Leonhard of Gorizia

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Leonhard of Gorizia (1440 - April 12, 1500), son of Count Henry V and his wife Karalin Gara, was the last Count of Gorizia.

In 1454 he succeeded his father jointly with his brothers John and Louis. John apparently help most of the power while Louis did not exercise any political role and died between 1456 and 1457. The brothers had to face the hostility of Emperor Frederick III who aimed to seize the outer county, centered in Carinthia and in Val Pusteria. In 1460 they had to cede him the city of Lienz and various territories in Carintia.

John died in 1462 and Leonhard remained sole ruler. In 1462 he recovered Lienz. He married in 1478 Paola Gonzaga, the daughter of Marquess Ludovico III of Mantua, but the union proved childless.

Facing the extinction of the dynasty Count Leonhard became subject to the competing pressures of the Habsburg and of the Republic of Venice, which competed for his heritage. Venice, since 1434 master of Friuli, wanted to seize the inner county centered around Gorizia itself. In the end Leonhard leaned towards the Habsburg and when he died Austrian troops occupied immediately the town of Gorizia.