Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst, 2nd Prince of Solms-Braunfels (8 February 1721 in Braunfels – 2 October 1783, ibid.) was the second

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. T ...

Solms-Braunfels Solms-Braunfels was a County and later Principality with Imperial immediacy in what is today the federal Land of Hesse in Germany. Solms-Braunfels was a partition of Solms, ruled by the House of Solms, and was raised to a Principality of th ...

. He was the son of

Frederick William, Prince of Solms-Braunfels Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels (11 January 1696 in Braunfels – 24 February 1761, Braunfels) was the first Prince of Solms-Braunfels. He was the son of Count Wilhelm Moritz of Solms-Braunfels (1651–1724) and his wife Princess Magd ...

(1696–1761) by his first wife Princess Magdalena Henrietta of Nassau-Weilburg (1691–1725).

Life

Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst was born in Braunfels,

as the first son and child of Frederick William, Count of Solms-Braunfels and his first wife Princess Magdalena Henriette of

Nassau-Weilburg The House of Nassau-Weilburg, a branch of the House of Nassau, ruled a division of the County of Nassau, which was a state in what is now Germany, then part of the Holy Roman Empire, from 1344 to 1806. On 17 July 1806, upon the dissolution of t ...

(1691–1725) daughter of Johann Ernst, Prince of Nassau-Weilburg. On 22 May 1742,

Emperor Charles VII Charles VII (6 August 1697 – 20 January 1745) was the prince-elector of Bavaria from 1726 and Holy Roman Emperor from 24 January 1742 to his death. He was a member of the House of Wittelsbach, and his reign as Holy Roman Emperor thus marked th ...

raised the

House of Solms-Braunfels A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...

to the rank of

Imperial Prince 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 ...

and so when his father died he succeeded him as the 2nd Prince.

Marriage and issue

On 24 August 1756 he married in

Laubach Laubach is a town of approximately 10,000 people in the Gießen region of Hesse, Germany. Laubach is known as a ', a climatic health resort. It is situated east of Gießen. Surrounding Laubach are the towns of Hungen, Grünberg, Schotten and ...

, Countess Sophie Christine Wilhelmine of

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of SolmsSee German article on the '' House of Solms'' or French article '' Maison de Solms. had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach ...

. She was the first daughter and second child of Christian August, Count of Solms-Laubach and his first wife Princess Elisabeth of Isenburg und Büdingen zu Birstein daughter of the first Prince,

Wolfgang Ernest I Wolfgang is a German male given name traditionally popular in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The name is a combination of the Old High German words ''wolf'', meaning "wolf", and ''gang'', meaning "path", "journey", "travel". Besides the regula ...

. They had the following children: * William Christian Carl, 3rd Prince of Solms-Braunfels (1759–1837), married Wild- und Rheingräfin Auguste of Salm-Grumbach and Elisabetha Becker, had issue from both marriages * Princess Karoline Marie Eleonore of Solms-Braunfels (6 Oct 1760 - 30 Oct 1760) * Prince Ludwig Wilhelm of Solms-Braunfels (12 Sep 1762 - 29 Oct 1762) * Princess Auguste Luise of Solms-Braunfels (1764–1797) married Karl Ludwig, Wild- und Rheingraf zu Salm-Grumbach und Dhaun, whose first wife was Princess Marianne of Leiningen, daughter of

Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, 1st Prince of Leiningen Carl Friedrich Wilhelm, Prince of Leiningen (german: Fürst zu Leiningen; 14 August 1724 – 9 January 1807) was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and the first ruler of the Principality of Leiningen. Life Carl Friedrich Wilhelm was the eldest ...

and parents of her brother William's wife. * Prince Wilhelm Henrich Kasimir of Solms-Braunfels (1765–1852) unmarried * Princess Luise Karoline Sophie of Solms-Braunfels (1766–1830) unmarried * Prince Karl August Wilhelm Friedrich (1768–1829) unmarried * Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels (1770–1814) married Princess

Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Frederica Louise Caroline Sophie Alexandrina of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (german: Friederike Louise Caroline Sophie Alexandrine; 3 March 1778 – 29 June 1841) was a German princess who married successively Prince Louis Charles of Prussia, Prince ...

, widow of

Prince Louis Charles of Prussia , house =Hohenzollern , father =Frederick William II of Prussia , mother =Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt , birth_date = , birth_place =Berlin, Prussia , death_date = , death_place ...

and had issue * Prince Ludwig Wilhelm Christian of Solms-Braunfels (1771–1833) unmarried * Princess Ferdinande Wilhelmine Isabelle of Solms-Braunfels (died within a year)

References

Ferdinand 2.Fürst zu Solms-Braunfels

External links

*
House of Solms
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand of Solms-Braunfels House of Solms-Braunfels House of Solms 1721 births 1783 deaths 18th-century German people