Which dog breed is named after the German city of Leonberg?

The dog breed named after the German city of Leonberg is the Leonberger.

The name comes from Leonberg, a town in Baden-Württemberg near Stuttgart. The breed was developed there during the mid-nineteenth century, linking its identity directly to the place where it was promoted and registered.

Breeder and Leonberg mayor Heinrich Essig claimed in the 1830s that he created the breed using dogs including a Landseer Newfoundland and a Saint Bernard-type dog, with a Pyrenean Mountain Dog also said to have been added. The exact origin story is disputed, but the city connection is not.

Leonberg’s coat of arms features a lion, and the breed was marketed as a large dog resembling that symbol. Leonbergers later became popular with European royal households and were used for farm work, guarding, cart pulling, and water rescue. Their black masks and massive, lion-like appearance are characteristic modern features.