Anton Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg

Anton Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg
Anton Egon of Fürstenberg
Spouse(s)	Marie de Ligny
Noble family	Fürstenberg
Father	Herman Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg
Mother	Maria Franziska of Fürstenberg-Stühlingen
Born	23 April 1656 Munich
Died	10 October 1716 (aged 60) Hunting Lodge Wermsdorf in Wermsdorf
Buried	Sankt Marienstern Abbey in Panschwitz-Kuckau

Anton Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg (23 April 1656 in Munich – 10 October 1716 in the Hunting Lodge Wermsdorf in Wermsdorf) was Imperial Prince and Princely Landgrave of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg and Governor of the Electorate of Saxony under Elector August II the Strong.

Life

Anton Egon was a member of the noble Fürstenberg family. He was the son of Herman Egon, Prince of Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg and Maria Franziska of Fürstenberg-Stühlingen. His father had served as High Chamberlain in Bavaria.

In 1697, a personal union was founded between Saxony and Poland. Anton Egon acted as governor of Saxony while the Elector was in Poland. As governor, he would sometimes could out essential functions at court.

As an imperial prince, he ranked above the local nobility. At court, he represented the Elector, August the Strong, who was frequently absent. He was always ready to protect the intests of the Electorate of Saxony. Historian disagree in their assessment of his character.^[1] Elector August gave Anton Egen a palace in Dresden, which was then named Fürstenberg Palace.

Anton Egon died on 10 October 1716 in the Hunting Lodge Wermsdorf and, because he was a Roman Catholic, he was buried in the Sankt Marienstern Abbey in Panschwitz-Kuckau. His heart was placed near the coats-of-arms of his ancestors to the left of the alter in the chapel of Heiligenberg Castle. After his death, the office of Governor of Saxony was abolished.

Marriage and issue

Anton Egon married on 11 January 1677 to Marie (1656-1711), a daughter of Jean, Marquis de Ligny and Elizabeth Boyer. The marriage produced four children:

• Philippine Louise (6 May 1680 – 16 February 1706) married in 1700 to Louis de Gand de Merode de Montmorency, Prince d'Isenghien, who was a Marshal of France
• Louise (after 1682 – after 1704) married Charles de la Noe, Marquis de Sanzelles (d. 1738)
• Francis Joseph (1682 – 1690)
• Marie Louise Mauritia (after 1682 – 16 March 1749) married 1708 Marie Jean Baptiste Colbert, Marquis de Seignelay (d. 19 February 1712), a grandson of Jean-Baptiste Colbert

References

• Heinrich Theodor Flathe (1878), "Anton Egon", Allgemeine Deutsche Biographie (ADB) (in German) 8, Leipzig: Duncker & Humblot, pp. 217–218, Online
• Eduard Johne: Fürst Anton Egon zu Fürstenberg (1656-1716), Statthalter August des Starken in Sachsen, im Spiegel zweier Lobgedichte, in: Schriften des Vereins für Geschichte und Naturgeschichte der Baar und der angrenzenden Landesteile in Donaueschingen, XXIV, issue 1956, Donaueschingen 1956; p. 107-118 Online
• Friedrich Bülau: Geheime Geschichten und räthselhafte Menschen, vol. 7, Leipzig, 1856 at Google Books
• Hans-Joachim Böttcher: Christiane Eberhardine - Prinzessin von Brandenburg-Bayreuth, Kurfürstin von Sachsen und Königin von Polen, Gemahlin August des Starken. Dresden 2011. ISBN 978-3-941757-25-7.
• Hans-Joachim Böttcher: Böttger - Vom Gold- zum Porzellanmacher. Dresden 2011. ISBN 978-3-941757-31-8.
• Hans-Joachim Böttcher: Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus - Das bewunderte, bekämpfte und totgeschwiegene Genie. Dresden 2014. ISBN 978-3-941757-42-4.

External links

• Jochen Vötsch, Anton Egon, Fürst von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, Entry in the Sächsische Biographie, ed. by Martina Schattkowsky
• Anton Egon in the portrait collection of the Austrian National Library

Footnotes

1. Jochen Vötsch: Anton Egon Fürst von Fürstenberg-Heiligenberg, in: Sächsische Biografie, Institut für Sächsische Geschichte und Volkskunde e.V. 2005, Online at http://www.isgv.de/saebi