthia, the son of Otto von Keutschach, a judge at the manorial court (Hofrichter), and Gertrud von Möderndorf. The Keutschach family came from the northern shore of Lake Keutschach. Their arms are a white turnip on a black field.

Leonhard started out as canon of the Augustinian order and provost of Eberndorf Abbey. In 1490 he was promoted as provost of the Salzburg chapter and in 1495 was elected prince-archbishop. In 1498 he again expelled the Salzburg Jews, who had returned to the area since their banishment in 1404, and had their synagogues at Salzburg and Hallein destroyed.

The City of Salzburg was politically unstable, after in 1481 Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg had granted its citizens the privilege to elect its own council and mayor, which was the cause of a protracted struggle with the ruling archbishops. In 1511, Leonhard ended the unrest: He invited the mayor and councillors for a gala dinner, had them imprisoned and forced them to renounce their rights. He proceeded to cement his position with nepotism, nominating relatives in key positions; he however had to accept Matthäus Lang von Wellenburg, a former secretary of Emperor Maximilian I of Habsburg as coadjutor bishop. Leonhard died at Salzburg, spending his last years unsuccessfully battling his coadjutor, who would succeed him in 1519.

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