Individual Details
Count Friedrich II Fürstenberg in Heiligenberg
(19 Jun 1496 - 7 Mar 1559)
200 Knight in the Order of the Golden Fleece 1546
Friedrich was born in Wolfach on 19 June 1496, the second son of Wolfgang, Graf zu Fürstenberg and Gräfin Elisabeth zu Solms-Braunfels. When his father died in 1509 he and his elder brother Wilhelm were still minors under guardianship. In the division of their properties of their father's estate, Wilhelm received the western holdings, namely the property of Kinzigtal and the nearby property of Ortenau, subject to an imperial pledge, and Friedrich the eastern holdings.
On 19 February 1516 Friedrich married Gräfin Anna von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg, heiress of Heiligenberg, Jüngau and Trochtelfingen, only child of Christoph, Graf von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg and Eleonora Gonzaga. Friedrich and Anna had fifteen children, of whom many died in infancy but five would have offspring.
Whereas Wilhelm known as 'der wilde Graf', fought on many sides and for many causes, Friedrich served the Habsburg cause all his life. In 1532 he commanded more than 10,000 troops in the war against the Turks, and in the campaign against France in 1536 he was an imperial general. In 1545 he was appointed a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and in 1546/7 he fought against the Schmalkaldic League. In 1546 Wilhelm had joined the League, but did not fight for it. Whereas Wilhelm became a supporter and advocate of the Protestant cause from the late 1530s, and did all he could to promulgate the Reformed Church in his holdings, Friedrich remained strongly Catholic, like all other Fürstenbergs.
By his marriage to Anna, Friedrich was able to increase his property holdings significantly, mainly through estates in upper Swabia. When Wilhelm fell out of favour with Emperor Charles V, and was subject to an imperial arrest warrant, he signed his estates over to Friedrich, probably to keep the imperial mortgaged property Ortenau in the hands of the family. In the event that move rebounded doubly: Friedrich did his utmost to bring Wilhelm's former estates back into the Catholic fold, and in 1552 King Ferdinand redeemed the mortgage over Ortenau.
Friedrich died on 7 March 1559. Wilhelm, who had been placed under house arrest by his brother, had died sick and embittered in 1549.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Friedrich was born in Wolfach on 19 June 1496, the second son of Wolfgang, Graf zu Fürstenberg and Gräfin Elisabeth zu Solms-Braunfels. When his father died in 1509 he and his elder brother Wilhelm were still minors under guardianship. In the division of their properties of their father's estate, Wilhelm received the western holdings, namely the property of Kinzigtal and the nearby property of Ortenau, subject to an imperial pledge, and Friedrich the eastern holdings.
On 19 February 1516 Friedrich married Gräfin Anna von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg, heiress of Heiligenberg, Jüngau and Trochtelfingen, only child of Christoph, Graf von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg and Eleonora Gonzaga. Friedrich and Anna had fifteen children, of whom many died in infancy but five would have offspring.
Whereas Wilhelm known as 'der wilde Graf', fought on many sides and for many causes, Friedrich served the Habsburg cause all his life. In 1532 he commanded more than 10,000 troops in the war against the Turks, and in the campaign against France in 1536 he was an imperial general. In 1545 he was appointed a knight of the Order of the Golden Fleece, and in 1546/7 he fought against the Schmalkaldic League. In 1546 Wilhelm had joined the League, but did not fight for it. Whereas Wilhelm became a supporter and advocate of the Protestant cause from the late 1530s, and did all he could to promulgate the Reformed Church in his holdings, Friedrich remained strongly Catholic, like all other Fürstenbergs.
By his marriage to Anna, Friedrich was able to increase his property holdings significantly, mainly through estates in upper Swabia. When Wilhelm fell out of favour with Emperor Charles V, and was subject to an imperial arrest warrant, he signed his estates over to Friedrich, probably to keep the imperial mortgaged property Ortenau in the hands of the family. In the event that move rebounded doubly: Friedrich did his utmost to bring Wilhelm's former estates back into the Catholic fold, and in 1552 King Ferdinand redeemed the mortgage over Ortenau.
Friedrich died on 7 March 1559. Wilhelm, who had been placed under house arrest by his brother, had died sick and embittered in 1549.
Source: Leo van de Pas
Events
| Birth | 19 Jun 1496 | Wolfach | |||
| Marriage | 19 Feb 1516 | Ortenburg - Countess Anna von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg | |||
| Death | 7 Mar 1559 |
Families
| Spouse | Countess Anna von Werdenberg-Heiligenberg (1510 - 1554) |
| Child | Count Joachim Fürstenberg in Heiligenberg (1538 - 1598) |