Ferdinand Wilhelm Eusebius Prince of Schwarzenberg (May 23, 1652, in Brussels – October 22, 1703) was a German-Bohemian nobleman from the

Schwarzenberg family The House of Schwarzenberg () is a German (Franconian Circle, Franconian) and Czech (Kingdom of Bohemia, Bohemian) aristocratic family, formerly one of the most prominent European noble houses. The Schwarzenbergs are members of the German nobili ...

Biography

Ferdinand was born the son of Count Johann Adolph von Schwarzenberg (raised to the rank of prince in 1670) and Maria Justina Countess von Starhemberg. Study trips took him to Besançon, Rome and Prague. Due to his father's good relationship with the imperial court, Ferdinand received the office of imperial chamberlain as early as 1668. In 1679 he acquired the nickname ''Pestkönig'' (''Plague King'') in Vienna, because he was responsible on the one hand for maintaining order during the outbreak of the

Great Plague of Vienna The Great Plague of Vienna occurred in 1679 in Vienna, Austria, the imperial residence of the Austrian Habsburg rulers. From contemporary descriptions, the disease is believed to have been bubonic plague, which is caused by the bacterium '' Y ...

, and on the other hand for organizing the care of the sick, contributing from his own financial resources. Even during the

Siege of Vienna Sieges of Vienna may refer to: * Siege of Vienna (1485), Hungarian victory during the Austro–Hungarian War. *Siege of Vienna (1529), first Ottoman attempt to conquer Vienna. *Battle of Vienna, 1683, second Ottoman attempt to conquer Vienna. * Cap ...

by the Turks in 1683, Ferdinand took care of the population. In 1685 he was appointed Oberhofmarschall by the Emperor and in 1688 he was accepted into the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece (, ) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in 1430 in Brugge by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, to celebrate his marriage to Isabella of Portugal, Duchess of Burgundy, Isabella of Portugal. T ...

. In 1692 he finally became the Empress's Oberhofmeister. Despite his many social works, Ferdinand increased the fortune of his house through effective administration. Through his marriage to Maria Anna, heiress of the Counts of Sulz, he won the Landgraviate of

Klettgau Klettgau (High Alemannic: ''Chleggau'') is a municipality in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is the center of the ''Klettgau'' historical region stretching across the Swiss border into the cantons of Aargau, Schaffhaus ...

for his successors, which, in addition to economic advantages, also brought about an improvement in status, since it was an imperial domain.

Marriage and offspring

Ferdinand married Maria Anna Countess von Sulz in 1674 and had ten children, four of whom died in childhood: *Adolph Ludwig (1676–1690) * Adam Franz Karl (1680–1732), 3rd Prince of Schwarzenberg *Maria Franziska Justina (1677–1737), married Egon Landgrave von Fürstenberg-Stühlingen *Maria Anna Philippine (* 1688), married Count Franz Karl von Kolowrat-Liebsteinsky *Maria Elisabeth Luise (1689–1739), married Ferdinand August Prince of Lobkowitz *Maria Johanna Nothburga (* 1692), married Franz Leopold Count von Sternberg

References

External links

* the article in the

German Wikipedia The German Wikipedia () is the German-language edition of Wikipedia, a free and publicly editable online encyclopedia. Founded on 16 March 2001, it is the second-oldest Wikipedia edition (after the English Wikipedia). It has articles, ma ...

, Ferdinand (Schwarzenberg).
BLKÖ:Schwarzenberg, Ferdinand Wilhelm Euseb Fürst
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ferdinand of Schwarzenberg, Prince 1652 births 1703 deaths 17th-century Austrian people 17th-century German politicians 17th-century nobility from Bohemia

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...

German Bohemian people 17th-century German nobility