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The Holy Roman Empire Constitution

The last years of the Holy Roman Empire

The Napoleonic Germany

The German Ruling Houses




Last updated: Jan 17, 2015



Fürstenberg


The House of Fürstenberg descended from the ancient Imperial immediate Counts of Urach in Swabia [9: 1941; p.207-208] [4: tome III; p.349].

Konrad I and Heinrich I (+1283/84), sons of Count Egino of Urach and Freiburg (+1236/37), founded, respectively, the branches of Freiburg and Fürstenberg [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.10]. The branch of Konrad I, which ruled in Freiburg and Neuchâtel / Neuenburg, became extinct in the male line in 1457, with the death of Count Johann [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.11].

In 1283, Heinrich I of Urach, Count of Fürstenberg, acquired the Imperial immediate land of Baar [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.10] [9: 1941; p.208] (The ownership of Baar gave the House of Fürstenberg the right to use the title of Landgrave [20: Band I (1829); p.298]).

Friedrich I (+1296) and Egen (+1324), sons of Heinrich I of Urach (+1283/84), Count of Fürstenberg, founded, respectively, the branches of Fürstenberg and Haslach. The branch of Haslach became extinct in the male line in 1386, with the death of Count Johann, and its possessions passed to the branch of Fürstenberg [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.10, 12, 13].

In 1516, Count Friedrich of Fürstenberg (+1559), married Anna of Werdenberg (+1554), heiress to the Imperial immediate lands of Heiligenberg, Trochtelfingen and Jungnau. Christoph I (+1559) and Joachim (+1598), sons of Friedrich and Anna of Werdenberg, founded, respectively, two major branches of the House of Fürstenberg, Kinzigtal and Heiligenberg [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.14] [4: tome III; chapitre VIII; t.139].

In May 1664, the Roman Emperor elevated the County of Fürstenberg to the status of Princely County and granted Franz-Egon (+1682) and his brothers, Hermann-Egon (+1674) and Wilhelm-Egon (+1704), of the branch of Heiligenberg, the title of Prince and Princely Landgrave of Fürstenberg [20: Band III (1832); p.117-124] [8: Band 2; p.55] [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.16].

In 1667, Prince Hermann-Egon (+1674) received an individual vote in the Council of Princes of the Imperial Assembly [3: Abtheilung I; Band I; p.261] [1: Theil III; p.849] [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.16].

In 1716, the branch of Heiligenberg became extinct in the male line, with the death of Prince Anton-Egon, and its possessions, titles, and individual vote in the Council of Princes of the Imperial Assembly passed to the heads of the Messkirch and Stühlingen sub-branches of the Kinzigtal branch [8: Band 2; p.55-56] [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.15, 17].

Christoph I (+1559) founded the branch of Kinzigtal of the House of Fürstenberg. The branch's possessions included Kinzigtal, Möhringen, Haslach, Wolfach, Hüfingen, etc. [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.15].

Wratislaus II (+1642) and Friedrich-Rudolf (+1655), sons of Count Christoph II of Fürstenberg (+1614) from the branch of Kinzigtal, founded two sub-branches. As Wratislaus II's first wife, Johanna-Eleonora of Helfenstein (+1629), inherited Messkirch, his sub-branch became known as Messkirch. In 1744, this sub-branch became extinct in the male line, with the death of Karl-Friedrich-Nikolaus [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.15], and its possessions passed to the sub-branch of Friedrich-Rudolf.

Friedrich-Rudolf (+1655), son of Count Christoph II, founded another sub-branch of the Kinzigtal branch. As Friedrich-Rudolf's first wife, Maria-Maximiliana of Pappenheim (+1635), was the heiress to the Landgraviate of Stühlingen, this sub-branch became known as Stühlingen [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.17].

Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst (+1762) and Ludwig-August-Egon (+1759), sons of Prosper-Ferdinand of Fürstenberg (+1704), Landgrave of Stühlingen, founded two new branches of the House [9: 1910; p.134, 136]. Landgrave Ludwig-August-Egon received the family's non-immediate possessions in the Lower Austria including Weitra [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.17, 21]. All of the family's Imperial immediate possessions passed to his elder brother, Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst (Note 1).

In Dec 1716, after the Heiligenberg branch became extinct in the male line, the Roman Emperor transferred its title of Prince (primogeniture) to Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst (+1762) [8: Band 2; p.55-56] [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.17].

In Jan 1762, the Roman Empire granted the title of Prince to all of Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst's descendants [8: Band 2; p.56] [9: 1910; p.134].

Joseph-Wenzel-Johann-Nepomuk (+1783) and Karl-Egon I (+1787), sons of Prince Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst (+1762), founded, respectively, the sub-branches of Fürstenberg and Pürglitz [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.18] .

Notes.
1. The Weitra branch of the Fürstenberg House founded by Ludwig-August-Egon (+1759) became known as branch of Landgraves, the one founded by his elder brother, Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst, became known as the Princely branch [9: 1910; p.134, 136].




1. Fürstenberg

Joseph-Wenzel-Johann-Nepomuk (+1783), son of Prince Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst (+1762), continued the senior sub-branch of Fürstenberg that received the family's Imperial immediate possessions and the Fürstenberg individual vote in the Council of Princes of the Imperial Assembly [10: Neue Folge; Band V (1988); t.18].

In May 1804, with the death of Prince Karl-Joachim, the senior sub-branch of Fürstenberg became extinct in the male line, and its possessions passed to the sub-branch of Pürglitz.




List of the Rulers

Joseph-Maria-Benedikt (1758-1796) [1783-1796]
Karl-Joachim (1771-May 1804) [1796-1804]




Titles

>-1806

HRE Prince of Fürstenberg;
Landgrave in the Baar, of Stühlingen;
Count of Heiligenberg, Werdenberg;
Baron of Gundelfingen;
Lord of Hausen im Kinzingertal, Messkirch, Hohenhöwen, Wildenstein, Waldsberg, Weitra, Pürglitz;




Voices in the Imperial Circle assemblies in 1789 [2: p.14] [3: Abtheilung I; Band I; p.241]

Swabia:
= The Bench of the Secular Princes:
- Heiligenberg;

= The Bench of Counts & Lords:
- Stühlingen;
- Baar;
- Hausen in Kinzigtal;
- Messkirch / Mösskirch;
- Gundelfingen;




Voices in the Imperial Assembly in 1789

Individual voices in the Council of Princes:
- Fürstenberg [2: p.5];

Curial voices in the Council of Princes:
= the Counts of Swabia =
- Heiligenberg & Werdenberg [2: p.8];




Territorial Possessions in 1789

The Imperial Circle of Swabia: [7: p.27-29] [11: Heft II; p.106] [7: p.44]
- Heiligenberg;
- Jungnau;
- Trochtelfingen;
- Stühlingen;
- Hohenhöwen / Hohenhewen / Heben;
- Baar, Hüfingen, Möhringen;
- Messkirch;
- Hausen im Kinzingertal, Haslach, Wolfach;
- Gundelfingen;


The Knightly Circle of Swabia:
- Waldsberg / Waldsperg [3: Abtheilung I; Band II; p.233] [7: p.61]




Voices in the Imperial Assembly in 1803 [3: Abtheilung II; Band I; p.358] [5: tome I; p.323-324]
(Changes by the Final Recess of the Imperial Deputation)

Individual voices in the Council of Princes:
- Fürstenberg;
- Baar & Stühlingen;








2. Pürglitz

Karl-Egon I (+1787), son of Prince Joseph-Wilhelm-Ernst of Fürstenberg (+1762), founded the sub-branch of Pürglitz. Karl-Egon received the family's non-immediate lands in Bohemia including Pürglitz (Krivoklat) [4: tome III; p.349].

In 1804, Karl-Egon II (+1854), grandson of Karl-Egon I (+1787), succeeded the senior Fürstenberg sub-branch.

In July 1806, Prince Karl-Egon II of Fürstenberg lost his status of Imperial immediate ruler when his Imperial immediate possessions were mediatized by the Act of the Confederation of the Rhine [2: p.95] [3: Abtheilung II; Band II; p.185-186] [7: p.102, 107, 108].




List of the Rulers

Karl-Egon II (1796-1854) [1804-1806]




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