After the devastation of the Thirty Years’ War, Austria managed to recover economically and demographically, ushering in what would become the peak of Austrian Baroque culture. Ferdinand III, though hampered by war during his reign, was a great patron of the arts. His son, Leopold I, who took the throne in 1657, inherited a stronger Austria and continued this cultural support while facing a series of new challenges that shaped Habsburg dominance in Europe.
Leopold’s early reign brought attempts at consolidating Austria’s power over its lands, finally bringing Upper Austria (Further Austria and Tyrol) into the archduchy. However, he also found himself pulled into renewed conflict with both the Ottoman Empire and the expanding French power under Louis XIV. Although Leopold’s reign began with involvement in the Second Northern War (1655–1660) against the Swedish-backed Transylvanians, Austria would soon have to turn its attention back to the Ottoman threat.
In 1663, the Ottoman Empire initiated a significant campaign against Austria, leading to their defeat at the Battle of Saint Gotthard in 1664. Though victorious, Leopold struck a treaty with the Ottomans that was lenient and allowed Austria to maintain a fragile peace in the east while it focused on French threats in the west, where Austria was increasingly drawn into conflicts as France gained power and influence.
Despite the reprieve from the Ottomans, tension in Hungary flared due to Leopold’s harsh Counter-Reformation measures, which alienated Hungary’s Protestant nobility and led to revolts. By the early 1680s, Leopold was dealing with Hungarian uprisings and a renewed Ottoman push into Habsburg territory, culminating in the 1683 Siege of Vienna. In an iconic victory, the combined Polish and Habsburg forces drove the Ottomans back, sparking a successful campaign that ended with the Treaty of Karlowitz in 1699. This treaty finally secured Austria’s eastern borders and granted it control over Hungary, Croatia, and Transylvania, solidifying Habsburg dominance in Central Europe.
This newfound security allowed Leopold I to extend Habsburg influence westward, engaging in a prolonged contest with France. However, his domestic policies, including expelling Jews from Vienna in 1670 and enacting the Pragmatica of 1680 to regulate tenant-landlord relations, demonstrated the deep-seated conservatism that defined Austria under the Habsburgs, a contrast to the Enlightenment ideas spreading through Europe. The resulting Habsburg Empire at the turn of the 18th century emerged more unified and territorially secure than it had been in centuries, laying the groundwork for Austria’s growing role in European affairs under the Baroque era.