(adapted from the LCA history page)

The Leonberger breed originated in Leonberg, Germany about 150 years ago. The breed was created by the town Mayor Heinrich Essig. The earliest known records of the breed date back to 1846 with Heinrich declared the creation of a new breed of dog. Heinrich liked large, imposing dogs and bred the Leonberger to resemble a lion of all things. The Leonberger breed shows up in AKC stud books all the way back to 1887.

At once, Essig's Leonberger became tremendously popular throughout Europe, especially so with royaly and those who had the means to acquire this rare breed. Heinrich wrote that he crossed a Landseer with a long haired St. Bernard from Switzerland. He cross bred these dogs for several generations, later breeding in a Pyrenean Mountain Dog. It was actually after Essig passed away, that his nephew actually continued the breeding program achieving the tawny color and familiar black mask that we see in the breed today.

World War I almost wiped the breed from Europe, reducing the population of Leonbergers to only 25 in all of Europe. Of those 25 only 5 were considered to be of breeding stock and it is from those original 5 dogs that the population was carried forward. Fast forward to today, where the Leonberger is a popular giant breed dog throughout Europe, though is a much rarer breed everywhere else.

The LCA has been the Registrar for the breed in North America for the last 25 years. This is just the cliff notes version, for a very interesting and thorough read please jump over to the LCA History page.