Eitel Frederick II of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (

Hechingen Hechingen ( Swabian: ''Hächenga'') is a town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated about south of the state capital of Stuttgart and north of Lake Constance and the Swiss border. Geography The town lies at the foot of t ...

, 1601 -

Issenheim Issenheim (; german: Isenheim) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. The Isenheim Altarpiece, currently on display at the Unterlinden Museum of Colmar, was completed in 1515 by Matthias Grünewald for a ...

, 11 July 1661) was the second Prince of

Hohenzollern-Hechingen Hohenzollern-Hechingen was a small principality in southwestern Germany. Its rulers belonged to the Swabian branch of the Hohenzollern dynasty. History The County of Hohenzollern-Hechingen was created in 1576, upon the partition of the Coun ...

and an imperial general in the Thirty Years' War.

Biography

Eitel Friedrich was the eldest son of Prince

Johann Georg, Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen Johann Georg of Hohenzollern-Hechingen (born 1577 in Hechingen; died 28 September 1623 in Hechingen) was the first Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen. Life Johann Georg was the only surviving son of Count Eitel Friedrich IV of Hohenzollern-Heching ...

(1577–1623) and Countess Franziska von Salm-Neufville (d. 1619). His father placed particular emphasis on a good education and the prince was sent to the universities of Vienna and Ingolstadt for this purpose. Educational trips to Italy and France also followed. Eitel Friedrich succeeded his father as Prince of Hohenzollern-Hechingen in 1623. He also commanded an infantry regiment in the service of

Emperor Ferdinand II Ferdinand II (9 July 1578 – 15 February 1637) was Holy Roman Emperor, King of Bohemia, Hungary, and Croatia from 1619 until his death in 1637. He was the son of Archduke Charles II of Inner Austria and Maria of Bavaria. His parents were de ...

. Eitel Friedrich was loyal to the Catholic Church and therefore supported the Habsburg during the Thirty Years' War.
His power base, the

Hohenzollern Castle Hohenzollern Castle (german: Burg Hohenzollern ) is the ancestral seat of the imperial House of Hohenzollern. The third of three hilltop castles built on the site, it is located atop Mount Hohenzollern, above and south of Hechingen, on the ed ...

, was strategically highly significant. The principality was surrounded by Protestant neighbors. In the war, the fortress developed into a focal point and was besieged and devastated by the Swedes and Württembergers in 1634. The castle was recaptured by Imperial troops the next year, and remained under Habsburg control until 1798 against a payment of 5,000 guilders annually.
The Thirty Years' War had impoverished the people in Hohenzollern-Hechingen and Eitel Friedrich was also faced with serious financial problems, forcing him to sell several attractive fiefs. In 1653, Eitel Friedrich became a

Prince of the Holy Roman Empire Prince of the Holy Roman Empire ( la, princeps imperii, german: Reichsfürst, cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised as such by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors o ...

and was admitted to the Imperial Diet in

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the f ...

.
In 1661, Eitel Friedrich was wounded in

České Budějovice České Budějovice (; german: Budweis ) is a city in the South Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic. It has about 93,000 inhabitants. It is located in the valley of the Vltava River, at its confluence with the Malše. České Budějovice is t ...

and died shortly after. He left no male heirs and was succeeded as a Prince by his brother

Philipp Philipp is both a surname and a given name. Notable people with the name include: "Philipp" has also been a shortened version of Philippson, a German surname especially prevalent amongst German Jews and Dutch Jews. Surname * Adolf Philipp (1864� ...

Marriage and children

On 19 March 1630, he married in Boutersem Maria Elisabeth II van den Bergh (1613–1671), daughter of Hendrik van den Bergh and Margravine of Bergen Op Zoom. With her he had the following children: * Stillborn son (1632) * Franziska (1642–1698), Margravine of Bergen Op Zoom, married Frédéric Maurice, son of

Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duc de Bouillon Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impres ...

Sources

* Gustav Schilling: ''Geschichte des Hauses Hohenzollern'', F. Fleischer, 1843, Page 228. * Heinrich August Pierer: ''Pierer's Universal-Lexikon der Vergangenheit und Gegenwart: oder, Neuestes encyclopädisches Wörterbuch der Wissenschaften, Künste und Gewerbe'', Band 8, 1859, S. 465
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* Johann Samuel Ersch: ''Allgemeine Encyclopädie der Wissenschaften und Künste'', J. f. Gleditsch, 1832, S. 418
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Philipp Hohenzollern Hechingen Princes of Hohenzollern-Hechingen House of Hohenzollern 1601 births 1661 deaths 17th-century German people