Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst, 2nd Prince of Solms-Braunfels (8 February 1721 in

Braunfels Braunfels () is a town in the Lahn-Dill-Kreis in Hesse, Germany. It is located on the German Timber-Frame Road. Geography Location The climatic spa of Braunfels lies at a height of some 100 m above the Lahn valley. It is 9 km southwes ...

– 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. The ...

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

. 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 Magda ...

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

Life

Ferdinand Wilhelm Ernst was born in

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 raised the

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

to the rank of

Imperial Prince Prince of the Holy Roman Empire (, , cf. ''Fürst'') was a title attributed to a hereditary ruler, nobleman or prelate recognised by the Holy Roman Emperor. Definition Originally, possessors of the princely title bore it as immediate vassal ...

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), 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, Grünbe ...

, Countess Sophie Christine Wilhelmine of

Solms-Laubach Solms-Laubach was a County of southern Hesse and eastern Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. The House of Solms had its origins in Solms, Hesse. History Solms-Laubach was originally created as a partition of Solms-Lich. In 1537 Philip, Count of S ...

. 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. 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 (; 14 August 1724 – 9 January 1807), was a Prince of the Holy Roman Empire and the first and only sovereign ruler of the Principality of Leiningen from 1803 to 1806. Life Carl Friedrich Wilhelm was t ...

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 Prince Frederick William of Solms-Braunfels (22 October 1770 in Braunfels – 13 April 1814 in Slawentzitz) was a Prussian Major General and by birth member of the House of Solms-Braunfels. Early life He was the fourth son of Ferdinand Willia ...

(1770–1814) married Princess

Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz Frederica of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (; 3 March 1778 – 29 June 1841) was Queen of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1841 as the wife of King Ernest Augustus. She was a German princess who married successively Prince Louis Charles ...

, widow of

Prince Louis Charles of Prussia Prince Frederick Louis Charles of Prussia (; Potsdam, 5 November 1773 – Berlin, 28 December 1796) was the second son and third child of Frederick William II of Prussia and Frederika Louisa of Hesse-Darmstadt. Biography Marriage and issue ...

and had issue * Prince Ludwig Wilhelm Christian of Solms-Braunfels (1771–1833) unmarried * Princess Ferdinande Wilhelmine Isabelle of Solms-Braunfels (1772-1773), died as a baby

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