Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor in the context of "Rampjaar"

The Siege and Battle of Vienna took place at Kahlenberg Mountain near Vienna on 12 September 1683 after the city had been besieged by the Ottoman Empire for two months. The battle was fought by the Holy Roman Empire (led by the Habsburg monarchy) and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, both under the command of Polish King John III Sobieski, against the Ottomans and their vassal and tributary states. The battle marked the first time the Commonwealth and the Holy Roman Empire had cooperated militarily against the Ottomans. The defeat was a turning point for Ottoman expansion into Europe, after which they would gain no further ground. In the ensuing war that lasted until 1699, the Ottomans would cede most of Ottoman Hungary to Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor.

The battle was won by the combined forces of the Holy Roman Empire and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, the latter represented only by the forces of the Crown of the Kingdom of Poland (the march of the Lithuanian army was delayed, and they reached Vienna after it had been relieved). The Viennese garrison was led by Feldzeugmeister of the Holy Roman Imperial Army Ernst Rüdiger Graf von Starhemberg, an Austrian subject of Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. The overall command was held by the senior leader, the King of Poland, John III Sobieski, who led the relief forces.

Charles VI (German: Karl; Latin: Carolus; 1 October 1685 – 20 October 1740) was Holy Roman Emperor and ruler of the Austrian Habsburg monarchy from 1711 until his death, succeeding his elder brother, Joseph I. He unsuccessfully claimed the throne of Spain following the death of his relative, Charles II. In 1708, he married Elisabeth Christine of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, by whom he had his four children: Leopold Johann (who died in infancy), Maria Theresa, Maria Anna (Governess of the Austrian Netherlands), and Maria Amalia (who also died in infancy).

Four years before the birth of Maria Theresa, faced with his lack of male heirs, Charles provided for a male-line succession failure with the Pragmatic Sanction of 1713. The Emperor favoured his own daughters over those of his elder brother and predecessor, Joseph I, in the succession, ignoring the Mutual Pact of Succession he had signed during the reign of his father, Leopold I. Charles sought the other European powers' approval. They demanded significant terms, among which were that Austria close the Ostend Company. In total, the states of Great Britain, France, Saxony-Poland, the Dutch Republic, Spain, Venice, the Papal States, Prussia, Russia, Denmark, Savoy-Sardinia, and Bavaria, plus the Diet of the Holy Roman Empire, recognised the sanction. France, Spain, Saxony-Poland, Bavaria, and Prussia later reneged. Charles died in 1740, sparking the War of the Austrian Succession, which plagued his successor, Maria Theresa, for eight years.

The Grand Alliance was signed on 20 December 1689 by William III, King of England and Scotland, and Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. A coalition between the Dutch Republic, England, and the Habsburg Monarchy, its primary purpose was to oppose the expansionist policies of Louis XIV of France.

Infanta Margarita Teresa in a Blue Dress is one of the best-known portraits by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez. Executed in oil on canvas, it measures 127 cm high by 107 cm wide and was one of Velázquez's last paintings, produced in 1659, a year before his death. It shows Margaret Theresa of Spain who also appears in the artist's Las Meninas. Currently, the painting is in the Kunsthistorisches Museum.

This is one of the several court portraits made by Velázquez on different occasions of Infanta Margaret Theresa who, at fifteen, married her uncle, Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. She is the little infanta who appears in Las Meninas (1656). These paintings show her in different stages of her childhood; they were sent to Vienna to inform Leopold of what his young fiancée looked like.

The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and 1675 to 1679 Scanian War.

In May 1672, France nearly overran the Netherlands, an event remembered in Dutch history as the Rampjaar, or "Disaster Year". However, by late July the position had stabilised, while concern over French gains brought the Dutch support from Emperor Leopold I, Spain and Brandenburg-Prussia. Previously an ally of France, England exited the war in February 1674.

The Truce of Ratisbon, or Truce of Regensburg, concluded the War of the Reunions, fought by France against Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. The Truce was signed on 15 August 1684 at the Dominican convent in Ratisbon (now in Bavaria) between Louis XIV, the Holy Roman Emperor, Leopold I, and the Spanish King, Charles II. The Spanish crown was involved because of its sovereignty over the Spanish Netherlands, once part of the Holy Roman Empire. The final agreements allowed Louis to retain Strasbourg, Luxembourg, and most other Reunion gains, but he had to hand back Courtrai and Dixmude. Luxembourg, Courtrai, and Dixmude were in the Spanish Netherlands, whereas Strasbourg had been a free imperial city. The truce was supposed to last twenty years, but Louis terminated it after four years by declaring war on the Dutch Republic on 16 November and by invading Philippsburg on 27 September 1688, thereby starting the Nine Years' War.

The Northern War of 1655–1660 was fought between Sweden and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth, with participation at different times by Russia, Brandenburg-Prussia, the Habsburg monarchy, and Denmark–Norway. It ended with the treaties of Copenhagen and Oliva in 1660.

In 1655, Charles X took advantage of the Russo-Polish War (1654–67) to over-run western Poland. The Grand Duchy of Lithuania was annexed by Sweden, and John II Casimir Vasa took refuge in Vienna. He managed to regain parts of his kingdom in 1656, and the conflict widened when Russia declared war on Sweden, supported by Emperor Leopold and Frederick III of Denmark.

Leopoldstadt (German pronunciation: [ˈleːopɔldˌʃtad] ; Viennese: Leopoidstod; "Leopold-Town") is the 2nd municipal district of Vienna (German: 2. Bezirk) in Austria. As of 1 January 2016, there are 103,233 inhabitants over 19.27 km (7 sq mi). It is situated in the heart of the city and, together with Brigittenau (20th district), forms a large island surrounded by the Danube Canal and, to the north, the Danube. It is named after Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor. Due to its relatively high percentage of Jewish inhabitants before the Holocaust (38.5 percent in 1923), Leopoldstadt gained the nickname Mazzesinsel ('Matzo Island'). This context was a significant aspect for the district twinning with the New York City borough Brooklyn in 2007.