Franz Egon von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (10 April 1626 – 1 April 1682) was a German count in the
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...
. He was prime minister for the Archbishop-Elector of Cologne, and at the same time worked for
Louis XIV of France
LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...
influencing affairs in the Empire. Franz eventually became
Prince-Bishop of Strassburg.
Early life
Born on 10 April 1626 in
Heiligenberg
Heiligenberg is a municipality and a village in the Bodensee (district), Bodensee district in Baden-Württemberg, about seven kilometres north of Salem, Baden-Württemberg, Salem, in Germany.
Location and climate
Heiligenberg (literally: the H ...
, Franz was an elder son of
Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg
Egon VIII of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (Ernst Egon; 21 March 1588 in Speyer – 24 August 1635 in Constance) was Imperial Count of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (1618–1635) and Bavarian Field-marshal, and an important military leader in the Thirty ...
(1588–1635), who served with distinction as a
Bavaria
Bavaria, officially the Free State of Bavaria, is a States of Germany, state in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the list of German states by area, largest German state by land area, comprising approximately 1/5 of the total l ...
n general in the
Thirty Years' War
The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...
.
Around 1640, Franz attended the Gymnasium
Tricoronatum with his younger brother
Wilhelm
Wilhelm may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* William Charles John Pitcher, costume designer known professionally as "Wilhelm"
* Wilhelm (name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name or surname
Other uses
* Wilhe ...
. There they met
Maximilian Henry of Bavaria, forming a friendship which would guide all three careers.
Career
His religious career started early, joining the cathedral chapter at
Cologne
Cologne ( ; ; ) is the largest city of the States of Germany, German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with nearly 1.1 million inhabitants in the city pr ...
at age nine. By 1644 he was a member of the privy council of the Archbishop-Elector.
On the elevation of his friend Maximilian Heinrich to the position of
Archbishop-Elector of Cologne
The Archbishop of Cologne governs the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cologne in western North Rhine-Westphalia. Historically, the archbishop was ''ex officio'' one of the prince-electors of the Holy Roman Empire and ruled the Electorate of Cologne ...
in 1650, he went to his court and embraced the