Individual Details
Count Egon VIII Fürstenberg in Heiligenberg
(21 Mar 1588 - 24 Aug 1635)
Egon was born in Speyer on 15 March 1588, the son of Friedrich von Fürstenberg, Graf von Fürstenberg in Heiligenberg, and Gräfin Elisabeth von Sulz. He was originally meant for an ecclesiastical career, and in 1616 he was canon of the Cologne Cathedral. However he resigned after both his older brothers had died without heirs, and in 1619 in Frankfurt am Main, to which he had accompanied the elector-archbishop of Cologne, he was invested by Emperor Ferdinand II as a colonel in the imperial army.
On 5 December 1618 Egon was betrothed to Princess Anna Maria von Hohenzollern-Hechingen, daughter of Johann Georg, Fürst von Hohenzollern-Hechingen, and Gräfin Franziska von Salm, Wild- und Rheingräfin in Neufville. They married at Schloss Hechingen on 6 June the following year. Of their eleven children two sons and three daughters would have progeny.
Egon joined the service of Maximilian I, duke of Bavaria, as his counsellor and seneschal; as his envoy in 1623 to the imperial diet at Regensburg he succeeded in gaining the investiture of the duke as elector (Kurfürst) of Bavaria. However he was destined for a distinguished military career in the Thirty Years War. It had begun in 1621, when he led a regiment of foot under Johann Tserclaes, Graf von Tilly, in his campaign in the Upper Palatinate against the Protestant army led by Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. In Tilly's army he then took part in the war against King Christian IV of Denmark. He distinguished himself in 1625 in the Battle of Kalenberg and in 1626 at the storming of Münden. In July that year with an independent force he relieved the siege of Kalenberg from the Danes, and took part in the siege of Goettingen. At Lutter in the Varengebirge he commanded the artillery. As a general of ordinance or general of artillery, Egon was entrusted repeatedly throughout the Danish war with the reduction of fortresses, which he always accomplished with distinction.
In 1629 Egon was with the 10,000 man imperial army sent to Italy under Collalto, and he fought in the War of the Mantuan Succession. On his return from Italy, he was asked in 1631 to enforce the Edict of Restitution in Swabia and to dissolve the Leipzig League. As commander of an independent army of 7000 men he conquered Memmingen, Kempten and Ulm, and forced these cities to submit to imperial occupation. He then broke up the League of Franconian States. After this he brought his troops to Tilly's army, with which he united near Eisleben. In the Battle of Breitenfeld against the Swedish army of King Gustavus Adolphus he commanded the initially victorious right wing of the Catholic army.
As a general of artillery, Egon took part in the battles in northwest Germany, in which he achieved successes against the armies of the duke of Lüneburg and the landgrave of Hessen-Kassel as well as against Dutch and Swedish forces in Westphalia. On the recommendation of Tilly, who had highly praised his actions in the Battle of Breitenfeld and sought to prevent his desired retirement, in 1634 he was appointed as general of ordinance for the Catholic League; he had for some time held the rank of lieutenant general of the armies of the Swabian League. When the alliance armies entered their winter quarters, Egon returned to Swabia, but he died in the following year, at Konstanz on 24 August 1635.
Source: Leo van de Pas
On 5 December 1618 Egon was betrothed to Princess Anna Maria von Hohenzollern-Hechingen, daughter of Johann Georg, Fürst von Hohenzollern-Hechingen, and Gräfin Franziska von Salm, Wild- und Rheingräfin in Neufville. They married at Schloss Hechingen on 6 June the following year. Of their eleven children two sons and three daughters would have progeny.
Egon joined the service of Maximilian I, duke of Bavaria, as his counsellor and seneschal; as his envoy in 1623 to the imperial diet at Regensburg he succeeded in gaining the investiture of the duke as elector (Kurfürst) of Bavaria. However he was destined for a distinguished military career in the Thirty Years War. It had begun in 1621, when he led a regiment of foot under Johann Tserclaes, Graf von Tilly, in his campaign in the Upper Palatinate against the Protestant army led by Ernst, Graf von Mansfeld. In Tilly's army he then took part in the war against King Christian IV of Denmark. He distinguished himself in 1625 in the Battle of Kalenberg and in 1626 at the storming of Münden. In July that year with an independent force he relieved the siege of Kalenberg from the Danes, and took part in the siege of Goettingen. At Lutter in the Varengebirge he commanded the artillery. As a general of ordinance or general of artillery, Egon was entrusted repeatedly throughout the Danish war with the reduction of fortresses, which he always accomplished with distinction.
In 1629 Egon was with the 10,000 man imperial army sent to Italy under Collalto, and he fought in the War of the Mantuan Succession. On his return from Italy, he was asked in 1631 to enforce the Edict of Restitution in Swabia and to dissolve the Leipzig League. As commander of an independent army of 7000 men he conquered Memmingen, Kempten and Ulm, and forced these cities to submit to imperial occupation. He then broke up the League of Franconian States. After this he brought his troops to Tilly's army, with which he united near Eisleben. In the Battle of Breitenfeld against the Swedish army of King Gustavus Adolphus he commanded the initially victorious right wing of the Catholic army.
As a general of artillery, Egon took part in the battles in northwest Germany, in which he achieved successes against the armies of the duke of Lüneburg and the landgrave of Hessen-Kassel as well as against Dutch and Swedish forces in Westphalia. On the recommendation of Tilly, who had highly praised his actions in the Battle of Breitenfeld and sought to prevent his desired retirement, in 1634 he was appointed as general of ordinance for the Catholic League; he had for some time held the rank of lieutenant general of the armies of the Swabian League. When the alliance armies entered their winter quarters, Egon returned to Swabia, but he died in the following year, at Konstanz on 24 August 1635.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 21 Mar 1588 | Speier | |||
| Marriage | 9 Jun 1619 | Heichingen Castle - Princess Anna Maria Hohenzollern-Hechingen | |||
| Death | 24 Aug 1635 | Konstanz |
Families
| Spouse | Princess Anna Maria Hohenzollern-Hechingen (1603 - 1652) |
| Child | Countess Ana Maria Fürstenberg (1634 - 1705) |
| Father | Count Friedrich Fürstenberg in Heiligenberg (1563 - 1617) |
| Mother | Countess Elisabeth von Sulz (1563 - 1601) |